Way forward towards a new education policy for Kalyana Karnataka

The central purpose of Article 371 of the Constitution is to remove regional imbalances by affirmative action in key areas of socio-economic development such as education, health and employment. In Karnataka, six northern districts of Hyderabad-Karnataka region have been brought under Article 371-J providing for special provision - Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal and Ballari - collectively called Kalyana Karnataka.

The special purpose Hyderabad-Karnataka Development Board and several social organisations have been striving to leverage overall developmental outcomes. It is also true that there are other but smaller regional pockets/taluks outside Kalyana Karnataka suffering from similar disadvantages, calling urgent attention of the planners.

The fast emerging national/global priorities also compel us to set a wider canvas for bridging the developmental deficit of these regions. While funds for 371-J districts may come from special Central grants marked for the purpose, only the other similar area will have to covered by the state government.

It is noteworthy that both education and employment have an intertwining relationship with each one individually and synergistically producing desirable outcomes - acquisition of academic competence as well as skills/expertise to become socially productive citizens.

Therefore, in this article, a few key areas of education are prioritised to put in place a versatile platform to launch a holistic offensive progressively. The present action plans are tweaked keeping in mind their positive impact on the enhanced opportunities to the students in the globalised knowledge-based economy.

The special package proposed here includes:

Skill Development Centres: Each of the six districts may have a Skill Development Centre. Specially designed courses for the following may be offered:

For uneducated stream: Assistants in healthcare, office/business administration etc, with communication skills in chosen languages with potential for employment in public and private sectors

For PUC qualified students: the existing range of diploma/degree courses in engineering may be expanded to include courses in paramedical sciences such as Optometry, Dentistry, Medical Microbiology, Radiology, Community Health, Hospital Management/Administration

For graduates: Incubation centres, venture capital, self employment channels, entrepreneurship

Civil Services Training Academy

Special training programmes for the differently-abled with focus on employability and/or professional advancement

Third-Party Skill Certification as per the recommendations of the International Labour Organisation and British Council to assure national/global validity

The Federation of Karnataka Commerce and Industry should be taken on board to ensure employment/placement

Language empowerment: A Centre for International Languages is envisaged with following functions-- To be located in any one of the six districts, strategically selected for maximum impact

A basket of selected languages (Kannada, Hindi, English, Sanskrit and one other international language (French, Spanish, Chinese, German, Arabic etc) to promote national/international mobility

Offer courses to school teachers (teach the teachers) to train and sensitise them in emerging methods of language teaching and learning processes

Serve as a Resources Centre in association with national/global language institutions for design and development of school/university curricula in linguistics, language and literature

A learning resource for aspirants of civil services

Undergraduate degree courses with enhanced employment opportunities: The undergraduate degrees with the present three-subject combinations to be replaced with at least one subject with enhanced employment opportunities. Liberal Arts graduate programmes (western model) and CBCS system providing for students to select subjects across the disciplines could be utilised for the purpose. Courses in performing arts and physical education may also be offered as choices to the students, on par with those in urban area institutions.

Novel student support systems: Each of the six districts may be allotted 500 Special Student Merit Fellowships (total 3,000). The awardees may carry these fellowships to pursue their studies in any institution of Karnataka. This measure would be in addition to the conventional scholarships awarded to students after admission to a local institution. Thus meritorious students from backward region are also given an opportunity to study in best of institutions in the state. Any constraints in admission rules may be removed by suitable amendments or making a special provision.

Modern teaching-learning activities: In addition to standard classroom equipment (smart boards, PowerPoint presentation facilities, Wi-Fi savvy campus etc, efforts should be made to provide EduSAT connectivity to the teaching-learning activities - presently, only VTU has this capability. Necessary infrastructural changes may be made. This measure would remove technology-related disadvantages to the learning activities in the region and also demonstrates the government’s sincere efforts to reach out to the students in backward regions.

It is equally important that the educational institutions, teachers and students are imbued with online education procedures to prime them to deal with possible academic loss during pandemics or natural disasters.

Sports Academy: Each district may have a sports academy (existing ones could be strengthened) to promote innate talents in sports. The academy would function as a resources centre for all educational institutions in the district to guide sports-related activities. In addition to conventional sports events, online courses on sports ethics, sports nutrition, sports psychology, yoga, physical fitness, leadership and human resources may be offered by the academy. Health awareness and yoga training programmes to the public would add a new dimension to the activities of the academy.

Teachers’ Academy: School and college teachers should receive training in emerging teaching-learning practices. Focus would be on online education practices to effectively deal with emergent situations arising out of natural disasters and pandemics. Teachers should also be sensitised with teaching languages; training in Sign and Braille languages useful to special students (divyangajan) would add a humanitarian dimension to the training imparted by the academy.

The above proposal is a provocative minimum to invite the participation of all the stakeholders and experts to craft a more complete, enabling and empowering design to address regional imbalances worthy of attention by other state/national planners.

(The writer is Adviser (Education Reforms), Government of Karnataka, and Chancellor, PES University, Bengaluru)