Hundreds of students boycotted classes and staged a protest in front of Mysore University's Crawford Hall urging the government to clear confusion and problems arising out of the hurried implementation of the National Education Policy. The students want the government to respect their right to pick the subject of their choice.
The striking students also want the textbooks to be printed and vacancies in teaching posts to be filled up. All India Democratic Students' Organisation (AIDSO) General Secretary, Chandrakala, criticised the government for pushing NEP 2020 against the wishes of education experts, teachers and students. "The government has failed to understand the reason behind the opposition and confusion in the four-year degree courses," she said.
She added that there are only a couple of weeks left for the first semester examinations and the textbooks are not ready and teachers are not in a position to conduct classes as per the new syllabus. The students under the choice-based credit system have the freedom to choose a selective syllabus along with options.
"How can students from Science or Commerce be forced to take selective subjects in Arts and students in Humanities be made to study core Science subjects?" the students asked. They criticised the Karnataka government for implementing the NEP in a hurry when there are 70 per cent vacancies in teaching staff and a need to improve basic facilities and services of guest faculty.
