The NDA (AINRC-BJP) government in Puducherry will implement the New Education Policy (NEP) gradually, after the Union Ministry of Education releases guidelines, Education Minister A Namassivayam told TNIE on Friday, June 3.
The Minister had returned to the Union Territory after a two-day National School Education Ministers' Conference at Gandhinagar on the implementation of NEP addressed by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Namassivayam said that, at present, the Central Ministry is drawing up guidelines by incorporating the views and suggestions given by the state ministers. The guidelines will tell the way forward, he added.
However, the NEP implementation would not be easy for the NDA government as the pattern of education is not uniform across the UT. Puducherry does not have a board of its own, Instead, the four regions follow the curriculum of adjoining States. While schools in Puducherry and Karaikal follow the Tamil Nadu State Board, Mahe and Yanam schools follow the Kerala and Andhra Pradesh boards respectively.
"Public examinations are conducted by the respective boards in their regions. The government will have to make the education pattern uniform, before implementation," said M Ramadass, Former Lok Sabha member and a former professor of Pondicherry University
For a uniform pattern, all four regions' government schools will be brought under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), said Namassivayam. While Classes I to V in Puducherry currently function under CBSE, all classes will gradually be brought within its ambit, he said, adding that the government approached the CBSE for bringing Class VI under the board this year. The matter is being pursued by the Director of School Education PT Rudra Goud in Delhi.
Speaking about schools in rural areas, he said that parents in rural areas desire the CBSE pattern. "They are admitting their children to private CBSE schools and as a result, several CBSE schools have come up in rural areas," he said. The minister noted this board is good for students to appear for NEET and JEE, and for opportunities to study in a better college.
However, as the process is still unclear, the government is yet to take a decision on the modes of the implementation, Namassivayam said.
Meanwhile, Ramadass opined, that a committee of experts should be constituted for implementation. They would be well-versed in the nitty-gritty of the NEP and hence, can advise the government on how to proceed with it on the basis of the guideline, he explained. However, before the implementation, the teachers should be trained and new ones will have to be recruited. The classrooms have to be made smart as technology has to be extensively used in teaching and learning under the NEP, he added.
However, till the NEP is implemented in the UT or all classes are brought under CBSE, schools will continue to follow their current education boards.
On the other hand, the Opposition Congress is critical of the government’s decision about the NEP. “It is not acceptable to disrupt education in the State and introduce Hindi and Sanskrit," said the former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader V Narayanasamy, referring to the three-language formula under the policy.
