“There is a tide in the affairs of men/Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life/Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat/And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.”
-William Shakespeare (1564-1616), English dramatic poet in Julius Caesar.
In the context of our educational sector, we are in the midst of choppy seas not knowing when the Coronavirus will restore calm. Even now with a long suspension of classes, their resumption is voted against with the feet with a big percentage of students giving a miss to the classes. Against this unpromising scenario, there is a move to rush with the implementation of the New Education Policy (NEP). But first, the facts as reported in the media.
The Task Force set up by the Karnataka government to recommend implementation NEP has opted for setting up of a high-level commission to coordinate and monitor education across a range of departments besides suggesting a major change in the structure of primary schooling. According to the Task Force, the Chief Minister should be the chairman of the Karnataka Education Commission (KEC), which will help the process of coordination. Primary and higher education ministers will hold the position of vice-chairmen. The KEC has to convene two meetings in a year or as and when necessary, to review the progress of the education in the state. The implementation of NEP will be done from 2021-22 academic year in a phased manner.
The COVID-churned choppy sea is yet to calm down and it is prudent to wait with patience for the COVID condition and its aftermath are settled and the current system of education restored to normalcy.
But, such sober course does not throw up media headlines. So, there is a hurry to jump the gun rather than waiting for the present system of education to be restored to its pre-COVID normalcy.
