This story is from July 31, 2020

Assam BJP welcomes NEP while Congress oppose it

Assam BJP welcomes NEP while Congress oppose it
Himanta Biswa Sarma and Ripun Bora
GUWAHATI: BJP and opposition parties are at loggerheads over the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.
While state education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was confident that NEP will bring vital changes in the education system in the country, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Ripun Bora said that Congress will oppose the policy.
“The Assam government will try to take a cabinet decision on implementing the NEP in the state as early as possible.
Let’s study the final version of the NEP and discuss what type of modifications are needed for implementing it in the state,” Himanta told mediapersons on Thursday.
Assam BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass also lauded Prime Minister Modi for presenting NEP to the nation. Chief spokesperson of Assam BJP, Rupam Goswami, said, “Under the NEP, every student, after concluding their education, will become experts in at least one technical course. Besides livelihood, it will secure the lives of the students.”
Assam PCC president Ripun Bora, however, said that the digital education envisaged in the NEP is a distant dream in the difficult and inaccessible terrain of Assam and the northeast. “As per our initial discussions with party leaders in Delhi, we have come to know that our party will oppose the NEP. In tribal-inhabited and inaccessible areas, this policy won’t work under the present set of conditions. Online education, without infrastructure upgradation and acquinting the students and guardians, cannot be successful,” he said. Bora was apprehensive that there may be a conspiracy that in the name of reducing the curriculum burden on the students, the lessons on the role of the Congress in the freedom movement will be curtailed.

Student organisations — All Assam Students' Union (Aasu) and Satra Mukti Sangram Samiti (SMSS) — were also critical about implementing NEP without developing the necessary infrastructure.
“It is not possible to reap the benefits by imposing a policy without making infrastructure ready at all levels. Aasu demands the Centre should release ample funds for implementing the schemes and the state government should be entrusted with the task of implementing (the NEP). It is apparent that the government wants to create a vast difference between the state universities and central universities,” said Aasu president Dipanka Kumar Nath and general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi in a statement. They rued the fact that the concerns of the northeast did not get due importance in the NEP, as educationists from the region were not roped in while finalising it.
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About the Author
Kangkan Kalita

Kangkan Kalita is a reporter with The Times of India and covers issues on health, education, stories of human interest while keeping a close watch on political developments and student movements. Reporting on environment and forest related issues and concerns of the northeast interest him equally.

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