Ascent Group Study Circle in collaboration with HELP Foundation, J&K on Friday held a discussion on the Draft National Education Policy (DNEP), 2019.
According to a statement, a cross section of academicians,school and college teachers and civil society members participated in thediscussion.
“The draft policy over emphasises’ on the neo-liberal marketorientation to commodify education and make it more inaccessible to thechildren of the poor and marginal groups,” chairman ASCENT Group, MohammadShafi Pandit said, according the statement.
“The over centralisation through the bodies like Rashtra ShikshanAyog hampers the concurrent status of education. The autonomy of various bodiesas well as the autonomy of the state of Jammu and Kashmir also comes underthreat. This centralisation on the one hand neglects the local contexts andmodes of learning-teaching while on other side curtails the freedom toresearch.”
The state of Jammu and Kashmir is still trying to bring moreand more students into higher education and the draft recommendation of’consolidation’ in terms of having larger multi-disciplinary institutions goesagainst the idea of more inclusive access to good quality education and a focuson specialisation, he said.