Former UGC chairman Prof Thorat to head panel for Karnataka State Education Policy

The state government on Wednesday issued an order constituting a committee to frame Karnataka State Education Policy. The panel is headed by Prof Sukhdev Thorat, former chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

The committee consists of 15 members including retired IAS officer Sanjay Kaul who was secretary of School Education, Government of India; Prof S Japhet, former vice-chancellor of Bengaluru City University; Prof Johan Shankar former vice-chancellor Kuvempu University and Sudhir Krishnaswamy, Vice-Chancellor of NLSIU Bengaluru.

The committee has been told to submit its report before February 28, 2024.

The other members of the committee include Rajendra Chenni and Natraj Budalu; Sudanshu Bhushan, HoD, Higher and Professional Education, National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), New Delhi; Pranati Panda, HoD, School and non-formal Education, NIEPA; Furqan Qamar from Jamia Miliya University New Delhi; Sharath Ananthamurthy, University of Hyderabad, A Narayana, V P Niranjanaradhya and others.  

The government has also constituted an additional committee of subject experts for expert advice. This committee includes Prof Yogendra Yadav, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi; Rahmath Tarikere, Janaki Nair, S Chandrashekhara Shetty, Sonam Wagechuk, Valerian Rodrigous and Sabiha Bhoomigowda. 

Earlier, objections were raised from various quarters to the proposal for the appointment of Sukhdev Thorat as the chairman of the committee saying that there were several eligible experts to head the committee. However, the government has stuck to its choice.