Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi criticizes NEP 2020 for centralisation, commercialisation, and communalisation

The BJP-led federal government has come under fire from former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who claims that the government is prioritizing political goals over the welfare of education and enforcing the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 without adequate consultation.

Gandhi accused the government of using the NEP 2020 to further its agenda of centralization, commercialization, and communalization.

"The introduction of the high-profile National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has obscured the reality of a government that is profoundly indifferent to the education of India’s children and youth. Over the last decade, its track record has shown that, in education, its primary concerns are three core agenda items: centralization of power, commercialization through private sector outsourcing, and communalization of textbooks, curriculum, and institutions," she wrote.

Gandhi's comments coincide with a widening divide between the central government and the Tamil Nadu government over alleged attempts to impose Hindi through the NEP.

While the former Congress president made no direct reference to Tamil Nadu or the state's alleged Hindi imposition in her opinion article, Chief Minister MK Stalin's Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party has vehemently rejected the initiative, insisting that Tamil Nadu will never tolerate the imposition of Hindi.

The Congress, an ally of the DMK, has adopted a more cautious stance, saying that “Hindi can be learned by choice, but not by imposition.”

Gandhi further argued that by excluding state governments from important policy decisions, the central government was weakening the federal framework of education.

"Unchecked centralization has been a defining characteristic of this government’s functioning for the last 11 years, but its most damaging impact has been in the field of education. The Central Advisory Board of Education, which includes Union and state education ministers, has not been convened since September 2019," she highlighted.

The chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party criticized the government for enacting the NEP 2020 without first consulting state governments.

"Despite introducing a policy that fundamentally reshapes education, the Union Government has not sought input from state governments even once on its implementation," she added.

Gandhi emphasized the need for greater collaboration between the federal government and the states, pointing out that education is covered under the Constitution's Concurrent List.

She charged that the government was "imposing policies without considering diverse regional perspectives and disregarding democratic consultation.”