Agenda Ahead for Classical Languages in the Context of National Education Policy – 2020

The term classical is also liberally used in the sense of excellence in quality along with antiquity, universality, idealism, clarity/reason, and humanitarian outlook. As Sheldon Pollock points out, “These books [classical texts] are not just for rasikas or lovers of poetry or the professional historian. If you look at the definition of ‘classical’ in the Western tradition, they use the phrase ‘perpetualcontemporaneity’. The classical is always what is already familiar to us. It’s as if you go to the classical because you want to rediscover yourself.” The present paper examines the challenges and opportunities in the field of classical Kannada literature in the light of National Education Policy 2020. The author concludes that according to new reports, as a part of the process to implement the new National Education Policy, the government has asked the National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) to come up with National Curriculum Frameworks (NCFs) for school, early-childhood, teacher and adult education. University Grants Commission (UGC) had sought suggestions to the revised draft National Curriculum Framework on the guidelines of “fostering social responsibility and community engagement in higher education institutions in India”.