NEP 2020 – EDUCATION
News: Earlier
education reforms only tinkered with British system; NEP is for new Bharat:
Governor
What's in the news?
● The
reforms and two national education policies framed in the 1960s and 1980s
merely tinkered with the system left by the British empire, while the National
Education Policy 2020 was for building a new Bharat, Governor R.N. Ravi said.
NEP:
● An
NEP is a comprehensive framework to guide the development of education in the
country.
● The
Third NEP proposes sweeping changes including opening up of Indian higher
education to foreign universities, dismantling of the UGC and the All India
Council for Technical Education (AICTE), introduction of a four-year
multidisciplinary undergraduate programme with multiple exit options, and
discontinuation of the M Phil programme.
Key features of NEP 2020:
1. School education:
● Universalization of
education by 2030 through 100% GER (Gross
Enrollment Ratio) from pre-primary to secondary.
● Open schooling system
(no admission requirements like NIOS) for out-of-school children.
● The
policy focuses on overhauling the curriculum.
● Making
“easier” Board exams.
● Reduction
in the syllabus to retain “core
essentials".
● Thrust
on “experiential learning and critical
thinking”.
● “5+3+3+4” design corresponds
to the age groups 3-8 years (foundational stage), 8-11 (preparatory), 11-14
(middle), and 14-18 (secondary).
● Bringing early childhood
education (also known as pre-school education for
children of ages 3 to 5) under the ambit of formal schooling.
● The
mid-day meal programme will be
extended to pre-school children.
● The
NEP says students until Class 5 should be taught in their mother tongue or regional language.
● NCERT
will develop a National Curricular and Pedagogical Framework for Early
Childhood Care and Education (NCPFECCE) for children up to the age of 8.
● NEP
2020 calls for the setting up of a National
Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy by the Ministry of Education.
2. Higher education:
● Proposes
phasing out of all institutions offering single streams and that all
universities and colleges must aim to become multidisciplinary by 2040.
● Doubling the Gross
Enrolment Ratio in higher education by 2035 (50% by 2035).
● Broad-based,
multi-disciplinary, holistic UG (Undergraduate) education with provisions of a
flexible curriculum, integration of vocational education, multiple entries and
exit points with respective degrees, and also undergraduate programs in
regional languages.
● Academic bank of credits
to enable transfers of credits between institutions
● HECI
(Higher education commission of India) as an umbrella regulator except for
legal and medical education.
● Promotion
of multilingualism in schools and colleges.
● Regulatory
body NEAT (National Educational Alliance
for Technology) has been set up to integrate technology for better learning
outcomes.
Opportunities offered by NEP:
1. Develops skilling:
● Introduction
of vocational courses with an internship nudges the vulnerable sections of
society to send their children to school.
2. Universalization of education:
● NEP
proposes the extension of the Right to Education (RTE) to all children up to
the age of 18.
● Policy
aims to achieve 100% youth and adult literacy.
3. Inclusive education:
● Setting
up of Gender Inclusion Fund and also
Special Education Zones for
disadvantaged regions and groups.
● Children
with disabilities will be enabled to fully participate in the regular schooling
process from the foundational stage to higher education.
● Efforts
will be made to incentivize the merit of students belonging to SC, ST, OBC, and
other SEDGs.
● Every
state/district will be encouraged to establish “Bal Bhavans” as a special
daytime boarding school, to participate in art-related, career-related, and play-related
activities.
4. Transparency:
● In
spite of periodic inspection, transparency, maintaining quality standards and a
favorable public perception will become a 24X7 pursuit for the institutions,
leading to all-round improvement in their standard.
● PARAKH
(Performance Assessment, Review, and
Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development), a national assessment center
has been proposed to be set up to keep a regular check on the education system.
● Establishes
a super-regulator for education which will be responsible for
standards-setting, funding, accreditation and regulation of higher education
India.
5. Foreign Universities:
● Allows
universities from among the top 100 in the world to be able to set up campuses
in India.
● This
will lead to an infusion of international perspective and innovation, which
will make the Indian education system more efficient and competitive.
6. Mother tongue:
● Making
mother tongue, local language or the regional language as the medium of
instruction at least till Grade 5, considered as the best medium of teaching.
Challenges faced by NEP:
1. Learning gap:
● Currently,
India is grappling with huge learning gaps. This is because the needs of
children are more personalized and cannot be addressed only through online
mode.
● With
the extension of school closures and fear of infections, children are losing
touch with understanding, comprehension, reading, and speaking skills.
2. Digital divide:
● The
digital divide is also causing the education divide in India. Today, in India,
over 90 percent of students do not have devices that allow them to access
online learning holistically.
3. Lack of autonomy:
● When
the government is calling for greater autonomy, several universities continue
to function without full-time heads and vice-chancellors. For instance, 10
central universities, including Delhi University and JNU, remain without
full-time heads.
4. Issues in funding:
● The
NEP asks for the highest priority to literacy and numeracy, but the government
has slashed the school education budget by almost Rs 5,000 crore; higher
education has suffered a Rs 1,000 crore cut.
5. Mismatch of skills:
● NEP
failed to voice out for the persistent mismatch between the knowledge &
skills imparted and the jobs available.
6. Silent on future education:
● NEP
also remains silent on education related to emerging technological fields like
artificial intelligence, cyberspace, nanotech, etc.
WAY FORWARD:
● For
the NEP to move forward, India needs a robust institutional mechanism and
large-scale capacity building to create enthusiasm among stakeholders. Every stakeholder at the state, district,
sub-district, block-level has to have ownership and understand the concepts of
NEP.
● Directorates
of education have to be strengthened in order to ensure that the policy
permeates to the district and zonal level educational clusters.
● To
help children to realize their full potential, India requires effective
strategies to physically equip teachers and students with better tools in the
classroom, increase access to laptops and other gadgets, install interactive
whiteboards and provide fast and reliable internet access.
● The
state and national boards across the nation will have to start with pilot
programs. The creation of master
trainers should be done, and they have to train principals and teachers in
urban and rural areas.
● Providing
the necessary financial resources
such as
○ A
special purpose vehicle (SPV) needs to be created to ensure NEP funds are
available and that the implementation process is not delayed.
● India
also needs to promote private
philanthropy for funding both public and private higher education
institutions.
● New
and additional forms of tax incentives and other forms of incentives need to be
evolved.
● To
emphasize vocational training, but
to make it effective, there has to be close coordination between the education,
skills and labour ministry.