New Education Policy 2020

2021-01-1

With the approval of the New Education Policy 2020 in July, India is all set to witness a much needed reformation in education, one that focuses on the essentials of learning in the present, while preparing students for a future they get to shape. The current system that has often been criticised to be rigid and redundant, focusing more on content and results, will now pave way for NEP that aims to encourage cognition and creativity. With its multidisciplinary approach, students will have the opportunities to innovate and adapt, allowing them to swiftly move between different interests and fields, enabling constant up-gradation of skills. The policy doesn’t just change education for students, but the board and facilitators too, thus restructuring the entire system to be more learner centred, based on the pillars of access, equity, quality, affordability, and accountability.

The last time the education policy was reformed before this, was in 1986. Despite the humungous changes across  the world, with respect to learning, skills, technology and careers, India has been following the same  education system for 34 years, while education polices across the world continued to change dynamically, thus leaving out students here with less leverage, as compared to their counterparts globally. With the new policies in place, this aperture is reduced, ensuring the knowledge and opportunities students receive here, are on par with global standards.

Here’s a comprehensive look at the NEP and education policies of a few other countries, to help understand the relevance, effectiveness and impact NEP will have not just on the education sector today, but on the country’s economic and social progress in the future.

Highlights of NEP

·       10+2 Structure to be modified to 5+3+3+4. Ages 3 to 8 will fall under foundational stage, 8 to 11 under preparatory stage, 11 to 14 under middle stage, and 14 to 18 under secondary stage.

Times of India

·       Promotion of multilingualism and native languages. Medium of instruction wherever possible, to be home language, until class V. Indian Arts of all kinds to be offered to students at all levels.

·       Students to take school examinations in Grade 3, 5, 8 to track progress of education throughout schooling, which will be overseen by an appropriate authority.

·       Board exams in classes 10^th and 12^thto be redesigned to be easier, testing primary competencies, along with the option of taking improvement board exams.

·       Undergraduate degree with 3 or 4 year duration, with multiple exit options and appropriate certifications.

·       No hard separation amongst curricular, extracurricular, co-curricular, amongst arts, humanities and sciences, or amongst vocational and academic streams.

·       All higher education institutions to become multidisciplinary by 2040.

·       Students to be given increased flexibility in the choice of subjects they wish to study, in the secondary stage.

·       Large number of merit based scholarships for studying quality four year B-Ed program.

·       Teacher Eligibility Tests to be strengthened, to include better test materials, to reflect a score that will be taken into consideration during recruitment.

·       Teachers to be offered local, regional, state, national, and international workshops, to help develop their skills and knowledge. A minimum of 50 hours of participation in such CPD is required in a year.

By 2030, teacher education to be moved to multidisciplinary universities.

·        National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC) to function as one single regulator for higher education sector, including teacher education, but excluding medical and legal education.

·       System of graded autonomy based on accreditation for colleges.

·       High performing Indian universities may set up campuses in other countries.

·       Selected universities among the top 100 in the world, may operate in India.

·       Regulatory System of Higher Education to be distinct for regulation, accreditation, funding and academic standard setting, under Higher Education Commission of India or HECI.