In a landmark move, the Modi government has ushered in a new era of educational reform with the introduction of the National Education Policy (NEP).
A visionary document, NEP 2020 is a step towards making education in India representative of the Indian ethos and suitable for India’s upcoming needs. Long overdue, the Policy has brought in essential reforms that make education not only holistic, flexible and inclusive but also multidisciplinary and technology oriented. The NEP stands as a testament to Modi government's commitment to empowering the youth and steering the nation towards a knowledge-driven future.
India has long been revered as the cradle of ancient wisdom and knowledge. The Indian traditions have always considered pursuit of knowledge (jnan), wisdom (pragya), and truth (Satya) as the highest human goal, and the Indian education system was designed to further that goal. Yet the modern mood-board of Indian education has been largely influenced by the British system designed to produce clerks and bureaucrats. The effects of such policy are clearly visible even today as we see excessive focus being given to securing marks, rot learning, memorisation than understanding, and so on. We often see parents pushing their children to study hard in order to find a suitable job. So, education is mostly seen as a necessary tool for a financially secure future, and rightly so. Yet it is hardly looked as a means to build character or inculcate value or virtue. NEP 2020 is set to transform that.
Let’s look at the remarkable changes that the NEP 2020 has introduced and set in motion.
Reconfiguration of School Education:
The curricular and pedagogical structure of school education has been reinvented to effectively respond to the developmental needs of students between the age of 3 and 18 years. The framework for school education is now 5+3+3+4 consisting of foundational, preparatory, middle, and secondary stages among others. The foundational stage includes a strong base of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) from age 3. Strong investment in the ECCE can transform the way young children participate and flourish in the educational system. Involving a mix of rich local traditions and international best practices, NEP 2020 ensures that high-quality ECCE is delivered universally through strengthened Anganwadis, especially in areas that are socio-economically disadvantaged, including tribal areas.
The policy also establishes National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy to deal with the inability of an estimated 5 crore students to read, write or perform basic operations with numbers. Highest priority has been accorded to the goal of achieving universal foundational literacy and numeracy in primary school by 2025.
To further this goal, a collection of good-quality learning resources for reading and basic math will be available on Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA). Also, fun and inspiring books will be developed, translated into all local languages, and made available in school and public libraries.A National Book Promotion Policy will also be put in place to ensure accessibility and readership of books across geographies, genres, and languages.
Another aim of the peerless NEP is to curtail existing drop-out rates, especially post Grade 5 and Grade 8, and provide universal access to education at all levels. This would be done by providing sufficient infrastructure for safe and engaging school education, regular availability of trained teachers, and careful tracking of students at all learning levels. Also, alternative education centers will be established in collaboration with civil society to ensure that children dropping out due to various circumstances, including children of migrant labourers, come back into mainstream education.
As vocational education gets a boost with National Skills Qualifications Framework recognising prior learning experience, the NEP envisages integration of vocational education into school and higher education structure in a phased manner over the upcoming 10 years.
Changes in Higher Education:
NEP 2020 brings in a single regulator for higher educational institutions (except medical and legal education), transforming the regulatory structure to help teachers with empowerment and autonomy to innovate.
While institutions can now offer varying formats of Master’s programmes, the undergraduate degree will be of either 3 or 4-year duration with multiple entry and exit options. Students can get certificates after completing one year in a course including professional and vocational fields, a Bachelor’s degree post a 3-year course, and a diploma after two years of study.
While there will be common entrance exams for universities, the government will end affiliation of colleges in upcoming 15 years, devising a state-wise methodology to grant autonomy to colleges.
Without strict separation between different disciplines and streams, the NEP moves towards the goal of multidisciplinary education via its unique approach to the curricula of higher educational institutions. It will now include credit-based courses and projects in areas like environmental education, community service, and value-based education.
Focus is also given to research and innovation with the provision of National Research Foundation (NRF) and start-up incubation centers in higher educational institutions. NRF will help develop a culture of research by funding merit-based and peer-reviewed research. These efforts will work towards inducing greater industry-academic linkages and interdisciplinary research.
Transforming Assessment:
The assessment methodology in our schooling system is largely based on testing rote memorisation skills. NEP 2020 transforms it to be more competency-based, testing high-order skills like critical thinking and conceptual clarity through PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development). It is a National Assessment Centre seeking to set norms, guidelines for student evaluation for all school boards, ensuring achievement of learning outcomes and skill development.
The National Testing Agency aims to achieve similar goals at the university level. To test conceptual understanding, it shall offer quality common aptitude test and specialised common subject exams, at least twice a year, in various disciplines—humanities, sciences, arts, languages, and vocational subjects.
Holistic Education:
The curriculum and pedagogy reforms are aimed at placing holistic development at the core of the education system in India. The plan for changing how we teach is all about making sure students really understand things and know how to keep learning.
The policy recognises the importance of nurturing academic excellence but goes a step ahead in reorienting the educational paradigm to build character, develop critical thinking and creativity, and nurturing well-rounded personalities. By introducing a flexible and multidisciplinary approach, the NEP encourages students to explore diverse fields and be equipped with 21st century skills, ensuring a more comprehensive understanding of the world.
In secondary and higher education, for example, a wide choice of subjects and courses will be given to students so that there is no hard separation among subjects like arts and sciences or curricular and extra-curricular activities or vocational and academic streams. This is decorated with the idea of experiential learning in all stages, which would be integrated with art, sports, story-telling, and so on.
The policy also ensures that the fruits of this reform reach the last mile, including all socio-cultural and gender identities—SCs, STS, OBCs, minorities, rural and tribal areas, divyangs, children in vulnerable situations, and women among others.
NEP also establishes a Gender Inclusion Fund to provide equal opportunities to all girls and transgender students for quality education and development.
Focus on Teachers:
Teachers serve as a key link in holistic development of children. Their empowerment and motivation strengthen that linkage.
National Professional Standards have been developed under the NEP 2020 that entail the role of teachers at all levels and the competencies required accordingly. Besides these common standards, Teacher Eligibility Tests (TETs) have been strengthened to provide better test resources covering both content and pedagogy. Further, TET or NTA test scores will be considered for recruiting subject teachers while their passion and motivation will be gauged through an interview or class demonstrations.
School complexes would be enhanced with adequate and secure infrastructure, including functional toilets, clean water, electricity, internet, libraries, and recreational space—so that an inclusive learning environment is created that inspires teachers and children alike. To augment the learning environment, the teachers’ in-service training will include factors like safety, health and workplace environment, sensitising them appropriately.
In addition, NEP institutes merit-based scholarships across the country for 4-year integrated B.Ed. programs—ensuring that outstanding students enter the profession, especially from rural areas. The practice of excessive transfers will also be eliminated along with ensuring that teachers are not involved in any work pertaining to non-teaching activities.
Teachers today have more autonomy in adopting of methods of pedagogy, and constant opportunities to improve themselves with access to latest innovations in their field of work via workshops and online development platforms.
Also, schools now can hire local experts as ‘master instructors’ to teach subjects like traditional arts, vocational crafts, agriculture to not only benefit students but also help preserve local professions and knowledge.
Boost to Indian Languages, Arts & Culture:
NEP 2020 makes the mother tongue as the medium of instruction until Grade 5. The policy ensures that quality textbooks, including in science, are made available in local languages. Any gaps between the language spoken by the child and the medium in which they are taught will be bridged as the government aims to invest in augmenting number of language teachers in all regional languages across India.
The three-language formula will continue, however there is inbuilt flexibility and no language is imposed on any state.
NEP makes provisions for evolving quality bilingual textbooks and teaching-learning resources for science and mathematics, so that the students can efficiently learn concepts and be confident both in their own language, and in English.
Schools will also offer options to students to learn classical languages—Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Pali, Persian, and Prakrit. In addition, foreign language learning is also promoted by the NEP. Now students will get to learn Korean, Thai, Japanese, French, Spanish, Russian, among others at the secondary level—developing their understanding of the global cultures and knowledge systems.
Mainstreaming Technology:
As Digital India transforms the nation into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy, technology has its significant role in overhauling educational processes and outcomes.
The government is intent on investing in state-of-the-art digital infrastructure in the field of education along with making use of new-age technology such as artificial intelligence, block chains, and machine learning.
Existing e-learning platforms like SWAYAM and DIKSHA will be integrated across school and higher education levels, equipping teachers with user-friendly tools to assess progress of learners. Educational software is being evolved in all major Indian languages, and being extended to the last mile, including divyangs and students in remote areas.
The government has also set up the National Educational Technology Forum to ensure a free exchange of ideas and visions on how to use technology in a better way to enhance planning, assessment, learning, and the overall administration of educational processes in India. In addition, teachers are supported to include e-contents into their teaching methodology, paving way for interactive and fun learning experience for students.
The new National Education Policy by the Modi government stands as a beacon of change, heralding a new era for education in India. By prioritising holistic education, flexibility, skill development, technological integration, language diversity, and global collaboration, the NEP indeed lays the foundation for a brighter and more prosperous future.
The policy not only inculcates a sense of identity and belongingness among children but does so keeping in mind the challenges that they face today, and shall face tomorrow. It is set to empower the destiny of learners in India, and with that, the nation at large.
