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PM Modi addresses “School Education in 21st Century” under NEP 2020 Conclave

Published By : Admin | September 11, 2020 | 11:00 IST
National Education Policy will give a new direction to 21st century India: PM Modi
Energetic youth are the engines of development of a country; Their development should begin from their childhood. NEP-2020 lays a lot of emphasis on this: PM
It is necessary to develop a greater learning spirit, scientific and logical thinking, mathematical thinking and scientific temperament among youngsters: PM

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the Conclave on “School Education in 21st Century” under the NEP 2020 today through video conference.

Speaking on the occasion Prime Minister said that National Education Policy is going to give a new direction to 21st century India and we are becoming part of a moment that is laying the foundation for building the future of our country. He said that hardly any aspect of our life remained the same in these three decades yet our education system is still running under the old system.

The new National Education Policy is a means to fulfilling new aspirations, new opportunities of a new India, he said.

The Prime Minister said that the NEP 2020 is a result of hardwork of people from every region, every sector and every language in the last 3 to 4 years. He said the actual work begins now, in implementation of the policy.

He urged the teachers to work together for an effective implementation of the National Education Policy.

He urged the teachers to work together for an effective implementation of the National Education Policy.

The Prime Minister said it is legitimate that many questions arise after the announcement of the Policy and that it is necessary to discuss such issues in this conclave to move forward.

The Prime Minister expressed happiness that principals and teachers are enthusiastically participating in this discussion to implement the National Education Policy. He said that over 1.5 million suggestions have been received within a week from teachers across the country on implementing the National Education Policy.

The Prime Minister said that energetic youth are the engines of development of a country but that their development should begin from their childhood. He said that the education of children, the right environment they get, to a large extent determines what the person would become in his future and what his personality would be. He said the NEP-2020 lays a lot of emphasis on this.

The Prime Minister said that it is in preschool where children begin to understand their senses, their skills better. For this, there is a need for schools and teachers to provide an environment of fun learning, playful learning, activity based learning and discovery based learning to children. He said that as the child progresses, it is very necessary to develop a greater learning spirit, scientific and logical thinking, mathematical thinking and scientific temperament.

In the National Education Policy, The Prime Minister stressed the importance of replacing the old 10 Plus 2 with the system of 5 Plus 3 Plus 3 Plus 4. He said now playful education of the pre-school which is limited to private schools in cities will also reach villages once this policy is implemented.

He emphasized that focus on basic education is the most important aspect of this policy. Under the National Education Policy, the development of foundational literacy and numeracy will be taken as a national mission. The child should go ahead and read to learn, for that it is necessary that in the beginning he should learn to read. This development journey from learn to read to read to learn will be completed through foundational literacy and numeracy.

The Prime Minister said that it must be ensured that every child who crosses the third grade can easily read 30 to 35 words in a minute. He added that this will help him in understanding the content of other subjects with ease. He further said that all this will happen only when the studies are connected to the real world, to our lives and to the surrounding environment.

He added that when education is linked to the surrounding environment, it has an impact on the whole life of the student and also on the whole society. He also mentioned about the initiative when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Students from all schools were given the task to identify the oldest tree in the village, and then, write an essay based on that tree and their village. He said that this experiment was very successful, on one hand the children got information about the environment, as well as they got a chance to get a lot of information about their village.

The Prime Minister stressed on the need to increase such easy and innovative methods. These experiments should be the core of our new age learning - Engage, Explore, Experience, Express and Excel.

Shri Narendra Modi said the students engage in activities, events, projects according to their interest. Then children learn to express in a constructive way. He said that children should be taken on study tours to historical places, places of interests, to farms, industries etc, as it would give them practical knowledge. The Prime Minister said this is now not happening in all the schools. He said because of this, many students are not getting practical knowledge. He said that by exposing the students to practical knowledge their curiosity would increase and also their knowledge. If students see the skilled professionals then there will be a kind of emotional connection, they will understand the skills and respect them. It is possible that many of these children grow up to join such industries or even if they choose another profession it will remain in their mind of what can be innovated to improve such profession.

The Prime Minister said that the National Education Policy has been formulated in such a way that syllabus can be reduced and focused on fundamental things. A National Curriculum Framework will be developed to make learning integrated and interdisciplinary, fun based and complete experience. Suggestions will be taken for this and recommendations and modern education systems of all will be included in it. The world of the future is going to be quite different from our world today.

He stressed on the importance of advancing our students with 21st century skills. He listed out the 21st century skills - Critical Thinking, Creativity, Collaboration, Curiosity and Communication. He said that students should learn coding from the beginning, understand Artificial Intelligence, join Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Data Science and Robotics. He said that our earlier education policy was restrictive. But in the real world, all subjects are related to each other. But the present system does not provide an opportunity to change the field, to connect with new possibilities. This has also been a major reason for the dropout of many children. Therefore, the National Education Policy students are given freedom to choose any subject.

The Prime Minister said that National education policy also addresses another big issue - marksheet driven education dominating in place of learning driven education in our country. He said that the marksheet has now become like a mental pressure sheet. Removing this stress from education is one of the main objectives of the National Education Policy. The examination should be such that it does not put unnecessary pressure on the students. And the effort is that students should not be evaluated by just one examination, but based on various aspects of student development like self-assessment, peer-to-peer assessment. Prime Minister said instead of a marksheet the National Education Policy, has proposed for a holistic report card which will be a detailed sheet of unique potential, aptitude, attitude, talent, skills, efficiency, competency and possibilities of the students. He added that a new National Assessment Center “Parakh” will also be established for the overall improvement of the evaluation system.

The Prime Minister said that one needs to understand that language is the medium of education, language is not all of education. Some people forget this difference. Therefore, whatever language a child can learn easily, the same language should be the language of learning. He said that keeping this in mind, it is proposed that early education should be in the mother tongue like in most other countries. Otherwise when children hear something in another language, they first translate it in their own language, then understand it. This creates great confusion in the child's mind, it is very stressful. Therefore, as far as possible, keeping the local language, mother tongue, medium of education up to grade five, grade five at least, is stated in the National Education Policy.

The Prime Minister said that in the National Education Policy, there are some restrictions on learning and teaching a language other than mother tongue. Though foreign languages ​​are helpful on the international stage along with English, it will be good if children can read and learn. He added that at the same time all Indian languages should also be promoted so that our youth can get acquainted with the language of different states and culture there.

The Prime Minister said that teachers are the pioneers of this journey of National Education Policy. Therefore, all the teachers also have to learn a lot of new things and unlearn old things too. When 75 years of independence are completed in 2022, Prime Minister said that it is our collective responsibility to ensure that every student of India should read as per the National Education Policy. He called upon the cooperation of all the teachers, administrators, voluntary organizations and parents in this national mission.

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Today I have come to speak on a very important subject, especially to the mothers, sisters, and daughters of the country! Today every citizen of India is watching how the flight of women power has been stopped. Their dreams have been ruthlessly crushed. Despite our utmost efforts, we could not succeed, the amendment to the Nari Shakti Vandan Act could not be passed! And for this, I seek forgiveness from all the mothers and sisters.

Friends,

For us, national interest is paramount, but when for some people party interest becomes everything, when party interest becomes bigger than national interest, then women power and national interest have to bear the consequences. This time too, the same has happened. The selfish politics of parties like Congress, DMK, TMC, and Samajwadi Party has harmed the women power of the country.

Friends,

Yesterday, the eyes of crores of women in the country were on Parliament, the women power of the nation was watching. I too felt very sad to see that when this proposal in favor of women fell, parties like Congress, DMK, TMC, and SP, family-oriented parties, were clapping with joy. By snatching away the rights of women, they were thumping the tables. What they did was not just thumping on the tables, it was a blow to the self-respect and dignity of women. And women forget everything, but they never forget their insult. Therefore, the pain of the behavior of Congress and its allies in Parliament will always remain in the hearts of women. Whenever the women of the country see these leaders in their areas, they will remember that it was these very people who celebrated in Parliament when women’s reservation was stopped, they rejoiced. To those parties who opposed the Nari Shakti Vandan amendment in Parliament yesterday, I will say clearly: these people are taking women power for granted. They are forgetting that the women of the 21st century are watching every event in the country, they are sensing their intentions, and they have fully understood the truth. Therefore, for opposing women’s reservation, the sin committed by the opposition will surely bring punishment to them. These parties have also insulted the sentiments of the framers of the Constitution, and they will not escape the punishment from the people either.

Friends,

The Nari Shakti Vandan amendment was not about taking anything away from anyone. The Nari Shakti Vandan amendment was about giving something to everyone, it was an amendment to give. It was about giving women the right that has been pending for 40 years, from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections onwards.

The Nari Shakti Vandan amendment was a great effort to give new opportunities, new flight, and to remove obstacles from the path of the women of 21st century India. It was a sacred effort made with clear intent and honesty to give rights to 50% of the country’s population. It was an effort to make women co-travelers in India’s journey of development and to include everyone. The Nari Shakti Vandan amendment is the demand of the time. The Nari Shakti Vandan amendment was an effort to equally increase the strength of every state, North, South, East, West. It was an effort to give more strength to the voice of every state in Parliament. Whether the state is small or big, whether the population is less or more, it was an effort to increase everyone’s strength in equal proportion. But this honest effort has been subjected to foeticide in Parliament by Congress and its allies, foeticide. Congress, TMC, Samajwadi Party, DMK—these parties are guilty of this foeticide. They are criminals against the Constitution of the country, they are criminals against the women power of the country.

Friends,

Congress hates the subject of women’s reservation, it has always conspired to stop women’s reservation. Every time efforts were made in this direction, Congress obstructed them. This time too, Congress and its allies relied on one falsehood after another to stop women’s reservation. Sometimes about numbers, sometimes in other ways, Congress and its allies tried to mislead the country. By doing so, these parties have revealed their true face before the women power of India. They have removed their mask.

Friends,

Personally, I had hoped that Congress would correct its decades-old mistake. Congress would repent for its sins. But Congress lost the opportunity to create history, to stand in favor of women. Congress has already lost its existence in most parts of the country. Congress is surviving like a parasite, riding on the back of regional parties. But Congress does not even want regional parties to grow stronger, so Congress conspired politically to push the future of many regional parties into darkness by making them oppose this amendment.

Friends,

Congress, Samajwadi Party, DMK, TMC, and other parties have, for so many years, every time created the same excuses, the same false arguments, always inserting some technical snag, and they have looted the rights of women. The country has understood this ugly pattern of politics, and it has also understood the reason behind it.

Brothers and sisters,

One big reason for the opposition to the Nari Shakti Vandan Act is the fear of these family-oriented parties. They fear that if women become empowered, then the leadership of these family-oriented parties will be in danger. They will never want women outside their families to move forward. Today, in Panchayats and local bodies, thousands and millions of women have proven their capability. When they want to move forward into Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies, when they want to serve the country, these family-oriented parties feel insecure. After delimitation, there will be many more seats for women, women’s stature will increase, and that is why these people opposed the Nari Shakti Vandan amendment. The women power of the country will never forgive Congress and its allies for this sin.

My dear countrymen,

Congress and its allied parties are continuously, continuously lying about delimitation. They want to ignite the fire of division under this pretext. Because “divide and rule” politics is something Congress inherited from the British. And Congress is still running on that same path today. Congress has always fueled sentiments that create rifts in the country. Therefore, this lie was spread that delimitation would harm some states! Whereas the government has made it clear from the very first day that neither the proportion of participation of any state will change, nor will anyone’s representation be reduced. In fact, the seats of all states will increase in equal proportion. Yet Congress, DMK, TMC, and Samajwadi Party were not ready to accept this.

Friends,

This amendment bill was an opportunity for all parties and all states. If this bill had passed, Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, every state’s seats would have increased. But because of their selfish politics, these parties betrayed even the people of their own states. For example, DMK had the chance to make more Tamil people MPs and MLAs, to strengthen Tamil Nadu’s voice! But it lost that chance. TMC also had the chance to advance the people of Bengal. But TMC too lost that chance. Samajwadi Party had the chance to reduce the stain of its anti-women image. But SP missed it too. SP has already forgotten Lohia ji. By opposing the Nari Shakti Vandan amendment, SP trampled all of Lohia ji’s dreams underfoot. SP is anti-women reservation, and the women of UP and the country will never forget this.

Friends,

By opposing women’s reservation, Congress has once again proved one thing. Congress is an anti-reform party. For a developed India in the 21st century, whatever decisions, whatever reforms are necessary, whatever decisions the country takes, Congress opposes them, rejects them, obstructs them. This is the history of Congress and this is Congress’s negative politics.

Friends,

This is the same Congress that opposed the trinity of Jan Dhan–Aadhaar–Mobile. Congress opposed digital payments. Congress opposed GST. Congress opposed reservation for the poor in the general category. Congress opposed the law against triple talaq. Congress opposed the removal of Article 370. Our Constitution, our courts, have said that the Uniform Civil Code, UCC, is necessary, but Congress opposes that too. At the very mention of reform, Congress runs with placards of protest. Any work that strengthens the country, Congress puts all its strength into creating obstacles in it. Congress opposes One Nation One Election. Congress opposes driving out infiltrators from the country. Congress opposes purification of the voter list, SIR. Congress opposes reforms in the Waqf Board.

Friends,

Congress even opposed the CAA law that gave security to refugees. By lying and spreading rumors, it created a storm in the country. Congress obstructs the country’s efforts to end Maoist–Naxalite violence. Congress has had only one pattern: whenever a reform comes, lie, spread confusion. History is witness, Congress has always chosen this negative path.

Friends,

Whatever decision is necessary for the country, Congress sweeps it under the carpet. Because of this attitude of Congress, India has not reached the heights of development it deserves. At the time of independence, many other countries were freed along with us. Most of those countries went far ahead of us, and the reason was that Congress kept blocking every reform. Delay, diversion, obstruction—this was Congress’s principle, this was Congress’s work culture. Congress delayed border disputes with neighboring countries. Congress delayed water-sharing disputes with Pakistan. Congress delayed the decision on OBC reservation for 40 years. Congress delayed One Rank One Pension for soldiers for 40 years.

Friends,

This attitude of Congress has always caused great harm to the country. The nation has suffered from every opposition, every indecision, every deceit of Congress. Generations of the country have suffered. Today, all the major challenges before the country have arisen from this attitude of Congress. Therefore, this fight is not just about one law, this fight is against Congress’s anti-reform mentality, which is filled only with negativity. And I have no doubt that the women and daughters of the country will give a strong reply to this mentality of Congress.

Friends,

Some people are calling the breaking of the dreams of the women of the country a failure of the government. But this subject was never about success or failure, never about credit. I had said in Parliament too: let half the population get their rights, I will give the credit to the opposition by publishing advertisements with all their photos. But those who look at women with outdated thinking still stuck to their lies, remained firm!

Friends,

The fight to give women power participation has been going on for decades. For years, I too have been among those making efforts for it. So many women have raised this subject before me. So many sisters have written letters to me explaining everything. My country’s mothers, sisters, daughters—I know you are all sad today. I too share in your sorrow. Today, even though we did not get the required 66 percent votes to pass the bill, I know that 100 percent of the women power of the country has blessed us. I assure every woman of the country: we will remove every obstacle in the path of women’s reservation. Our courage is high, our determination unbreakable, and our resolve unwavering. The parties opposing women’s reservation will never be able to stop the women power of this country from increasing their participation in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies. It is only a matter of time. The BJP–NDA’s resolve for the empowerment of women power is intact. Yesterday we did not have the numbers, but that does not mean we lost. Our inner strength is invincible. Our effort will not stop, our effort will not pause. We will have more opportunities ahead. For the dreams of half the population, for the future of the country, we must fulfill this resolve. Thank you all very much.