Education in India is poised at an interesting inflection point. The quality of human capital is the cornerstone of education in any country and drives the spirit of innovation. A well-educated generation with a high literacy rate is equipped to undertake social, economic, and political roles responsibly, with an overarching awareness of burning, global issues. That is precisely the vision ingrained in the National Education Policy, NEP 2020, which promises to make education comprehensive, rewarding, and holistic.
As the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, it is important to clearly understand the potential evolution in Indian education. NEP 2020, with its provisions of revamping the curriculum structure, assessment criteria, and regulations, promises a brand-new approach to teaching and learning. Research suggests that 85% of the cumulative brain development in a child happens by the age of six. The new 5+3+3+4 formula provides a strong underpinning with the first five years dedicated to foundational learning, followed by a regularly assessed academic growth through the preparatory, middle, and secondary stages.NEP 2020, which came into effect— thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s relentless efforts to modernise education— will inspire a shift from rote learning to in-depth understanding. The curriculum content will be reduced to core essentials and create more space for critical thinking, discussions, and analysis. Teaching and learning will be more interactive, exploratory, collaborative, and experiential. Students will enjoy far greater flexibility in the choice of subjects, with no hard separation between the streams of arts, humanities, commerce, and sciences.
NEP 2020 proposes standardized State school exams for grades 3, 5, and 8 and Board exams for 10 and 12. Exams to test literacy, numeracy, and foundational skills will be very important. Digital revolution and pedagogical innovations are perpetually creating new platforms of learning and techniques for teaching. NEP 2020 will further open the field for creativity. The educational institutions will have to overhaul their infrastructure to accommodate new facilities for the implementation of the curriculum as envisioned in NEP.
NEP 2020 mandates all teachers and principals to take at least 50 hours of continuous professional development workshops, each year. This will refine teaching skills and techniques.NEP also envisions an autonomous body named National Educational Technology Forum to provide a platform for exchanging ideas and using technology to enrich the teaching-learning experience. E-learning platforms such as DIKSHA, SWAYAM, and SWAYAMPRABHA will offer teaching and learning e-content. Blended learning is going to be the complementary mode of education.
Teachers will have to equip themselves with the digital know-how to create synchronous and asynchronous lessons. The Union Budget 2021-22 has already set the ball rolling with the announcement to qualitatively strengthen 15,000 schools across India, to implement NEP. 100 new Sainik schools,750 new residential Ekal Vidyalayas for tribals, along with Rs 35219 crore sanctioned as post-matric scholarship for SC/ST students, which will benefit four crore students, are set to be game-changers. Allocation of Rs 50,000 crore for strengthening the educational research ecosystem, multiple entry and exit points to make the education process more practical, and decision by the Modi government to raise the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) to 50% by 2035 will be the harbingers of dynamic academia, for our future generations.
Effectively speaking, the new education policy brings the much-awaited reforms and regulatory framework which cater to the needs of a “New India” and unleash the youth’s energy for a self-reliant and better India. Formulated after wide consultations, NEP 2020 ensures early child care and education, equity to all learners, and a robust teacher recruitment process, apart from fostering quality research. A single regulator for higher education institutions, multiple entry and exit options in degree courses, discontinuation of M.Phil programs, low stakes board exams, and common entrance exams for universities, are among the highlights of NEP 2020.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was closely involved and had thoroughly reviewed the NEP- 2020, for which the draft was prepared by a panel of experts,led by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chief,K Kasturirangan.
Every child will have the opportunity to learn at least one vocation and be exposed to several more. Sampling of important vocational crafts, such as carpentry, electric work, metalwork, gardening, pottery making, etc., as decided by States and local communities during Grades 6-8, will boost skill development initiatives. By 2025, at least 50% of learners through the school and higher education system shall have exposure to vocational education, as per the new policy and that is no mean feat. A 10-day bag-less period sometime during Grades 6-8 to intern with local vocational experts, is a welcome move.
Similar internship opportunities to learn vocational subjects, throughout Grades 6-12, including holiday periods, will further hone the skill sets of students. Vocational courses through online mode will also be made available.
National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) will develop high-quality modules to teach Indian Sign Language and to teach other basic subjects using Indian Sign Language. Pre-school sections covering at least one year of early childhood care and education will be added to Kendriya Vidyalayas and other primary schools around the nation, particularly in disadvantaged areas. Under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence, State Governments may encourage opening NCC wings in their secondary and higher secondary schools, including those located in tribal-dominated areas. Free boarding facilities will be built, matching the standard of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, particularly for students who are from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
A dedicated unit to orchestrate the building of digital infrastructure, digital content, and capacity building will be created in the MHRD to look after the e-education needs of both schools and higher education. A comprehensive set of recommendations for promoting online education, consequent to the recent rise in epidemics and pandemics globally, to ensure preparedness with alternative modes of quality education whenever and wherever traditional and in-person modes of education are not possible, has been covered. Efforts will be made to incentivize the merit of students belonging to SC, ST, OBC, and other SEDGs. The National Scholarship Portal will be expanded to support, foster, and track the progress of students receiving scholarships. Private HEIs will be encouraged to offer larger numbers of free-ships and scholarships to their students.
National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE) 2021, will be formulated by the National Council for Teacher Education ( NCTE), in consultation with the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). By 2030, the minimum degree qualification for teaching will be a 4-year integrated B.Ed. degree. Stringent action will be taken against substandard, stand-alone Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs). Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) will be set up as a single overarching umbrella body for entire higher education, excluding medical and legal education. HECI will have four independent verticals— National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC) for regulation, General Education Council(GEC ) for standard-setting, Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC) for funding and, National Accreditation Council( NAC) for accreditation.
Children with disabilities will be enabled to fully participate in the regular schooling process from the foundational stage to higher education, with the support of educators with cross-disability training, resource centres, accommodations, assistive devices, appropriate technology-based tools, and other support mechanisms, tailored to suit their needs. 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. Free school infrastructure can be used as Samajik Chetna Kendras.
Students will be given increased flexibility and choice of subjects to study, particularly in secondary school— including subjects in physical education, arts and crafts, and vocational skills. There will be no hard separation among ‘curricular’, ‘extracurricular’, or ‘co-curricular’, among ‘arts’, ‘humanities’, and ‘sciences’, or between ‘vocational’ or ‘academic’ streams.
Subjects such as physical education, arts and crafts, and vocational skills, in addition to science, humanities, and mathematics, will be incorporated throughout the school curriculum. Each of the four stages of school education may consider moving towards a semester or any other system that allows the inclusion of shorter modules. Experiential learning will include hands-on learning, arts-integrated and sports-integrated education, story-telling-based pedagogy, among others, as standard pedagogy. Classroom transactions will shift, towards competency-based learning and education.
The mandated content will focus on key concepts, ideas, applications, and problem-solving. Teaching and learning will be conducted more interactively.
Curriculum content will be reduced in each subject to its core essentials and will make space for critical thinking and more holistic, inquiry-based,discovery-based,discussion-based and analysis-based learning.
NIOS and State Open Schools will also offer A, B, and C levels that are equivalent to Grades 3, 5, and 8 of the formal school system; secondary education programs that are equivalent to Grades 10 and 12; vocational education courses/programs; and adult literacy and life-enrichment programs.
The nutrition and health (including mental health) of children will be addressed, through healthy meals, and regular health check-ups and health cards will be issued to monitor the same. A National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy will be set up by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) on priority.
The planning and implementation of early childhood care and education curriculum (ECCEC) will be carried out jointly by the Ministries of HRD, Women and Child Development (WCD), Health and Family Welfare (HFW), and Tribal Affairs. Before the age of 5, every child will move to a “Preparatory Class” or “Balavatika” (that is, before Class 1), which has an ECCE-qualified teacher. Quality technology-based options for adult learning such as apps, online courses/modules, satellite-based TV channels, online books, and ICT-equipped libraries, and Adult Education Centres, etc. will be developed.
Boards may over time also develop further viable models of Board Exams, such as annual/semester/modular Board Exams; offering all subjects beginning with mathematics, at two levels; two parts exams or objective type and descriptive type.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) will offer a high-quality common aptitude test, as well as specialized common subject exams in the sciences, humanities, languages, arts, and vocational subjects, at least twice every year for university entrance exams. Students will get a 360-degree holistic report card, which will not only inform them about the marks obtained by them in subjects, but also their skills and other important points.
To reduce the importance and stress of the Board exam, the exam will be conducted in two parts: Objective and descriptive. The exam can be conducted twice a year. Board exams would promote knowledge application rather than rote learning. Students of class 6 and onwards will be taught coding in schools as a part of 21st-century skills. A National Curricular and Pedagogical Framework for Early Childhood Care and Education (NCPFECCE) for children up to the age of 8 will be developed by NCERT.
There are over 45000 affiliated colleges in our country. Under Graded Autonomy, Academic, Administrative & Financial Autonomy will be given to colleges, based on the status of their accreditation.
There will be e-content in regional languages apart from English and Hindi. E-courses will be in eight major languages, not just English and Hindi. The extant 10+2 structure in school education will be modified with a new pedagogical and curricular restructuring of 5+3+3+4 covering ages 3-18. Currently, children in the age group of 3-6 are not covered in the 10+2 structure as Class 1 begins at age 6. In the new 5+3+3+4 structure, a strong base of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) from age 3 is also included. After over 34 years, a new education policy was released. The last education policy was released in the year 1986.
New Education Policy proposes the setting up of an Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation (IITI), while also laying significant emphasis on Sanskrit and other Indian languages. A National Research Foundation (NRF) will be established. The overarching goal of the NRF will be to enable a culture of research to permeate through universities. The NRF will be governed, independently of the government, by a rotating Board of Governors consisting of the very best researchers and innovators across fields.
‘Lok Vidya’, i.e., important vocational knowledge developed in India, will be made accessible to students. The education ministry would constitute a National Committee for the Integration of Vocational Education (NCIVE). High-performing Indian universities will be encouraged to set up campuses in other countries. Selected universities like those from among the top 100 universities in the world, will be facilitated to operate in India.
New Education Policy 2020 aims at promoting India as a global study destination providing premium education at affordable costs. An International Students Office at each institution hosting foreign students will be set up. An Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) shall be established which would digitally store the academic credits earned. The undergraduate degree courses will be of either 3 or 4-year duration, with multiple exit options. A certificate course after completing 1 year in a discipline or field, including vocational and professional areas, or a diploma after 2 years of study, or a Bachelor’s degree after a 3-year programme could be undertaken. The 4-year multidisciplinary Bachelor’s programme, however, shall be the preferred option.
Even engineering institutions, such as IITs, will move towards more holistic and multidisciplinary education with more arts and humanities. Students of arts and humanities will aim to learn more science.
A university will mean a multidisciplinary institution that offers undergraduate and graduate programmes, with high-quality teaching, research, and community engagement. NEP aims at setting up at least one large multidisciplinary institution in or near every district by the year 2030. By 2040, all higher education institutions (HEIs) shall aim to become multidisciplinary institutions, each of which will aim to have 3,000 or more students. New Education Policy will bring a slew of major changes including allowing top foreign universities to set up campuses in India, a greater proportion of students getting vocational education, and a move towards institutes including IITs turning multi-disciplinary. It would be apt to end with a quote by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who said, “Till date, we’ve been focusing on ‘What to Think?’ in our education policy. In the NEP, we’re focusing on ‘How to Think?’.”
The writer is an economist, national spokesperson of the BJP, and the author of the bestseller, ‘Truth&Dare: The Modi Dynamic’. The views expressed are personal.