Overview of the National Education Policy

Overview

On 29th July 2020, PM Narendra Modi’s government approved the National Education Policy (NEP 2020). The policy brings an extensive range of reforms aimed at transforming the Indian education ecosystem. It is looked upon as a focused decision that introduces several new initiatives, subjects, learning methods, teaching techniques, etc. NEP 2020 is more closely aligned with the existing and futuristic skills needs of the country and aims at helping to strengthen the skills of the Indian youth in subject matters slated to be the world’s future.

The NEP 2020 is a 66-page long document which you can read on the link https://www.mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/NEP_Final_English_0.pdf. This blog highlights the key takeaways of NEP 2020 to get a quick insight into what kind of changes and reforms will NEP 2020 bring to the Indian education system.

What is the Vision of the National Education Policy?

The NEP 2020 is a comprehensive initiative taken by PM Modi’s government. It is a visionary and sustainable decision that envisages a better, more learned, responsible, and more equality-based society that provides equal learning opportunities for everyone throughout the country. Let us glance through NEP 2020’s vision.

Develop an education system that contributes to an equitable and vibrant society by providing high-quality education to every citizen of the country.

Develop skills, dispositions, and values that support responsible commitment to human rights, foster sustainable development, global well-being, and excellent living to make Indian youth global citizens.

Develop a sense of respect towards Constitutional values, fundamental rights, responsibilities, and conscious awareness about one’s role in the ever-changing world. Develop patriotism, bonding with the country, help and educate people to become more responsible citizens of a progressive nation.

What are the Key Changes brought through the NEP 2020?

The National Education Policy 2020 aims to empower everyone with quality education, no matter the person's intellectual level. It also intends to bridge the skill gap between education and the industry’s requirements – something which has been widespread concern with the Indian education system so far. And most importantly, the NEP aims at grooming and training the new generation right from an early age.

Some of the key changes brought by the Indian government through the NEP 2020 include the following.

School Structure Restructuring

While the existing academic structure considers 10 + 2, the new one will replace it with a 5 + 3 + 3 + 4 system. So, the NEP will not increase the number of academic years but only will break it down and restructure it. The new structure is created based on the cognitive-developmental stages, including early childhood, school years, and then the advanced – the secondary stage. Let us look at each of the stages.

Stage 1

The first five years are termed the Foundation Stage, and children from the age group of 3 to 8 years will come under this category. It also includes the first three learning years (preschool, playgroup, nursery, and KG). Besides, children from 6 to 8 years (first and second standard) are also included in the same group to keep up with their understanding of fundamental concepts, linguistic development, and activities.

Stage 2

The second stage (three years) is termed the Preparatory Stage. This category will include students from standard third to fifth, and children from age 8 to 11 will be included in it. This stage will focus on cognitive development through classroom activities, interactive sessions, and numeracy skills. Besides, until class 5, students will be allowed to interact with their teacher and vice versa in the mother-tongue or regional language, as per the state.

Stage 3

Stage 3 is the middle stage, and it includes students from class six to eight. This stage will involve learning coding to develop critical thinking abilities in the children. Besides, this stage will also promote learning in sciences, experiential learning, arts, and social studies.

Stage 4

Stage 4 constitutes the secondary stage and includes class ninth to twelfth. Since this stage will comprise a multidisciplinary study, it will allow students to choose a combination of various subjects.

A multidisciplinary approach will Eliminate the Rigid Separation Between Streams.

In India, we often consider people studying engineering and medical sciences to be intellectually better and higher than those pursuing arts or, perhaps, languages. Of course, we’ve been living with this inappropriate approach for years. But, what’s even more critical is that this approach has led us to restrict the career opportunities for students learning unconventional subjects and allowing only the conventional ones to grow!

Nevertheless, the multidisciplinary approach has the potential to revolutionize people’s approach, thought process, and therefore augment the career opportunities for those choosing unconventional subjects. So, what will the multidisciplinary approach do? It eliminates the rigid separation between streams, and therefore,

Arts, Commerce, and science will be brought at an equal pace, thus eliminating the distinction that was being made based on the subjects chosen throughout.

Students will be allowed to study diverse subjects. For instance, if someone learning French wants to study Physics, they will be allowed to do so.

A new neutral learning atmosphere will be promoted, thus changing, and in fact, improving society’s approach towards looking at every educational stream.

Board Exams will have their Approach, Objectives, and Face Changed!

For years, we’ve been living with the fears of board exams. Of course, they’ve always been a significant step to qualify for the next level of education; but practically, board exams aren’t any different from the other examinations we’ve attended so far.

The NEP 2020 has brought a number of reforms to eliminate the fear of board examinations by making a lot of changes to them, one of which is that they will be made easier! Let us take a look at some other changes pertaining to board examinations of the NEP 2020.

Subjects will have two levels of difficulty – standard and higher

NCERT has been given the responsibility to prepare guidelines in consultation with The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs), and Boards of Assessment (BoAs), and PARAKH. Besides, teachers will have to prepare themselves for a transformation in the assessment system.

Mandatory Vocational Studies should be made a part of the syllabus.

The Indian education system, so far, focused more on completing the syllabus rather than imparting practical value. Making vocational study compulsory is projected to bridge the gap between industry needs and education. In this view, NEP 2020 has made vocational studies mandatory and a part of the syllabus. Some of the benefits of this initiative include the following.

Leveraging Multilingualism to Promote Cultural Values

NEP 2020 does not just aim at creating a modern globalized generation, but citizens that love their country and have a deep-rooted pride in being an Indian. One of the ways to do it is by promoting Indian languages in the syllabus. In this view, the NEP 2020 comprises the following changes.

Until the 5th grade, the medium of education will remain the home language or the mother tongue or the locally spoken language

The respective state or Union Territory will decide the three languages to be taught to the students

Students will have all classical languages as an option

As one of the language formulae, Sanskrit will be given more value and importance in secondary and higher education

Adoption of Comprehensive Education and Introduction of Holistic Report Cards

States and Union Territories will have to design a comprehensive report card that will include the score for theoretical subjects, and at the same time, also include credit points for taking part in extra or co-curricular activities. Besides, the report or progress card will also include the assessment of self, peers, and teachers.

These report cards are projected to help students realize and assess their potential and progress across cognitive, psychomotor, and socio-emotional skills. Aside from that, the progress card will also include participation in various sports, drama, quizzes, debates, and other group activities. These changes will help improve the teacher-student relationship and even foster parents’ involvement in the child’s progress.

Apart from the above, proper software will have to be developed and implemented across the educational ecosystem to maintain the child’s scores, along with the entire academic record to help him make an informed career choice when he or she grows up.

Setting up Foreign University Campus in India

As per the NEP 2020, around 100 foreign colleges will be allowed to open their branches across India. Besides, Indian SAT will be conducted, and a lot of undergraduate institutions will be given autonomy in their financial and administrative matters based on the accreditation they’ve got.

Single Regulatory Body

Under this, the NEP 2020 comprises the following changes.

The HRD ministry will be termed Education Ministry

NTA will conduct one common entrance test for all the higher education institutes. The test will be optional and would be conducted twice a year.

UGC and AICTE will merge to form a single regulatory body called the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI).

Plans in the Pipeline

Include undergraduate programs of three and four years and postgraduate programs of one and two years

MPhil course will be discontinued as a course.

Institutions such as IIT will be asked to become more holistic and introduce more courses on humanities and arts.

Optimization of School Space

Making optimal use of school space to enable comprehensive learning and awareness is critical from the viewpoint of the holistic development of children. In this view, the NEP 2020 brings the following reforms to make efficient utilization of school space.

Use school space beyond school hours and public library for ICT-equipped adult education courses

Build free boarding facilities matching the class of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, especially for students from socio-economically unprivileged backgrounds.

Include sampling of vocational craft such as metalwork, electronic work, carpentry, etc., from class six to eight.

Another important initiative is that of the establishment of an autonomous body called the National Education Technology Forum (NETF). NETF will facilitate a platform to foster the exchange of views, understand the use of technology to improve learning, plan assessments, etc., for schools as well as colleges.

Besides, the NETF will continually analyze and categorize emerging technologies within the education sector, depending on their potential. The forum will also present their inputs to the education ministry, after which the ministry will officially identify those technologies. However, the emergence of these technologies will be subject to responses from the education ecosystem.

Conclusion

NEP 2020, with the reforms it intends to bring, is undoubtedly projected to revolutionize the Indian education ecosystem that was due for changes and improvements for a very long time. Nevertheless, NEP 2020 will achieve its objectives and meet success only if the entire education ecosystem aligns itself with it, and the animators, educators, and the policy-makers work in unison, implement the said policies, and strive for the betterment of the Indian education system and create a brighter generation, capable of making a difference.