Basic Introduction and Principles of
Education Policy
A good education institution is one in which every student feels
welcomed and cared for, where a safe and stimulating learning environment
exists, where a wide range of learning experiences are offered, and where good
physical infrastructure and appropriate resources conducive to learning are
available to all students. Attaining these qualities must be the goal of every
educational institution. However, at the same time, there must also be seamless
integration and coordination across institutions and across all stages of
education.
Education Policy lays particular emphasis on the development of the
creative potential of each individual. It is based on the principle that
education must develop not only cognitive capacities - both the ‘foundational
capacities ’of literacy and numeracy and ‘higher-order’ cognitive capacities,
such as critical thinking and problem solving – but also social, ethical, and
emotional capacities and dispositions.
New Education Policy was launched on Wednesday, July
29. Earlier, in the afternoon the Union cabinet approved the policy that aims
to overhaul the country’s education system. Union Ministers for Information and
Broadcasting (I&B) Prakash Javadekar and Human Resource Development (HRD)
and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, made the announcement on the NEP- 2020. Earlier
on May 1, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reviewed the NEP- 2020, for which
draft was prepared by a panel of experts led by former Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) chief K Kasturirangan. The NEP 2020 aims at making
“India a global knowledge superpower”.
The principles of National
Education Policy 2020 as mentioned by the government are:
·
Flexibility
·
No hard separations between subjects, curricular and extra-curricular
activities
·
Multi-disciplinary education
·
Conceptual understanding
·
Critical thinking
·
Ethical Values
·
Teachers as the heart of the learning process
·
Strong public education system
Highlights of the policy:
1.
Public spending on education by states, Centre to be raised to 6%
of the GDP.
2.
Ministry of Human Resource Development to be renamed Minister of
Education.
3.
Indian knowledge systems, including tribal and indigenous
knowledge, will be incorporated into the curriculum in an accurate and
scientific manner.
4.
Regions such as aspirational districts, which have large
number of students facing economic, social or caste barriers will be designated
as ‘Special Educational Zones’.
5.
The Centre will also set up a Gender Inclusion
Fund to build the country’s capacity to provide equitable quality
education to all girls and transgender students.
6.
Meritorious students belonging to SC, ST, OBC and other
socially and economically disadvantaged groups will be given incentives.
Digital Education- related:
- An autonomous body, the
national educational technology forum, will be created for the
exchange of ideas on use of technology to enhance learning, assessment,
planning and administration.
- Separate technology
unit to develop digital education resources. The new unit will coordinate
digital infrastructure, content and capacity building.
School Education- related:
- Universalize the
pre-primary education (age range of 3-6 years) by 2025.
- Universalization of
Education from pre-school to secondary level with 100% Gross
Enrolment Ratio (GER) in school education by 2030.
- A new school
curriculum with coding and vocational studies from class
6 will be introduced.
- A child’s mother
tongue will be used as the medium of instruction till class 5.
- A new curricular
framework is to be introduced, including the preschool and
Anganwadi years.
- A National Mission
on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy will ensure basic skills at
the class 3 level by 2025.
- Board exams to be
easier, redesigned. Exams will test core competencies rather
than memorising facts, with all students allowed to take the exam
twice.
- School governance is set
to change, with a new accreditation framework and an independent
authority to regulate both public and private schools.
9.
The NEP proposes changing the existing 10+2
Curricular and Pedagogical Structure with 5+3+3+4 design covering the
children in the age group 3-18 years. Under this —
I.
Five years of the Foundational Stage: 3 years of
pre-primary school and Grades 1, 2;
- Three
years of the Preparatory (or Latter Primary) Stage: Grades 3, 4, 5;
- Three
years of the Middle (or Upper Primary) Stage: Grades 6, 7, 8;
- Four
years of the High (or Secondary) Stage: Grades 9, 10, 11, 12.
Higher Education- related:
- Four
year undergraduate degrees with multiple entry and exit options will
be introduced.
- The M
Phil degree will be abolished.
- New umbrella regulator
for all higher education except medical, legal courses.
- An Academic Bank of
Credit will be set up to make it easier to transfer between
institutions.
- College affiliation system to be phased out in 15 years, so that
every college develops into either an autonomous degree-granting
institution, or a constituent college of a university.
- It
also aims to double the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher
education, including vocational education, from 26.3% in 2018 to 50%
by 2035, with an additional 3.5 crore new seats.
Teacher Education- related:
- By 2030, the minimum
degree qualification for teaching will be a four year integrated
B.Ed.
- Teachers will also be
given training in online educational methods relevant to the Indian
situation in order to help bridge the digital divide.
Significance
of National Education Policy 2020
§ Recognising Importance of
Formative years: In adopting a 5+3+3+4 model for school education
starting at age 3, the policy recognises the primacy of the formative
years from ages 3 to 8 in shaping the child’s future.
§
Departure from Silos Mentality: Another key aspect of school education
in the new policy is the breaking of the strict division of arts, commerce and
science streams in high school.
This can lay the foundation for a multi-disciplinary approach in high
education.
§ The Confluence of Education
and Skills: Another laudable aspect of the scheme is the introduction of
vocational courses with an internship. This may nudge the vulnerable sections
of society to send their children to school.
Also, it would help in realisation of the goal of Skill India Mission.
§ Making Education More
Inclusive: The NEP proposes the extension of the Right to Education (RTE)
to all children up to the age of 18.
Further, the policy seeks to leverage the huge potential of online pedagogy and
learning methodologies for increasing gross enrolment in higher education.
§ Light But Tight
Oversight: According to the policy, in spite of periodic inspection,
transparency, maintaining quality standards and a favourable public perception
will become a 24X7 pursuit for the institutions, leading to all-round
improvement in their standard.
The policy also seeks to establish a super-regulator for education which will
be responsible for standards-setting, funding, accreditation and regulation of
higher education India.
§ Allowing Foreign
Universities: The document states universities from among the top 100 in
the world will be able to set up campuses in India.
This will lead to an infusion of international perspective and innovation,
which will make the Indian education system more efficient and competitive.
§ Ending Hindi vs English
Debate: Most crucially, NEP, once and for all, buries the strident Hindi
versus English language debate; instead, it emphasises on making mother tongue,
local language or the regional language the medium of instruction at least till
Grade 5, which is considered the best medium of teaching.
Conclusion
The new National
Education Policy (NEP) 2020, is a good policy as it aims at making the
education system holistic, flexible, multidisciplinary, aligned to the needs of
the 21st century and the 2030 Sustainable
Development Goals. The intent of policy seems to be ideal in many
ways but it is the implementation where lies the key to success.
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