National Education Policy 2020
Education is becoming a basic need and right for everyone. We require education in order to attain our objectives and contribute to the development of an equitable society. Similarly, education has an important influence in a country’s development. The Government of India approved the National Education Policy 2020 in response to a major shift in the field of education. The 34-year-old National Education Policy 1986 was replaced by the new policy on July 29, 2020, and the Ministry of Human Resource Development was renamed the Ministry of Education
Targets/Vision of NEP 2020:
The New National Education Policy 2020 intends to universalize education from pre-school to secondary school by 2030, with a Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of 100%.
The New Education Policy 2020 proposes a number of changes, including the expansion of Indian higher education to foreign universities and the establishment of a four-year multidisciplinary undergraduate curriculum with multiple exit possibilities. The New Education Policy 2020 aims to transform India into a global knowledge superpower.
Similarly, by the year 2040, it also aspires to make all the Indian universities and colleges multidisciplinary. Finally, the policy aims to increase employment in India while effectively transforming the current educational system.
Salient features of National Education Policy 2020:
1. School Education:
The type 10+2 module would be replaced by the 5+3+3+4 module. This policy proposes reforming the present 10 + 2 school system into a new 5 + 3 + 3 + 4 system, which will serve as a framework for the curriculum of all children aged 3 to 18. Children aged 3 to 6 are not currently included in the 10 + 2 framework, as 6-year-olds are admitted to class 1.
The present 10 + 2 curriculum framework will be replaced with a new 5 + 3 + 3 + 4 curriculum structure based on the age groups of 3-8, 8-11, 11-14, and 14-18 years.
The following is how the execution will be carried out:
- The Foundational Stage will consist of three years of pre-schooling.
- Preparatory Stage consists of classes 3-5, with ages ranging from 8 to 11 years.
- Middle Stage - This will be made up of students in grades 6-8, ranging in age from 11 to 14.
- Secondary Stage - Students in this stage will be in classes 9-12, ranging in age from 14 to 19. These four years will be associated with a multidisciplinary study option. It will not be required to concentrate solely on one subject.
- Students only have to take exams three times, in 3rd, 5th, and 8th grades.
- For evaluating student performance, a body called “PARAKH” has to be constituted.
2. Higher Education:
- The bachelor’s degree programme would be a four-year programme with multiple exit options. A year course will give certification, a two-year course will provide a certificate, a three-year course will provide a bachelor’s degree, and a four-year course will be combined with research and findings connected to the subject studied.
- For providing funds to universities and colleges, the Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC) has been established. This will replace AICTE and the UGC.
- The national testing agency will be responsible for holding common entrance exams for universities and colleges, as well as conducting NEET and JEE.
- Master of Philosophy courses will be phased out, as they served as a bridge between the master’s and doctoral degrees. The National Research Foundation (NRF) will be established to promote research and innovation.
- Foreign colleges will be allowed to create campuses in India and vice versa.
3. Teacher Recruitment and Education:
- It’s become necessary for teaching to complete a four-year integrated B.Ed programme.
- Workshops for teacher training on various teaching tools would be organized.
- Teachers play a crucial role in students’ growth, hence transparency in teacher recruitment processes is important.
Some other key recommendations by NEP 2020:
a) Early Childhood Education and Care:
Early childhood care and education should be established in a two-part curriculum, according to the NEP. The curriculum should consist of
- Guidelines for parents and teachers of children under the age of three years old
- An educational framework for children aged three to eight years old
The NEP discusses how to put these ideas into action through extending and enhancing the Anganwadi system, as well as co-locating them with elementary schools.
b) The 2009 Right to Education Act:
The NEP proposed that the Right to Education Act of 2009 be expanded to include Early Childhood Education and Secondary Education.
All children aged 3 to 18 will be covered by RTE as a result of this. It also recommended the abolition of child detention until they reach the eighth grade.
c) Exam Reforms in Schools:
The NEP recommended that the school exam be reformed just to evaluate students’ performance throughout their education journey.
- State Census Exams in classes 3, 5, and 8 are included.
- Another key recommendation was for the 10th board exam to be restructured so that it would primarily focus on and assess skills, basic concepts, and higher-order thinking and capacities.
d) Higher Education Institutions’ Regulatory Structure and Accreditation:
The NEP recommended the following adjustments in terms of accreditation and regulatory structure:
- Separating NAAC from UGC into an autonomous and independent entity.
- Setting up NHERA (National Higher Education Regulatory Authority).
e) National Research Foundation:
The NEP made the recommendation to increase the quality of research in India by establishing the National Research Foundation. It would be a self-governing organisation that would oversee mentoring, funding, and capacity building for high-quality research in India.
f) Governance of Education:
The National Education Commission, or Rashtriya Shiksha Aayog, was proposed by the NEP as an apex body for education headed by the Prime Minister.
g) Education Funding:
One of the key recommendations of the NEP 2020 was to double public expenditure in education.
NEP 2020 proposed that education should account for 6% of GDP. It was suggested that in the next decade, the current 10% of overall public expenditure be increased to 20%.
h) National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology:
The NEP proposed creating an autonomous organisation to make decisions about technology deployment, induction, and use easier.
According to NEP, this can be accomplished by establishing the “National Education Technology Forum” .
This mission would be in charge of the autonomous entity. It will also offer virtual laboratories in a variety of subjects that may be accessed remotely.
i) Vocational Courses
Recommendations of NEP 2020 with respect to Vocational courses can be listed as follows:
- Schools should develop expert curriculum delivery methods that are aligned with the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) ability level.
- Higher Education Institutes must also provide vocational courses that are integrated into undergraduate education programmes for students in grades 9 to 12.
j) Three Language Formula:
The policy proposed that the three-language formula be kept in place, with some flexibility in how it is implemented. State governments should adopt and implement the study of a modern Indian language, preferably one of the southern languages, in addition to Hindi and English in Hindi-speaking states, and Hindi along with the regional language and English in non-Hindi-speaking states, according to the three-language formula.
k) Affiliation with a College in the NEP 2020:
In 15 years, college affiliation will be taken out, and a mechanism for providing colleges graded independence will be implemented. And it is expected that, over time, each institution will evolve into a self-governing degree provider or a university’s intermediary.
Advantages of the New Education Policy 2020:
- It focuses on the students’ self capabilities and cognitive abilities. If a child has inborn talents, it will aid in the development of such talents.
- Previously, students could only choose one topic to study, but now they can choose from a variety of courses, such as art and craft as well as mathematics.
- Emphasis on every subject to be treated equally.
- With the application of original ideas among the students, the major goal is to enhance the power of interaction, critical thinking, and reasoning capacity.
- The multiple exit option in bachelor’s courses will allow students to gain experience and develop abilities while working somewhere else in the meanwhile and then continuing later.
- The new education policy emphasizes the practical side of studying any subject, as this is thought to be a more effective means of understanding the concepts.
- By 2040, all institutions including higher education institutes will be multidisciplinary.
Disadvantages of the NEP 2020:
Expensive Education: According to the New National Education Policy 2020, admission to foreign universities will increase the cost of education.
Lack of human resources: In today’s elementary schools, there is a scarcity of qualified teachers. Major issues are being seen in the execution of the system designed for elementary education under the National Education Policy, 2020, in this situation.
Teacher migration: Admission to international universities will result in talented Indian teachers migrating in foreign countries too.
Conclusion:
To sum up the article on New Education Policy 2020, we can conclude that NEP 2020 is an important move that will assist in the overall growth of our society and country. However, the policy’s success will be mainly determined by how it is implemented. However, with a youth-dominated population, India can actually reach a better state if this education policy is properly implemented.
