Modification of National Policy on Education (1986)
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| India New Education Policy |
On 29 July 2020, the Government of India passed a policy which completely revolutionized the current Indian Education System. The NEW EDUCATION POLICY (NEP) 2020 aims to pave the way for transformational reforms in school and higher education systems in the country. This policy will replace the 34 years old NATIONAL POLICY ON EDUCATION (NPE), 1986.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS POLICY ARE:-
1. New policy aims for universalization of education from preschool to secondary level with 100% Gross Enrollment Ratio in school education by 2030.
2. The current 10+2 system will be replaced with 5+3+3+4 structure;
● 5 years of foundation stage (up to class 2)
● 3 years of preparatory stage (classes 3 to 5)
● 3 years of middle stage (classes 6 to 8)
● 4 years of secondary stage (classes 9 to 12)
Exams will be held only for classes 3, 5 and 8. Boards will continue as they are, but will be redesigned gradually. This will make the curriculum more inclusive and learner oriented. Mother tongue/ regional language will be the medium of instruction up to class 5.
The syllabus will be reduced to core knowledge of any subject, and rote learning will be discouraged. The Report cards will also focus on a child’s skills and talents, and not only on a child’s academic performance.
The higher order thinking skills like- analysis, critical thinking, conceptual clarity, reasoning, and application will be the areas of focus under this policy, so moving on from the multiplication table of 2 and the dates in history, we would focus more on these higher order thinking skills.
The higher order thinking skills like- analysis, critical thinking, conceptual clarity, reasoning, and application will be the areas of focus under this policy, so moving on from the multiplication table of 2 and the dates in history, we would focus more on these higher order thinking skills.
Under the old education policy, marks were the only criteria on the basis of which a child’s intelligence was judged, but under this new policy a child’s intellect will be judged on the basis of his/her ability to solve a problem and on the skill sets he/she possess.
Earlier we used to just hear the words HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT OF A CHILD, but now with the enforcement of this new policy we’ll be able to see it as well.
3. Schools won’t have rigid division of streams like arts, commerce and science anymore. The students will get more flexible subject choices, so that they can work towards a career they are passionate about and have a keen interest in.
3. Schools won’t have rigid division of streams like arts, commerce and science anymore. The students will get more flexible subject choices, so that they can work towards a career they are passionate about and have a keen interest in.
There will be more focus on vocational education and other extracurricular activities, and the students will get a chance to go for internships even at school level, and get mentored by experts in that particular field.
4. Coding (which is very important and extremely interesting) will be taught from class 6 onward. Not only that, they will also be taught to do carpentry as well.
4. Coding (which is very important and extremely interesting) will be taught from class 6 onward. Not only that, they will also be taught to do carpentry as well.
This will lead to two thing- first of all, they will be equipped vocationally and they will understand that this is also something they can pursue, and secondly- the stigma attached with vocational things will go away gradually because today, there are so many people with degrees in India, but they have no vocational skill with which they can start a venture of their own. Emphasis on extra things like coding and vocational activities is going to be great and very beneficial.
5. All higher educational institutions except legal and medical colleges, will be governed by a single regulator.
6. Board exams will have less weightage and a common college entrance test will be held. Students will get two attempts at board exams, to improve their grades.
7. Colleges will now be 4 years long, with the option to exit at the end of every year. After first year, you’d get a certificate, after second year, you’d be eligible for a diploma and after third or fourth year you’d get a degree.
5. All higher educational institutions except legal and medical colleges, will be governed by a single regulator.
6. Board exams will have less weightage and a common college entrance test will be held. Students will get two attempts at board exams, to improve their grades.
7. Colleges will now be 4 years long, with the option to exit at the end of every year. After first year, you’d get a certificate, after second year, you’d be eligible for a diploma and after third or fourth year you’d get a degree.
But if for some reason you want to drop out, your credits of semesters will be stored in the Academic Bank of Credits and you can later use these credits for further education.
8. Investment in education will be raised from 4.43% of GDP to 6%. High performing Indian universities will be encouraged to set up campuses in other countries and selected foreign universities will be facilitated to operate in India.
9. The National Research Foundation will be created as an apex body for fostering a strong research culture, and thus opening a lot of employment opportunities.
10. All the big educational institutions will have to make a provision for Multi-disciplinary education and the courses will have an option of Majors and Minors, which means that a person can opt for Physics as a MAJOR subject and Music as a Minor subject if he/she has an interest in music.
11. All universities government, private, open and deemed will have same grading system and other rules.
12. New teacher Training board will be set up for all kinds of teachers in the country.
This policy does have a lot of required changes, but there are some negative points as well. The biggest among them is the MEDIUM OF EDUCATION in schools under this new policy. Once this policy gets implemented, then English as a medium of teaching will go out of schools.
8. Investment in education will be raised from 4.43% of GDP to 6%. High performing Indian universities will be encouraged to set up campuses in other countries and selected foreign universities will be facilitated to operate in India.
9. The National Research Foundation will be created as an apex body for fostering a strong research culture, and thus opening a lot of employment opportunities.
10. All the big educational institutions will have to make a provision for Multi-disciplinary education and the courses will have an option of Majors and Minors, which means that a person can opt for Physics as a MAJOR subject and Music as a Minor subject if he/she has an interest in music.
11. All universities government, private, open and deemed will have same grading system and other rules.
12. New teacher Training board will be set up for all kinds of teachers in the country.
This policy does have a lot of required changes, but there are some negative points as well. The biggest among them is the MEDIUM OF EDUCATION in schools under this new policy. Once this policy gets implemented, then English as a medium of teaching will go out of schools.
There are a lot of debates regarding it - A lot of pedagogical studies say that English is actually not a good thing, but India is a diverse country with thousands of different languages and dialects, and English language is that common ground which unites them, let’s say a Tamilian is married to a Bengali and he is residing in Delhi, then what would be the mother tongue (of their child) and what would be the medium of instruction in schools?
Even today, there are schools and pathshalas and the other government institutions which do not even have toilets for the girls let alone the courses, what will be done to strengthen that? You are talking about creating school districts in place of schools.
Even today, there are schools and pathshalas and the other government institutions which do not even have toilets for the girls let alone the courses, what will be done to strengthen that? You are talking about creating school districts in place of schools.
How will the children come from faraway places and study in an accumulated area? These questions are also being raised on the New Education policy.
Finally, point number 3 - How will all of this be implemented? There were talks about assigning 6% of the GDP to education in 1984.
Finally, point number 3 - How will all of this be implemented? There were talks about assigning 6% of the GDP to education in 1984.
Every government that has come to power since then keeps on harping about this "false promise:" of giving 6% of the GDP to education, but we still remained stuck at 4%. So, here’s the question: if it couldn’t happen before how could it happen now? Does government have enough resources?
Apart from these few negative points, the NEW EDUCATION POLICY (if implemented correctly) will definitely produce a generation which will be full of talents, creativity, skills, intellect and clarity.
Apart from these few negative points, the NEW EDUCATION POLICY (if implemented correctly) will definitely produce a generation which will be full of talents, creativity, skills, intellect and clarity.
They’ll be the first generation of students who will feel that they actually LEARNT something during their time in school.
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