New Education Policy: A Milestone for the New Education System of Country.

National Education Policy (NEP) is the policy introduced by the government of India to promote education in India. The policy was approved by the Union Cabinet of India on 29th July 2020. The main aim of the National Education Policy is to change the structure of education in India and bring the dropout students of villages back to their schools and colleges. The National Education policy aims to make India a global knowledge superpower till 2040 by making the system flexible. This policy replaced the 34-year policy of 1986.

The objective of the National Education Policy 2020

The main objective of National Education Policy 2020 is to change the current national curricular framework of education and give equal importance to all types of education which include vocational and academic education. The policy replaced the education policy of 1986. With this policy, Government aims to transform education in the country by 2040. The policy was drafted by a panel led by Krishnaswamy Kasturirajan( former ISRO chief ). The policy also includes changes in the educational structure of colleges and universities. The policy gives equal opportunity to the Indian education system to move to human development where a student can be developed to their maximum potential. A National Assessment Center called ‘PARAKH’ will be set up for all school boards by Government under National Education Policy. PARAKH stands for Performance Assessment Review and Analysis.

The policy runs on 5 pillars decided by the government

Major Modifications of National Education Policy

Several big decisions were made in this policy by the government for the education infrastructure. The government aims to provide education to every child of the country. The decisions regarding the new national education policy were made by thinking about the future.

1. Coding and mathematical thinking will be introduced from grade 6 by the government and a prominent focus will be on vocational education which includes internships.
2. The old structure of 10+2 in education will be replaced by 5+3+3+4. The new policy involves 12 years of schooling and 3 years of pre-school.
3. The students can choose any language as their medium of instruction. The Sanskrit language will be also added at certain levels as an option for 3 languages formulas.
4. Students will get many options and they will not be forced to learn any language.
5. There will be flexibilities in subjects of higher education. Certain exit and entry points will be given by Government in higher education by proper certification for students.
6. Certain exit and entry points will be provided by the government for UG courses of 3 and 4 years. The certificate will be given after 1 year, diploma after 2 years, degree after 3 years and bachelor’s with research after 4 years.
7. Digitally academic credits will be created for students. The students have to earn the credits. Credits will be stored in an academic bank and the credits earned by the students will be added to the final degree.
8. The curriculum will be reduced and the focus will be on discovery, discussion, inquiry and new learning methods for education.
9. A regulatory body will be set up for higher education by the government in this New National Education Policy and the focus will be on E-Learning.
10. With this new National education policy, they aim to achieve 100 % youth and adult literacy.
11. College affiliation will be phased out by the government and NTA will offer a common entrance exam for admissions in HEIs.
12. The government aims to build universities in every district of India by 2040.
13. The share of education in GDP will also be increased by 6% to boost the education in this New National Education Policy.
14. )10th and 12th board examinations will be redesigned for the development of students and students can give their school exams conducted by authorities in grades 3,5,8.
15. A platform called ‘PARAKAH’ will be set up for school board assessment.

Structure of New Education Policy

For school education

The New National Education Policy changed the structure of school education. The Government developed the new structure of 5+3+3+4 in school education for the development of students. The structure was divided into 4 stages which are as follows:-

1)Foundation Stage- This stage includes the study of pre-primary classes. In these 5 years, preferences will be given to activity-based learning. This stage is for children of 3-8 years age.

2)Preparatory Stage- This stage includes subjects of writing, speaking, reading, mathematics, and physical education. Preparatory stage is of 3 to 5 classes and children age of 8 to 11 years.

3) Middle Stage- This stage covers classes 6 to 8. This stage also has subjects of mathematics, science and social science. The new additions in this stage will be of vocational education and coding which will be helpful for students in future.

  4)Secondary Stage- This stage covers classes 9 to 12. Class 9^th and 10^th are the first phases and 11^th and 12^th are the second phases. In this phases, students will be given the liberty to choose their subjects according to their will. The stage boards will be redesigned for students.

For Higher education

1) A 4-year degree will be given in the form of a certificate per year under the new national education policy. The degree of M. Phil. will be terminated.

2) A body called National Higher Education Regulatory Council will be set up for governing higher education in the country which excludes medical courses. The authority will also be responsible for recruiting the teachers for courses.

3)The students will get internationalized education. The national testing agency of India will conduct a common entrance exam for universities. Several changes will be made for the development of students.

4) Credit scores will be given to the students for per year of performance in universities. The students will gain new experiences in learning this new National education Policy.

Advantages of New Education Policy

The policy was much necessary for the Indian education system. The Policy will be responsible for the changes that will be seen in future in the sector of education.

1. Approx. 2 crore students dropouts of colleges and schools every year but after this policy, they will get a new approach to the education system. Special attention will be paid to children to develop their skills.
2. To prepare for any situation in the future online education will be promoted. Artificial Intelligence (AI) software will be used for students learning. AI will make learning easy for students.
3. The structure of 10+2 will be changed to 5+3+3+4 which will be more flexible and suitable for the development of students. Students can choose subjects according to their wishes. For eg., If they want they can study physics with the arts.
4. Counselling sessions will be conducted which will reduce mental pressure on students. Coding will be introduced in class 6th. The HECI will be responsible for higher education in the country.
5. Several new universities will be set up by the government in every district which will be helpful for remote villages and areas students. Globalization of higher education will be done by the government in this New National Education Policy.

Highlights of New National Education Policy 2020

1. Universal access to all levels of schooling by the government.
2. New curricular structure by replacing the old structure.
3. Establishing a mission to achieve 100% adult literacy by 2040.
4. Promoting Indian languages and developing India as a knowledge superpower.
5. Renaming of Ministry of Education from Ministry of human resource development.
6. Strengthening the Central Board of Education for better coordination to improve the quality of education.
7. Institutions of the government will be no-profit organizations. The centre and states will work together to increase the investment in the education sector.
8. A 4 year integrated course of B.Ed. will be necessary for teachers for teaching in governmental organizations.
9. Multidisciplinary education with several entry/exit points in years of education.
10. Making India a superpower in education where Scholars come to India to study.

Conclusion

The main challenge for the government is to implement this new education policy. There are several questions regarding the New National Education Policy to the government how will they reach the remote areas, will computers for coding will ever reach government schools?

There are several drawbacks of this New National Education Policy but the Policy merits winning by its numbers. The New Education policy will be a milestone for the new education system of the country. It is believed by experts that by implanting the new National education policy, the Indian education system will take a step further.

Read more– New National Education Policy 2022 नई शिक्षा नीति