National Education Policy 2020

National Education Policy 2020: A major reform in the education system or another policy only perfect on papers?

In the much-needed overhaul of the education system in India, after 34 years there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel.

India has got a new education policy after a long wait of 34 years!

So, what is has in store for us?

We’ll be discussing the National Education Policy in detail, but another major announcement related to this is the change in the moniker of the Ministry of Human Resources Development to Ministry of Education.

Before getting into the intricacies of the policy, there are a few things about the education policy.

After Independence India has had only 3 education policies.

Yes, only 3!!

India had its first education policy in 1968 when Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister and later on in 1986 during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure.

Now in 2020 when Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister!

During the framing of the 1968 policy, Kothari Commission recommended to allocate 6% of the GDP to education, but this 6% has never been allocated to education after the Independence of India. It has been hovering around 3-4% of GDP.

NEP 2020 now suggests the same i.e. allocate 6% of the GDP to education. Also, it is recommended that the current 10% of overall public expenditure (from Centre as well as State) in education be increased to 20% over a period of 10 years.

This policy lays down comprehensive reforms that are going to impact every student – right from a child going to his first playschool to a master’s graduate aiming for a Ph.D. program.

Let’s see what the policy has to offer?

The first important change is the shift from a 10+2 system to 5+3+3+4.

What does that mean?

Earlier we didn’t consider preprimary or kindergarten into schooling years, i.e. the first 10 years all the students had the same education and after that, students used to choose their streams and complete their further education of 2 years. Now, this system is scrapped and we move towards schooling for 15 years.

These 15 years will comprise of the following stages:

• Foundational Education: This will comprise of 3 years of pre-primary and class 1 and 2. These 5 years will mainly focus on multi-level and activity-based learning. There will be no exams in these years. The major focus will be to build a foundation and learning years.

• Preparatory Education: It will comprise of class 3 to 5. Exams will start from class 3. 

• Middle Education: This will be from class 6 to 8. During this period, vocational experts will also give classes. Students will be able to choose from activities such as carpentry, gardening, pottery, art, etc. It will also comprise of a 10-day bagless period wherein students will get to learn practical aspects of these vocational training as an internship. 

• Secondary Education: This period will be from class 9 to 12. During this stage, students will be able to choose the subjects of their choice. It will be mainly focused on multi-disciplinary study.

The move to give students the choice of choosing their own subjects i.e., even the combination of a science subject with that of commerce or arts is being appreciated as it will remove all the discrimination between the streams, also help students learn what they are actually interested in be it Physics with History or Chemistry with Accounts.

There have been no amendments in the constitution yet, but NEP 2020 expands the age group 6-14 years of mandatory schooling to 3-18 years of schooling.

What about boards??

Boards will be continued, but they will be made low stake i.e. their importance is going to be brought down. Also, boards will be focusing more on testing concepts and knowledge application. Students will also be given second chance at boards to improve their scores.

This shift in the format is finally moving our education system from rote learning towards meaningful, associative, and active learning. Now schooling will not be about mugging up things and writing exams, it will be actual learning and students will be actually benefitted from it.

A 10-day bagless period where students will be working with vocational trainers showcases the importance of people such as carpenters, artists, electricians, gardeners, and how these skills are also important in our day to day life.

The second major change is to include the mother tongue as a medium of instruction. NEP 2020 recommends that the medium of instruction in school should be in the home language, mother tongue, local language, or regional language. 3 language formula is to continue, but there is no imposition on the languages taught. However, it is advised that out of three, 2 languages must be Indian.

As children learn quickly at an early age this move may prove to be beneficial in making them learn not only English but also appreciate their mother tongue or regional language.

But this move is being criticized, as it may lead to unequal learning. There will be differences between private and public schools. Private schools have always been focusing on English as a medium of instruction and even if the policy recommends this, they will eschew using regional language which will put students at an advantage compared to public schools leading to class divide as well.

However, if all schools were to adopt the regional language as a medium of instruction, what will happen to children whose parents have transferrable jobs? It's going to be a major concern for such students.

NEP 2020 aims for inclusive education. It says efforts will be made to incentivize the merit for students belonging to backward classes who do not have economic support. In this regard, the National Scholarship portal will be expanded to support, foster, and track the progress of students receiving scholarships. Private higher education institutes will be encouraged to offer a larger number of scholarships to students.

The policy not only focuses to change the schooling year but it has altogether added a new dimension to higher education by going for a multidisciplinary approach. This policy aims for broad-based flexible learning. Standalone higher education institutes and professional education institutes will be evolved into multi-disciplinary, education.

For higher education, there will be a common entrance examination (CEE) conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) twice a year.

It is recommended that all universities and colleges must focus on becoming multidisciplinary by 2030. By 2030, it aims to set up at least one large multidisciplinary Higher Education Institution (HEI) in or near every district.

Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) will be set up, and there will no more by UGC, AICTE, or NCTE. It will be a single overarching umbrella body for entire higher education, excluding medical and legal education. Public and Private higher education institutions will be governed by the same set of norms.

To our surprise, NEP 2020 also allows foreign universities in India to set up campuses i.e., the world’s top 100 universities will be facilitated to operate in the country through a new law.

Adding to this there will be a shift in the format of Under Graduate education. Now there will be exit options in degree courses. The focus will be to convert 3-year degree programs into 4 years, where 3 years will give you a degree and 4th year will comprise of research work. M Phil will be phased out. Accordingly, if you have done research work in under graduation, you will be required to pursue only 1 year of master’s degree to go for Ph.D., otherwise, it will be regular 2-year masters.

To make these multiple exits in degree program feasible, an Academic Bank of Credits will be set up. This bank will digitally store the credits earned by a student during his education. Degrees from HEIs can be awarded by taking into account the credits earned.

These exits options are going to be a boon for students who are not able to complete their education because of various reasons such as to support their family or health issues etc. The policy very well understands the importance of time dedicated to the course, and now it will be feasible for students to even complete only 1 or 2 years of their education and then pick up a job to support their family or focus on their health condition and then again pursue their education with the previously earned credits not lost.

To promote research, the National Research Foundation will be set up. It will act as a conducive ecosystem for research through funding and mentoring.

In the wake of COVID-19, NEP 2020 also focuses on online education. It will be setting up the National Education Technology Forum (NETF) for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance the learning, planning, assessment, etc. for both schools and higher education. The use of technology is to be increased by encouraging Divyang Friendly educational software and the availability of e-content in regional languages as well.

What about teachers??

They need to be trained!

So, for teacher recruitment, there have been many suggested changes which include strengthening of Teacher Eligibility Tests. For recruitment, interview, or classroom demonstration is also to be added to gauge the motivation for teaching in the candidate.

By 2030, NEP aims to have a minimum of 4 years of integrated B.Ed. degree as a criterion for becoming a teacher.

After 34 years, the National Education Policy seems like a hope to bring our education system on par with other countries that are considered to have a sound education system.

All of these recommendations look too good on paper!

It is to be noted that these are all broad directions and not mandatory.

What does that mean?

Since these are just recommendations, states are free to follow their own policy for the education system. But over these years, states have agreed to work in harmony regarding the education system of India.

As far as implementation is concerned, the policy sets a target of 2040 for the implementation of the entire policy.

Going through the details of the policy seems to put our hopes high about the change in our education system. But we are yet to see how the policy that seems to be perfect on paper turns out after the implementation. There is no doubt change is inevitable and after 34 years, we are glad to have such major and positive changes in our education system, but do we have enough infrastructure or resources to fully implement it?

Thus, is the target of 2040.

Like two sides of a coin, there have been people praising the policy as well as criticizing it. We just need to wait and watch if it’s implemented successfully or remains a long-wished dream only fulfilled on paper.