Key features of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020

The NDA government claims the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 will herald a new world for Indian students and education. It says that the NEP will revolutionize Indian education and make it on par with the leading countries in the world.

NEP 2020 also aims to increase the GER (gross enrolment ratio) to 100% in preschool to secondary level by 2030, while in Higher Education including vocational education from 26.3% (2018) to 50% by 2035.

Here is a look at the other main features of the policy:

• The National Education Policy 2020 was announced on 29 July 2020.
• It proposes various reforms in school, higher, and technical education.
• Universal access at all levels – from pre-primary to Grade 12.
• Quality early childhood care and education for all children between 3-6 years.
• New curricular and pedagogical structure (5+3+3+4).
• No major separations between arts and sciences, curricular and extra-curricular activities, and between vocational and academic streams.
• Establishing National Mission on foundational literacy and numeracy.
• Promoting multilingualism and Indian languages; the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the home language/mother tongue/local language/regional language.
• Assessment reforms – Board Exams on up to two occasions during any given school year, one main examination and one for improvement, if desired.
• Setting up of a new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development).
• Equitable and inclusive education – Special emphasis on Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs).
• Separate Gender Inclusion fund and Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups.
• Robust and transparent processes for recruitment of teachers and merit-based performance.
• Ensuring availability of all resources through school complexes and clusters.
• Setting up of State School Standards Authority (SSSA).
• Exposure of vocational education in school and higher education system.
• Increasing GER (gross enrolment ratio) in higher education to 50%.
• Holistic and multidisciplinary education with multiple entry/exit options.
• NTA to offer Common Entrance Exam for admission to HEIs.
• Establishment of Academic Bank of Credit.
• Setting up of multidisciplinary education and research universities (MERUs).
• Setting up of National Research Foundation (NRF)
• “Light but Tight” regulation.
• Single overarching umbrella body for promotion of higher education sector including teacher education, but excluding medical and legal education – the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) – with independent bodies for standard setting – the General Education Council; funding-Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC); accreditation- National Accreditation Council (NAC); and regulation- National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC).
• Expansion of open and distance learning to increase GER.
• Internationalization of education.
• Professional education will be an integral part of the higher education system. Stand-alone technical universities, health science universities, legal and agricultural universities, or institutions in these or other fields, will aim to become multi-disciplinary institutions.
• Teacher education – Four-year integrated stage-specific, subject-specific Bachelor of Education.
• Establishing a National Mission for Mentoring.
• Creation of an autonomous body, the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration. Appropriate integration of technology into all levels of education.
• Achieving 100% youth and adult literacy.
• Multiple mechanisms with checks and balances to combat and stop commercialization of higher education.
• All educational institutions will be held to similar standards of audit and disclosure as a “not for profit” entity.
• The centre and the states will work together to increase public investment in the education sector to reach 6% of GDP.
• Strengthening the Central Advisory Board of Education to ensure coordination to bring overall focus on quality education.

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MDDTimes Staff Writer

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