As the government replaced a 34-year-old National Policy on Education, framed in 1986, with the New Education Policy of 2020. The NEP, approved by the union cabinet, makes sweeping reforms in school and higher education including teaching.
Some of the biggest highlights of the NEP 2020 are,
1) a single regulator for higher education institutions
2) multiple entries and exit options in degree courses
3) discontinuation of MPhil programs
4) low stakes board exams
5) common entrance exams for universities.
New Education Policy 2020: Important highlights
Schooling starts at the age of 3 years now
The New Education Policy expands the age group 6-14 years of mandatory schooling to 3-18 years of schooling. The NEP introduces three years of pre-schooling, age group of 3-6 years under the school curriculum. With an emphasis on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), the 10+2 structure of the school curriculum is to be replaced by a 5+3+3+4 curricular structure corresponding to ages 3-8, 8-11, 11-14, and 14-18 years respectively.
Mother tongue as medium of instruction
The NEP puts focus on students’ mother tongue as the medium of instruction even as it sticks to the ‘three-language formula’ but also mandates that no language would be imposed on anyone. The NEP only recommends the mother tongue as medium of instruction, and not make it compulsory. The policy document states that children learn and grasp non-trivial concepts more quickly in their home language.
NO UGC, AICTE, NCTE
Higher Education Commission of India(HECI) will be set up as 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 for regulation, accreditation and academic standards.
Govt will phase out the affiliation of colleges in 15 years and a stage-wise mechanism is to be established for granting graded autonomy to colleges.
Science, arts, commerce gets blurred
Under NEP 2020, there will be no rigid separations between arts and sciences, between curricular and extra-curricular activities, between vocational and academic streams. Students can select subjects of their liking across the streams. Vocational education will start in schools from the 6th grade and will include internships.
FYUP Programme Returns & No More Dropouts
Under the NEP, the undergraduate degree will be of either a 3 or 4-year duration with multiple exit options within this period. The college will be mandated to give a certificate after completing 1 year in a discipline or field including vocational and professional areas, a diploma after 2 years of study, or a Bachelor's degree after a 3-year program.
The policy aims at making “India a global knowledge superpower”.
The New Education Policy (NEP) policy allowing top foreign universities to set up campuses to India, a greater proportion of students getting vocational education and a move towards institutes including IITs turning multi-disciplinary.
One of the stated aims of the policy is to instill a “deep-rooted pride” in being Indian, not only in thought, but also in spirit, intellect, and deeds, as well as to develop knowledge, skills, values, and dispositions that support responsible commitment to human rights, sustainable development and living, and global well-being.
The policy also aims at regulation by a single regulator for higher education as well as of increased access, equity, and inclusion.
The NEP lays down that by 2040, all higher education institutions (HEIs) shall aim to become multidisciplinary institutions, each of which will aim to have 3,000 or more students. There shall, by 2030, be at least one large multidisciplinary institution in or near every district.
The aim will be to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education including vocational education from 26.3% to 50% by 2035.
Single-stream higher education institutions will be phased out over time, and all will move towards becoming multidisciplinary. The system of ‘affiliated colleges’ will be gradually phased out in 15 years.
The present complex nomenclature of HEIs in the country such as ‘deemed to be university’, ‘affiliating university’, ‘affiliating technical university’, ‘unitary university’ shall be replaced simply by ‘university’.
A university will mean a multidisciplinary institution that offers undergraduate and graduate programs, with high-quality teaching, research, and community engagement. The definition will allow a spectrum of institutions ranging from those that place equal emphasis on teaching and research i.e., research-intensive Universities to teaching-intensive Universities.
The present nomenclature such as ‘deemed to be university’, ‘affiliating university’, ‘affiliating technical university’, ‘unitary university’ will be done away with.
• Even engineering institutions, such as IITs, will move towards more holistic and multidisciplinary education with more arts and humanities. Students of arts and humanities will aim to learn more science.
• Departments in Languages, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Indology, Art, Dance, Theatre, Education, Mathematics, Statistics, Pure and Applied Sciences, Sociology, Economics, Sports, Translation, and Interpretation, etc. will be established and strengthened at all HEIs.
• The undergraduate degree will be of either 3 or 4-year duration, with multiple exit options. For instance a certificate after completing 1 year in a discipline or field including vocational and professional areas, or a diploma after 2 years of study, or a Bachelor’s degree after a 3-year program. The 4-year multidisciplinary Bachelor’s program, however, shall be the preferred option.
• An Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) shall be established which would digitally store the academic credits earned.
• The 4-year program may also lead to a degree ‘with Research’ if the student completes a rigorous research project.
Model public universities for holistic and multidisciplinary education, at par with IITs, IIMs, etc., called MERUs (Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities) will be set up
• Higher education institutions shall move away from high-stakes examinations towards continuous and comprehensive evaluation.
• India will be promoted as a global study destination providing premium education at affordable costs. An International Students Office at each institution hosting foreign students will be set up.
• High performing Indian universities will be encouraged to set up campuses in other countries. Selected universities like those from among the top 100 universities in the world will be facilitated to operate in India.
• A legislative framework facilitating such entry will be put in place, and such universities will be given special dispensation regarding regulatory, governance, and content norms on par with other autonomous institutions of India.
• In every educational institution, there shall be counseling systems for handling stress and emotional adjustments.
• Efforts will be made to incentivize the merit of students belonging to SC, ST, OBC, and other SEDGs..
• Vocational education will be integrated into all schools and higher education institutions in a phased manner over the next decade. By 2025, at least 50% of learners through the school, and higher education system shall have exposure to vocational education.
• The B.Voc. degrees introduced in 2013 will continue to exist, but vocational courses will also be available to students enrolled in all other Bachelor’s degree programs, including the 4-year multidisciplinary Bachelor’s programs.
• ‘Lok Vidya’, i.e., important vocational knowledge developed in India, will be made accessible to students. The HRD ministry, which could be renamed education ministry, would constitute a National Committee for the Integration of Vocational Education (NCIVE)
• The policy also speaks for creating a National Research Foundation (NRF).
• The policy also mentions the creation of a Higher Education Commission of India (HECI).
@Ministry of Education India #NewEducationPolicy
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