Education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ tells Prakash Kumar that the National Education Policy 2020 aims to “transform India into a ledge society and global knowledge superpower”. Excerpts from the interview:
Education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal tells Outlook that the National Education Policy 2020 aims to “transform India into a ledge society and global knowledge superpower”.
Education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ tells Prakash Kumar that the National Education Policy 2020 aims to “transform India into a ledge society and global knowledge superpower”. Excerpts from the interview:
Why do we need a new national education policy when the agenda of the previous policy remains unfinished?
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is set to meet the unfinished agenda of the previous policies, whose implementation focused largely on issues of access and equity. A major development since the last policy of 1986 (modified in 1992) has been the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009, which laid down the legal underpinnings for achieving universal elementary education. As the first education policy of the 21st century, and built on the foundational pillars of access, equity, quality, affordability and accountability, NEP 2020 is aligned to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and aims to transform India into a vibrant knowledge society and global knowledge superpower by making both school and college education more holistic, flexible and multidisciplinary—suiting 21st-century needs and designed to bring out the unique capabilities of each student.
Why was the 10+2 curricula structure changed to 5+3+3+4?
The new curricular structure is based on the brain development of the child. With emphasis on early childhood care and education, the 10+2 structure of school curricula will be replaced by a 5+3+3+4 curricular structure corresponding to ages 3-8, 8-11, 11-14 and 14-18 years respectively. This will bring under the school curriculum the hitherto uncovered age group of 3-6 years, which has been recognised globally as the crucial stage for the development of a child’s mental faculties.
Lakhs of teaching posts are lying vacant in schools across the country. How will 5+3+3+4 be implemented without teachers?
NEP 2020 puts the teacher at the centre of the fundamental reforms in the education system. The new education policy proposes measures to recruit the very best and brightest to enter the teaching profession at all levels, by ensuring livelihood, respect, dignity and autonomy, while also instilling in the system basic methods of quality control and accountability. Teacher vacancies will be filled at the earliest, especially in disadvantaged areas and other areas with large pupil-to-teacher ratios or high rates of illiteracy.
A technology-based comprehensive teacher-requirement forecasting exercise will be conducted by each state to assess expected subject-wise teacher vacancies over the next two decades.
What will be the medium of instruction in schools?
Most developed countries have made an earnest effort to ensure the child studies in the mother tongue so that parents, too, can participate in the child’s education in the early years. According to the right to education act 2009, the medium of instruction, as far as practicable, shall be the mother tongue. NEP 2020 states that “wherever possible, 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”. This will be followed by both public and private schools. There will be a major effort from both the central and state governments to invest in large numbers of teachers in all the regional languages. States, especially from different regions of the country, may enter into bilateral agreements to hire teachers in large numbers from each other, to implement the three-language formula in their respective states.
What will be the new pattern of board exams?
While board exams for Class X and XII will continue, the existing system of board and entrance examinations shall be reformed to eliminate the need for undertaking coaching classes. Students will be able to choose many of the subjects, depending on their individualised interests. Board exams will also be made ‘easier’, in the sense that any student who has been making a basic effort in the classroom will be able to do well in the board exam in the subject without much additional effort. To further eliminate the ‘high stakes’ aspect, students will be allowed to take board exams on up to two occasions in a school year, one main examination and one for improvement, if desired. A National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) will be set up for setting norms, standards and guidelines for student assessment and evaluation for all recognised school boards.
The National Testing Agency will offer a high-quality common aptitude test, as well as specialised common subject exams in the sciences, humanities, languages, arts and vocational subjects, at least twice every year for university entrance exams.
NEP 2020 recommends redesigning of school curriculum to ensure strong rootedness in the Indian and local context and ethos….
NEP 2020 envisions an education system rooted in Indian ethos that contributes directly to transforming India, that is Bharat, sustainably into an equitable and vibrant knowledge society, by providing high-quality education to all, and thereby making India a global knowledge superpower. It will be the mandate of the National Curriculum Framework committee to decide what topics constitute traditional Indian knowledge systems. “Knowledge of India” will include knowledge from ancient India and its contributions to modern India, its successes and challenges and a clear sense of the country’s future aspirations with regard to education, health, environment etc. These elements, including tribal knowledge and indigenous and traditional ways of learning, will be incorporated in an accurate and scientific manner throughout the school curriculum wherever relevant. They will be included in mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, yoga, architecture, medicine, agriculture, engineering, linguistics, literature, sports, games, as well as in governance, polity and conservation. All curriculum and pedagogy, from the foundational stage onwards, will be redesigned to be strongly rooted in Indian and local context and ethos in terms of culture, traditions, heritage, customs, language, philosophy, geography, ancient and contemporary knowledge, societal and scientific needs, and indigenous and traditional ways of learning to make it relatable, relevant, interesting and effective for our students. Stories, arts, games, sports, examples, problems etc. will be chosen as much as possible to be rooted in the Indian and local geographic context. Specific courses in tribal ethno-medicinal practices, forest management, traditional (organic) crop cultivation, natural farming etc will also be made available.
Left parties have alleged that NEP 2020 seeks “greater centralisation, communalisation and commercialisation” of education….
NEP 2020 recognises the role of states in education and no part of the policy implies that it will be imposed on the states. It stresses the need for and steps to strengthen the public education system to be able to provide quality education for all. A separate chapter has been dedicated to “curbing commercialisation of education”. Multiple mechanisms with checks and balances will combat and stop the commercialisation of education. This will be a key priority of the regulatory system. All education institutions will be held to similar standards of audit and disclosure as a ‘not for profit’ entity. Surpluses, if any, will be reinvested in the educational sector. There will be transparent public disclosure of all these financial matters. NEP places equal emphasis on the development of all Indian regional languages, arts and culture.