Marred by the shortage of faculty, infrastructure, and necessary wherewithal, the higher education institutions in Himachal Pradesh are unprepared to implement the policy.
A complete lack of clarity and confusion prevails in Himachal Pradesh over the implementation of the New Education Policy (NEP), particularly after the change of guards in the state --- the first in the country to announce its implementation in 2022.
Marred by the shortage of faculty, infrastructure, and also necessary wherewithal, the higher education institutions in the state are unprepared to implement the policy.
Some of the colleges and universities have done their Board of Studies meetings to update and revamp the curriculum to adopt multi-disciplinary syllabi and credit-based system but the teachers claim that there are still several provisions that need clarity.
Prof Ram Lal Sharma, general secretary of Himachal Government College Teachers’ Union says, “We have told the state government and also Himachal Pradesh University that NEP was being implemented in haste. There is an acute shortage of teaching faculty in the colleges. We need to have 1,500 to 2,000 additional faculty if the policy has to be implemented fully."
Further, Prof Sharma also claimed that there has been no dialogue between the stakeholders including students, parents and teachers on modalities for implementation of the policy. Everyone is in a state of confusion and dilemma.
He also points out that it was only recently the government had cleared some new appointments of regular college Principals and teachers but there is still a huge shortage of faculty.
The parents also talked about a lack of clarity about the policy and the way it was being implemented.
Dr Neelam Sharma, Assistant Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication at APG Shimla University, says, “There is a lot of confusion on NEP and course restructuring. Most parents are still in confusion and many, even don’t know how the changes in the education policy will work. The educational institutions are also not fully equipped to implement the NEP. The greater worry is what if the changes being introduced achieve the desired results. I feel the teaching faculty is also not showing much enthusiasm to adapt to the change."
Under the policy, the government has set out broad objectives like making all universities and colleges offer multidisciplinary and skill-based courses to students even teaching three languages to the students in the basic stages.
But, for example in Himachal Pradesh, where the language changes every few kilometres. The teachers hailing from different districts like Una if posted in Lahual-Spiti or Shimla, will not be very familiar with local languages. Second, the college will need at least two language (subject) teachers. Right now, some colleges even don’t have a single teacher or just one teacher.
The multi-disciplinary undergraduate programme is also proposed to have an option of either a three or four-year duration or multiple exit and entry points. This will bring a far greater level of flexibility within the higher education system.
“There is no road map or blueprint,” says Krishna Puri, a science teacher, who has two college-going children, a son and a daughter. She says it will be a disaster, she alleges.
Students Federation of India (SFI) leader members of the Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) wing staged a protest against the implementation of CBCS (choice-based credit system) for the postgraduate first-year students under the National Education Policy (NEP).
“India is a democratic country. The policy, which intends to make radical changes in the education system was neither discussed in the Parliament. The views of stakeholders were never taken. During the Covid period and lockdown, the government released the policy. Now they are doing a forced implementation because they have linked funding to universities with NEP implementation,” says Amit Thakur, state secretary of SFI.
He says the choice-based credit system (CBCS) has been implemented without doing the requisite groundwork. It will not only put an unnecessary burden on students but also result in their flunking the exams Like undergraduate courses, the dropout rate for postgraduate courses will also increase
But, rival ABVP has taken a stand in favour of the NEP.
“Himachal Pradesh will lag behind the progress which India is all set to make in the field of education, a world-class education as proposed under the NEP. Things were moving in the right direction in the state but after the Congress returned to power there was complete chaos," says Gaurav Attri, state ABVP general secretary (Organisation).
Attri says a multiple choice-based system, teaching/learning in local languages, skill development, flexible entry and exit options and some other features suited to the future needs of career and employment will transform India.
He claims the Congress leaders, including sitting Shimla MLA Harish Janartha, who is a member of the Himachal Pradesh University executive, have given a statement saying NEP will not be implemented. This created an utter confusion as the University was preparing to implement the policy.
When contacted Education Minister Rohit Thakur said, "The government stand is clear. We will implement the NEP and some measures are already underway. But, it’s also true the state has several problems at the ground level to fully implement the policy. We are not taking any hurried move."
An associate professor at a government college (name retained on the promise of anonymity), says, "We need a lot of preparation yet. Plus, all its (NEP) recommendations can't be implemented in one go. They need a few systemic changes before these are put in place. Of course, there are a few things that are already there, others need to wait. Also, there needs to be more clarity at the national level on how it will be brought into practice. Some guidelines and structures are needed before states implement it in a manner that brings its spirit into life."
She is also of the view that NEP is a philosophical document aimed to give direction to pedagogical practices in the future. For now, only a few things have been introduced but these changes will not show much result until there is an overhaul of existing methods of working, modes of thinking and infrastructural limitations.
"But then, that's how change trickles down, painfully slow. By the time the NEP 2020 shows some effect, it'll be time for the next NEP," she adds.
"We can never really say that it has now been implemented completely. It's going to be an ongoing process, like all development," she says.