National Education Policy 2020 | UPSC

National Education Policy 2020 | UPSC

      HEADLINES:

Cabinet Approves National Education Policy 2020, paving way for transformational reforms in school and higher education systems in the country

      WHY IN NEWS:

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the National Education Policy 2020 today, making way for large scale, transformational reforms in both school and higher education sectors.

SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 2: 3 : National Education Policy 2020 :  Education

      LEARNING: 

For PRELIMS look out for new programmes and initiatives . Make sure by the end of this article you have comprehensive notes which you can stick it on your cupboard ! This is something serious and very important .

For MAINS design answers on this issue from two to three different perspectives . We will surely take up this issue again in Editorial Hunt . Let us dive in !

      ISSUE: 

NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY 2020

• This is the first education policy of the 21^st century.
• This policy is  aligned to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

AIM

• Policy aims to transform India into a vibrant knowledge society.
• The Policy focuses on making India global knowledge superpower by making both school and college education more holistic, flexible, multidisciplinary, suited to 21^st century needs.
• Ultimately the reforms are aimed at bringing out the unique capabilities of each student.

PILLARS OF NEP 2020

SUMMARY

NEP 2020 will bring 2 crore out of school children back into the main stream.

• EMPHASIS : Stress is on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, no rigid separation between academic streams, extracurricular, vocational streams in schools .
• VOCATIONAL EDUCATION : This will start  from Class 6th with Internships
• MOTHER TONGUE : Teaching upto at least Grade 5 to be in mother tongue/ regional language.
• ASSESSMENT : Assessment reforms with 360 degree Holistic Progress Card.
• LEARNING OUTCOMES : Tracking Student Progress for achieving .

• FLEXIBILITY : Higher Education curriculum to have Flexibility of Subjects.
• MULTIPLE ENTRY: Multiple Entry / Exit to be allowed with appropriate certification.
• CREDIT BANKS : Academic Bank of Credits to be established to facilitate  Transfer of Credits. 
• NATIONAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION : National Research Foundation to be established to foster a strong research culture.
• REGULATIONS : Light but Tight Regulation of Higher Education, single regulator with four separate verticals for different functions.
• AFFILIATION SYSTEM : Affiliation System to be phased out in 15 years with graded autonomy to colleges.

• NEW FORUM : National Educational Technology Forum to be created.
• NEW FUNDS : NEP 2020 emphasizes setting up of Gender Inclusion Fund, Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups

• NEW INSTITUTIONS : National Institute for Pali, Persian and Prakrit , Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation to be set up.

Detail Analysis : National Education Policy 2020

SCHOOL EDUCATION

ENSURING UNIVERSAL ACCESS AT ALL LEVELS

• EMPHASIS : NEP 2020 emphasizes on ensuring universal access to school education at all levels- pre school to secondary. 
• INNOVATION CENTRES : Innovative education centres to bring back dropouts into the mainstream.
• TRACKING : Tracking of students and their learning levels.
• MULTIPLE MODES : Facilitating multiple pathways to learning involving both formal and non-formal education modes.
• COUNSELLING : Association of counsellors or well-trained social workers with schools.

• VOCATIONAL TRAINING : Secondary education programs equivalent to Grades 10 and 12, vocational courses.
• ADULT LITERACY : Life-enrichment programs are some of the proposed ways for achieving this.

EDUCATION WITH  NEW CURRICULAR AND PEDAGOGICAL STRUCTURE

• SCHOOL AGE GROUP : This will bring the hitherto uncovered age group of 3-6 years under school curriculum.
• NEW SYSTEM : The new system will have 12 years of schooling with three years of Anganwadi/ pre schooling.

• TEACHERS TRAINING : Anganwadis and pre-schools that will have teachers and Anganwadi workers trained in the ECCE pedagogy and curriculum.
• PLANNING : The planning and implementation of ECCE will be carried out jointly by the Ministries of HRD, Women and Child Development (WCD), Health and Family Welfare (HFW), and Tribal Affairs.

ATTAINING FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY AND NUMERACY

• IMPLEMENTATION : States will prepare an implementation plan for attaining universal foundational literacy.
• POLICY PROMOTION : A National Book Promotion Policy is to be formulated.

REFORMS IN SCHOOL CURRICULA AND PEDAGOGY

• PRACTICAL LEARNING : Greater focus on experiential learning. Students will have increased flexibility and choice of subjects.
• NO SEPARATION : There will be no rigid separations between arts and sciences, between curricular and extra-curricular activities, between vocational and academic streams.
• VOCATIONAL EDUCATION : Vocational education will start in schools from the 6^th grade, and will include internships.
• FRAMEWORK : A new and comprehensive National Curricular Framework for School Education, NCFSE 2020-21, will be developed by the NCERT.

THE POWER OF LANGUAGE

• SANSKRIT LANGUAGE : Sanskrit to be offered at all levels of school and higher education as an option for students, including in the three-language formula.
• CLASSICAL LANGUAGES : Other classical languages and literatures of India also to be available as options.

• PROJECTS/ACTIVITIES : Students to participate in a fun project/activity on ‘The Languages of India’, sometime in Grades 6-8, such as, under the ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat’ initiative.

• SIGN LANGUAGE : Indian Sign Language (ISL) will be standardized across the country, and National and State curriculum materials developed, for use by students with hearing impairment.

ASSESSMENT REFORMS

• TESTING AT PAR : Tests higher-order skills, such as analysis, critical thinking, and conceptual clarity.
• EXAMINATIONS : All students will take school examinations in Grades 3, 5, and 8 which will be conducted by the appropriate authority.
• BOARD EXAMS : Board exams for Grades 10 and 12 will be continued, but redesigned with holistic development as the aim.
• PARAKH : A new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development),  will be set up as a standard-setting body .

EQUITABLE AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

• SPECIAL ATTENTION : Special emphasis will be given on Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups(SEDGs) which include gender, socio-cultural, and geographical identities and disabilities.
• SPECIAL FUNDS : This includes setting up of   Gender Inclusion Fund and also Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups.
• CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES : They will be enabled to fully participate in the regular schooling process from the foundational stage to higher education, with support of educators with cross disability training, resource centres, accommodations, and assistive devices.

• BAL BHAVANS : Every state/district will be encouraged to establish “Bal Bhavans” as a special daytime boarding school, to participate in art-related, career-related, and play-related activities.

ROBUST TEACHER RECRUITMENT

• RECRUITMENT : Teachers will be recruited through robust, transparent processes.
• PROMOTIONS : Promotions will be merit-based, with a mechanism for multi-source periodic performance appraisals and available progression paths to become educational administrators or teacher educators.
• PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS : A common National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) will be developed by the National Council for Teacher Education by 2022, in consultation with NCERT, SCERTs, teachers and expert organizations from across levels and regions.

SCHOOL GOVERNANCE

• ORGANIZATION : Schools can be organized into complexes or clusters which will be the basic unit of governance.
• RESOURCES : This will ensure availability of all resources including infrastructure, academic libraries and a strong professional teacher community.

STANDARD-SETTING AND ACCREDITATION FOR SCHOOL EDUCATION

• NEP 2020 envisages clear, separate systems for policy making, regulation, operations and academic matters.

• ACCOUNTABILITY : Transparent public self-disclosure of all the basic regulatory information, as laid down by the SSSA, will be used extensively for public oversight and accountability.
• SQAAF : The SCERT will develop a School Quality Assessment and Accreditation Framework (SQAAF) through consultations with all stakeholders.

HIGHER EDUCATION

INCREASE GER TO 50 % BY 2035

• INCREASING ENROLMENTS : NEP 2020 aims to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education including vocational education from 26.3% (2018) to 50% by 2035.

HOLISTIC MULTIDISCIPLINARY EDUCATION

• FLEXIBILITY : The policy envisages broad based, multi-disciplinary, holistic Under Graduate  education with flexible curricula, creative combinations of subjects, integration of vocational education.
• CERTIFICATION :  Multiple entry and exit points with appropriate certification.
• UG PROGRAMME : UG education can be of 3 or 4 years with multiple exit options and appropriate certification within this period.

• ACADEMIC CREDITS : An Academic Bank of Credit is to be established for digitally storing academic credits earned from different  HEIs so that these can be transferred and counted towards final degree earned.
• MULTIDISCIPLINARY EDUCATION : Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities , at par with IITs, IIMs, to  be set up as models  of best multidisciplinary education of global standards in the country.
• NATIONAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION : The National Research Foundation will be created as an apex body for fostering a strong research culture and building research capacity across higher education.

REGULATIONS

• HECI : Higher Education Commission of India(HECI) will be set up as a single overarching umbrella body the for entire higher education, excluding medical and legal education.

HECI TO HAVE  FOUR INDEPENDENT VERTICALS  –

• National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC) for regulation.
• General Education Council (GEC ) for standard setting.
• Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC) for funding,
• National Accreditation Council( NAC) for accreditation.

• Public and private higher education institutions will be governed by the same set of norms for regulation, accreditation and academic standards.

RATIONALISED INSTITUTIONAL ARCHITECTURE

• MULTIDISCIPLINARY INSTITUTIONS : Higher education institutions will be transformed into large, well resourced, vibrant multidisciplinary institutions  providing  high quality teaching, research, and community engagement.
• DEFINITION : The definition of university will allow a spectrum of institutions that range from Research-intensive Universities to Teaching-intensive Universities and Autonomous degree-granting Colleges. 

• COLLEGES : Over a period of time, Every college would develop into either an Autonomous degree-granting College, or a constituent college of a university.

MOTIVATED, ENERGIZED, AND CAPABLE FACULTY

• CAPACITY BUILDING : NEP makes recommendations for motivating, energizing, and building capacity of  faculty through  clearly defined, independent and transparent recruitment .
• LEADERSHIP : Faculties will have freedom to design curricula/pedagogy, incentivising excellence, movement into institutional leadership.
• ACCOUNTABILITY : Faculty not delivering on basic norms will be held accountable.

TEACHER EDUCATION

• NCFTE 2021 : A new and comprehensive National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education, NCFTE 2021, will be formulated by the NCTE in consultation with NCERT.
• MINIMUM DEGREE QUALIFICATION : By 2030, the minimum degree qualification for teaching will be a 4-year integrated B.Ed. degree .

MENTORING MISSION

• NATIONAL MISSION FOR MENTORING : National Mission for Mentoring will be established, with a large pool of outstanding senior/retired faculty.
• PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT : Teachers who would be willing to provide short and long-term mentoring/professional support to university/college teachers.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS

• INCENTIVES : Efforts will be made to incentivize the merit of students belonging to SC, ST, OBC, and other SEDGs.
• SCHOLARSHIP PORTAL : The National Scholarship Portal will be expanded to support, foster, and track the progress of students receiving scholarships.

OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING

• ONLINE COURSES : Measures such as online courses and digital repositories, funding for research, improved student services, credit-based recognition of MOOCs, etc.
• QUALITY : It will be taken to ensure it is at par with the highest quality in-class programmes.

ONLINE EDUCATION AND DIGITAL EDUCATION

• GUIDELINES : A comprehensive set of recommendations will be prepared for promoting online education consequent to the recent rise in epidemics and pandemics in order to ensure preparedness.
• E-EDUCATION NEEDS : A dedicated unit for the purpose of orchestrating the building of digital infrastructure, digital content and capacity building will be created in the MHRD to look after both school and higher education.

TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION

• FORUM : An autonomous body, the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), will be created to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration.
• INTEGRATION : Appropriate integration of technology into all levels of education will be done to improve classroom processes, support teacher professional development, enhance educational access for disadvantaged groups .

PROMOTION OF INDIAN LANGUAGES

• NEW INSTITUTIONS : To ensure the preservation, growth, and vibrancy of all Indian languages, NEP recommends setting an Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation (IITI), National Institute (or Institutes) for Pali, Persian and Prakrit.
• INTERNATIONALIZATION : World class education will be facilitated through both institutional collaborations, and student and faculty mobility and allowing entry of top world ranked Universities to open campuses in our country.

PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

• All professional education will be an integral part of the higher education system.
• Stand-alone technical universities, health science universities, legal and agricultural universities etc will aim to become multi-disciplinary institutions.

ADULT EDUCATION

• Policy  aims to achieve 100% youth and adult literacy.

FINANCING EDUCATION

• The Centre and the States will work together to increase the public investment in Education sector to reach 6% of GDP at the earliest.

UNPRECEDENTED CONSULTATIONS

• CONSULTATION : NEP 2020 has been formulated after an unprecedented process of consultation that involved nearly over 2 lakh suggestions from 2.5 lakhs Gram Panchayats, 6600 Blocks, 6000 ULBs, 676 Districts.
• COLLABORATIONS : The MHRD initiated an unprecedented collaborative, inclusive, and highly participatory consultation process from January 2015.

      IASbhai WINDUP: 

BACKGROUND

• In May 2016, ‘Committee for Evolution of the New Education Policy’ under the Chairmanship of Late Shri T.S.R. Subramanian, Former Cabinet Secretary, submitted its report.
• Ministry prepared ‘Some Inputs for the Draft National Education Policy, 2016’.

• Which submitted the Draft National Education Policy, 2019 to the Hon’ble Human Resource Development Minister on 31^st May, 2019.
• The Draft National Education Policy 2019  was uploaded on MHRD’s website and at ‘MyGov Innovate’ portal eliciting views/suggestions/comments of stakeholders, including public.

     SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB | National Education Policy 2020

DISCOVER MORE : GS-3

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for Daily Current Affairs , Editorial Analysis & Answer writing video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.