The existing NEP was framed in 1986 and it was revised in 1992.More than thirty years have passed since previous Policy. During this period significant changes have taken place in our country and the world at large. It is in this context that the education sector needs to gear itself towards the demands of the 21st Century and the needs of the people and the country. Quality, innovation and research will be the pillars on which India will become a knowledge super power. So, a new Education Policy is needed.
During period of Smriti Irani as HRD minister a ‘Committee for Evolution of the New Education Policy’headed by former cabinet secretary T.S.R. Subramanian was formed.This committee submitted report in May 2016.Based on this, the Ministry prepared ‘Some Inputs for the Draft National Education Policy, 2016’. In June 2017 a ‘Committee for the Draft National Education Policy’ was formed under Chairmanship of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief Dr. K Kasturirangan.This committee had submitted the draft of the new NEP to Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ on 31 May ,2019.After that draft was uploaded on MHRD website for suggestions from various stakeholders including public. Over 2 lakh suggestions was received.
The National Education Policy ,2020 was approved by Cabinet on 29 July,2020.NEP 2020 is 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, multidisciplinary, suited to 21st century needs and aimed at bringing out the unique capabilities of each student.
2.Ensuring Universal Access at all levels of school education:-
It gives emphasis on ensuring universal access to school education at all levels- pre school to secondary. Infrastructure support will be provided in innovative education centres to bring back dropouts into the mainstream, tracking of students and their learning levels, facilitating multiple pathways to learning involving both formal and non-formal education modes, association of counselors or well-trained social workers with schools, open learning for classes 3,5 and 8 through NIOS and State Open Schools, secondary education programs equivalent to Grades 10 and 12, vocational courses, adult literacy and life-enrichment programs are some of the proposed ways for achieving this. About 2 crore out of school children will be brought back into main stream under NEP 2020.
3.Emphasis will be given on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, no rigid separation between academic streams, extracurricular, vocational streams in schools .
4. Vocational Education to start from Class 6 with Internships.
5.Teaching upto at least Grade 5 to be in mother tongue/ regional language.
6.Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education to be raised to 50 % by 2035 ; 3.5 crore seats to be added in higher education.
7.Higher Education curriculum to have flexibility of subjects.
8.Academic Bank of Credits to be established to facilitate transfer of credits.
9.Multiple Entry / Exit to be allowed with appropriate certification.
10.National Research Foundation to be established to foster a strong research culture.
11.Affiliation System to be phased out in 15 years with graded autonomy to colleges.
12.It advocates increased use of technology with equity ,National Educational Technology Forum to be created.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 and streamline educational planning, administration and management.
13.It emphasizes setting up of Gender Inclusion Fund, Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups.
14. It promotes Multilingualism in both schools and Higher Education. National Institute for Pali, Persian and Prakrit , Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation to be set up.
15.Assessment Reforms
It envisages a shift from summative assessment to regular and formative assessment, which is more competency-based, promotes learning and development, and tests higher-order skills, such as analysis, critical thinking, and conceptual clarity.A new National Assessment Centre,
16.Robust Teacher Recruitment and Career Path:-
Teachers will be recruited through robust, transparent processes. 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. 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.
17.Standard-setting and Accreditation for School Education:-
NEP 2020 envisages clear, separate systems for policy making, regulation, operations and academic matters. States/UTs will set up independent State School Standards Authority (SSSA). 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. The SCERT will develop a School Quality Assessment and Accreditation Framework (SQAAF) through consultations with all stakeholders.
18.Holistic Multidisciplinary Education:-
The policy envisages broad based, multi-disciplinary, holistic UG education with flexible curricula, creative combinations of subjects, integration of vocational education and multiple entry and exit points with appropriate certification. UG education can be of 3 or 4 years with multiple exit options and appropriate certification within this period.
19.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.
20. Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERUs), at par with IITs, IIMs, to be set up as models of best multidisciplinary education of global standards in the country.
21. An Academic Bank of Credit is to be established for digitally storing academic credits earned from different Higher Education Institutions so that these can be transferred and counted towards final degree earned.
22.Regulation:-
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, and National Accreditation Council( NAC) for accreditation.
23.Online Education and Digital Education:-
A dedicated unit for the purpose of building of digital infrastructure, digital content and capacity building will be created in the MHRD to look after the e-education needs of both school and higher education.
23.Open and Distance Learning:-
This will be expanded to play a significant role in increasing GER. Measures such as online courses and digital repositories, funding for research, improved student services, credit-based recognition of MOOCs, etc., will be taken to ensure it is at par with the highest quality in-class programmes.
24.Financing Education:-
The Centre and the States will work together to increase the public investment in Education sector to reach 6% of GDP as early as possible.
25.Teacher Education:-
A new and comprehensive National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education, NCFTE 2021, will be formulated by the NCTE in consultation with NCERT.
26.Technology in education:-
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.
Ref:-PIB,MHRD
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