The Central Cabinet approved the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in India. This approval in the last month paves the way for sweeping educational reforms in school and higher education across the country. It was the dream of every student in India to experience education transformation since the last National Policy on Education was drafted in 1986. Amidst expectations and hope, the NEP 2020 addressed several impending gaps between world-quality education and accessibility.
Here are the key points of India’s New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in a nutshell:
# The Cabinet has accepted the proposal of changing the name of ‘MHRD’ to ‘Education’ ministry.
# School complexes will be used for adult education courses & training after school hours.
# Every child will be exposed to at least one vocational course and some more during grades 6-8. Similar internship opportunities will be offered to students throughout grades 6-12. Vocational courses will also be available through online mode.
# NIOS shall create new modules for Indian Sign Language (ISL). The new modules has to be tailored and of high-quality.
# Kendriya Vidyalayas and other primary schools around the country to have pre-schools.
# NCC wings in secondary and higher secondary schools to be established under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence.
# Free boarding facilities will be developed in line with the standards of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNV) particularly for socio-economically disadvantaged classes.
# An exclusive unit for developing digital infrastructure, digital or online content and capacity building will be formed in the MHRD for both school and higher education.
# Expansion of National Scholarship portal for SC, ST, OBC, SEDGs students.
# Minimum degree qualification for teaching will be a 4-year integrated B.Ed. degree.
# Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) will be established and act as a nodal body for entire higher education, with the exception of medical and legal education.
# Education to get 6% of GDP against the present 1.7%.
# Bagless days will be encouraged all throughout the year.
# Three-language system adopted will be the choice of state, regions and students.
# Medium of instruction will be the regional/local language.
# Indian Sign Language (ISL) will be made uniform across the country and National and State curriculum materials formed for the same.
# There will be no hard separation among ‘curricular’, ‘co-curricular’ or ‘extracurricular’.
# Experiential learning to be implemented in all phases.
# Content will centre on idea, application and problem- solving techniques.
# Curriculum content to be cut short to its core essentials.
# NIOS, State open schools to provide courses for grades 3, 5 and 8.
# Nutrition and health cards, regular health monitoring and check-ups for school students.
# Tech-based learning options for adult learning through TV channels, mobile apps, etc.
# Annual, modular, and semester examinations are going to be the variable models for board exams going forward.
# National Testing Agency (NTA) will offer common entrance exam.
# Students to get 360-degree holistic report card.
# Significance of board exam to be brought down; exams to be conducted twice a year.
# Students of class 6 and upwards to be taught coding in schools.
# National Curricular and pedagogical framework to be established by NCERT.
# Financial Autonomy to be granted to 45K affiliated colleges.
# E-content to be developed in regional languages.
# Development of the latest pedagogical and curricular structure.
# A number of entry and exit programmes.
# National Research Foundation (NRF) to be formed.
# National Committee for integration of vocation education – Lok Vidya to be established.
