National Education Policy (NEP) 2020
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in India aims to overhaul the existing education system with the goal of making it more holistic, flexible, multidisciplinary, aligned to the needs of the 21st century, and aimed at bringing out the unique capabilities of each student. Here are the key highlights:
- School Education Universalization of Education: NEP 2020 emphasizes ensuring universal access to education at all levels from pre-primary school to Grade 12.
- New Curricular Structure: Introduces a new 5+3+3+4 curricular structure corresponding to ages 3-8 years (Foundational Stage), 8-11 (Preparatory Stage), 11-14 (Middle Stage), and 14-18 (Secondary Stage).
- Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE): Focuses on the importance of Early Childhood Education, integrating it into the schooling system. Encourages holistic development through a flexible curriculum, allowing for a variety of subjects and extracurricular activities.
- Mother Tongue Instruction: Recommends that the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably until Grade 8 and beyond, be the mother tongue or local language.
- Assessment Reforms: Moves towards a more formative, competency-based assessment that tests higher-order skills such as analysis, critical thinking, and conceptual clarity.
- Higher Education Holistic Multidisciplinary Education: Promotes a multidisciplinary approach in higher education with flexible curricula, creative combinations of subjects, integration of vocational education, and multiple entry and exit points.
- Undergraduate Education: Proposes a four-year multidisciplinary bachelor’s degree with options to exit at various stages, and an academic bank of credits for storage and transfer.
- National Research Foundation (NRF): Establishes NRF to promote a strong research culture across higher education institutions.
- Regulatory Structure: Reforms the regulatory system with the establishment of a single regulator for higher education, excluding medical and legal education.
- Teacher Education and Training Teacher Education: Aims to make teacher education an integral part of the higher education system by 2030, with the minimum degree qualification for teaching to be a 4-year integrated B.Ed. degree.
- Professional Development: Focuses on continuous professional development and a performance-based career progression path.
- Use of Technology Integration of Technology: Emphasizes the importance of technology in education, promoting digital literacy, online learning, and the creation of digital content and infrastructure.
- National Educational Technology Forum (NETF): Establishes NETF to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, and administration.
- Inclusion and EquityInclusive Education: Ensures equity and inclusion through special emphasis on socially and economically disadvantaged groups, including setting up Gender Inclusion Fund and Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions.
- Adult Education: Promotes adult education, with special focus on functional literacy and numeracy, critical life skills, vocational skills, and basic education.
- Governance and FinancingHigher Education Commission of India (HECI): Sets up HECI as a single overarching umbrella body for the entire higher education sector, excluding medical and legal education.
- Increased Public Investment: Aims to increase public investment in education to 6% of GDP.
- Vocational Education Integration of Vocational Education: Integrates vocational education into mainstream education by offering vocational courses in schools and higher education institutions, aiming for 50% of learners to have exposure to vocational education by 2025.
- Others National Institute for Pali, Persian, and Prakrit: Establishes specialized institutions for the promotion of these classical languages.
- National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE): To be formulated to guide teacher education in the country. The NEP 2020 aims to transform India into a vibrant knowledge society and global knowledge superpower by making both school and college education more holistic, flexible, multidisciplinary, aligned to the needs of the 21st century, and aimed at bringing out the unique capabilities of each student.