By Anil Singh Roka
The Education Commission is considered to be an important institution as it adopts a comprehensive approach to reconstruct and develop a blueprint for a National System of Education. Post independence, various Education Commissions were appointed to frame policies that were best suited for the time. We had the Radhakrishnan Commission in 1948 which was specific to University Education, Mudaliar Commission of 1952 for Secondary Education. Kothari Commission of 1964 which was later considered for policy formulation and we had National Policy of Education 1968.
As education was on the State list in 1968, many of the recommendations were not implemented by a number of states. Education was a state responsibility until 1976 and was later brought into the concurrent list with far reaching implications with regards to financial and administrative issues. No further review of this Commission took place until the early 1980’s, perhaps due to political instability at the Centre and economic obligations. When the next National Policy of Education 1986 was pronounced it was based on access, equity, equality, affordability and accountability of education. The need for revision of NPE 1986 was felt by the then government and resulted in a modified NPE 1992. Till then all the policies were mere modifications of the previous ones. The third National Policy of Education or the first National Policy of Education of the 21st Century is the New National Education Policy 2020.
Dr. K Kasturirangan, former chairman ISRO and currently Chancellor of Central University of Rajasthan and his team must be congratulated for preparing the final draft of NEP 2020 which has been passed by the Cabinet. This policy is a complete overhaul of the education system of India right from Aganwadi/pre-primary level to University level. There are numerous striking recommendations out of I would like to highlight a few of them.
1) The 10+2 pattern of the previous Policy where students from standard one onwards were covered under the policy have been replaced by 5+3+3+4 pattern in NEP 2020 in which due importance is given to students from Aganwadi/pre-primary level between the age group 3-6 years as this is the most important stage of a child’s life where 85% of mental and physical development takes place. So keeping this into consideration, Government has included this age group in this policy and also extended midday meal scheme for the students of pre-primary and primary levels so the nutritional requirements of the child can be met at this age.
2) The foundation Stage (pre primary till class 2 up to 5 years)will be based on play/ activity learning where not much knowledge of books will be involved . Only in standard 1and 2 students will be taught some language and numerals. In the Preparatory stage ( Class 3 to 5 for 3 years) children will be taught in their mother tongue/ regional language where interactive learning will take place . In middle stage(Class 6 to 8 for 3 years) vocational course can be opted by the children and internship will also be allowed from the school for those students having interest in any vocational training. Computer coding will be taught from class 6 onwards. In the Secondary stage(Class 9 up to Class 12) multi-disciplinary study ,greater critical thinking, flexibility of choosing subjects by the children will be allowed based on semester system.
3) Keeping in mind the diversity of students from various quarters like ST/SC/OBC/ minorities/girl child/ Transgender equal opportunities are being framed. Though Sarva Siksha Abhiyan has been able to bring more enrollments in elementary schools but by the time children reach the secondary stage the retention capacity reduces, especially for the girl child. So in this regard the Commission suggests proper infrastructure and facilities to be provided to the deprived lot. Children facing learning difficulties are given due importance. In fact migrant groups are also covered under this Commission by adopting various care-taking measures so that no one is kept out of education. It aims for 100% enrollment for all by 2030
4)Multi-entry and exit in Higher education is now allowed. Earlier in the Undergraduate level , if some students leave the course halfway due to some unavoidable circumstances, they had no degree and wasted their time. But in NEP 2020 there is a provision where, if a student had to leave his/her study at any point of time, then his/her learning till that period of time will not be wasted. In fact, on completion of one year, student gets certificate, two years diploma, three years degree and four years research degree.
5) Report cards will reflect 360 degree assessment where student will have self- assessment, peer-assessment and teacher assessment.
The NEP 2020 envisions an education system rooted in Indian ethos. Along with education, children will be connected with life skills. Arts, music, sports etc were earlier considered extra-curricular activities; now they are part of the curriculum. World class institutions of ancient India such as Takshashila, Nalanda etc, had set high standards of multidisciplinary teaching and research and have produced scholars who have contributed in diverse fields such as mathematics, philosophy, astronomy, yoga ,fine arts etc. So the NEP 2020 is based on this principle and aims to transform India into a vibrant knowledge society by providing high quality education to all, and thereby making India a global Knowledge super-power.
On paper, the NEP 2020 seems to be perfect, student friendly, flexible and covers all aspects of holistic education where importance is given to Affective and Psychomotor domain of learning apart from Cognitive domain. It goes in toto with the statement of Swami Vivekanand, ” We want that education, by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded and by which one can stand on one’s feet”.
But how the objectives can be achieved or how much of the NEP 2020 can be implemented in the states is a big question. Since Education is under the concurrent list, so the respective states may not implement NEP 2020 in toto. As with all previous policies which were not fully implemented in all the states of our country this Policy too may meet a similar fate. There are recommendations in the NEP 2020 which replicate the recommendations of previous policies. For instance the NEP 1968 also proposed 6% of country’s GDP for Education but till date it could achieve only 4.34%. Similarly, implementation of various schemes under the previous policies have failed miserably without being reviewed for decades.
In a country as vast and diverse as India, no policy formulated at the central level can be adapted or relevant to the entire country based on the political structure, infrastructure, geographical location, languages and isolation of schools in different states. Looking at the education sector of our state, Meghalaya, the implementation of NEP 2020 will be a mammoth task for the stakeholders as there are many education institutions which lack basic infrastructure, faculty for vocational courses, multi-disciplinary teaching institutes and more. But for the greater interest of the children, if the NEP 2020 is seriously implemented by the various stakeholders of the Education Department in the State then it could be a game changer in the education scenario of our country.
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