By H H Mohrmen
So much has been written about the National Education Policy 2020 even in this newspaper, but the pertinent question is whether enough has been written on this very important issue. It is written somewhere that if enemies want to destroy the nation, it only needs to see that its education system is second-rated and that will do the job. The future of every country depends on the kind of young people produced. What kind of future the country will have will largely depend on the kind of education that was provided to them. Education is something that neither the government nor the agencies providing it can compromise on. It is therefore important to note that the kind of education we have is crucial to prepare our youngsters for the kind of future they will live in.
In recent weeks the debate was more on what the policy says about the undergraduate level of education according to the NEP 2020. There is so much to discuss about the NEP 2020, but in this column, we are restricting ourselves to the two important aspects of the policy and that is the under-graduate stage of education and the earliest stage of education as per the policy document.
The UG level and the University and Government preparedness
The under-graduate stage of education is right now, the very crucial issue that the people of the state need to discuss. Despite several write-ups the opposing parties do not seem to be able to come to an understanding. Whereas the need of the hour is for the parties concerned which include the University, the colleges, the teachers, and the government to come to an understanding on this very important issue. Time is not on our side, so the above stakeholders should come together to see how the state’s education can emerge from this quagmire for the sake of the future of the undergraduate students. The University, colleges, and the government cannot afford to prolong the debate before arriving at a consensus for the sake of the current degree students of the state. Whatever they do will also decide the future of the students who are going to join their degree-level studies from this year onward. From what appears in the press, even at this level there is no consensus on the direction in which the North Eastern Hill University and the different colleges affiliated to it will move.
As parents and relatives of the students who are going to study in the colleges affiliated with NEHU, we have the right to ask questions as our the future of our wards depends on the kind of undergraduate courses that the University offers. We expect that all those concerned with providing under-graduate education in the state should put their heads together and come up with a solution for the future of the students.
Student-centered decision
The debate is divided on at least two sides. One side argues that the decision to implement the NEP was not properly made or due process was not followed. The other section thinks that we need to start somewhere and start now because we cannot afford to waste any more time. The argument on one side is that the colleges affiliated with NEHU are not prepared for the change. So the question is when will the colleges be prepared and whether we can afford to wait till all the colleges can make the necessary arrangements for the required changes? All those concerned should work together and the interests of the students need to be taken into consideration first. It is the students’ right to get quality education as prescribed by NEP and offered by the other Universities in the country. Our wards deserve the same kind of education that is being offered to all the students in the country.
It is the duty of the University, the government, the management of the colleges, and the teachers of the colleges to see that all the students are provided the best education as prescribed in the NEP 2020.
The time to change is now
We cannot continue to postpone the implementation of NEP 2020; we cannot put the future of our degree children in jeopardy. If we continue to delay the implementation of the Policy, it will be at the cost of our children’s future as undergraduate studies are very crucial for the future of students. I am not an expert on the subject, but we want our children to be at par with their counterparts across the country. We certainly don’t want our children to be second-rate or left behind.
No doubt undergraduate studies deserve immediate attention from the authorities concerned, but the other issue in the NEP 2020 that needs to be debated is the first stage or the early part of education according to the policy.
The early stage of education
According to NEP 2020, the school system is divided into the foundational stage for five years. It includes a stage for the students between 3 to 8 years old. It is this stage of education that needs to be debated at length. The most challenging task here is that as per NEP, the preschool stage which is from class 1 to 3 should be at the Anganwadi centers. But the question is – Are Anganwadi Centres prepared to house children in the age group of 3 to 8 years old and to teach them? Are there enough rooms in the Anganwadi centers to accommodate this section of students? Infrastructure wise can the current Anganwadi centers accommodate the three classes for all the children that belong to the three age groups in the towns and villages of Meghalaya?
As per the new policy, classes will now be held in the Anganwadi centers. The question is not only concerning the infrastructure alone but one can ask if the Anganwadis are trained to be pre-school teachers. Pre-school education uses different pedagogy to impart education to the kids. So are Anganwadis trained to provide the much-needed early childhood education to the kids in the villages? And which department will have the responsibility to provide training for the Anganwadi workers?
Then there is the more serious administrative question. The Anganwadis are under the Department of Social Welfare. Does the department have the expertise to run and manage pre-school education? Isn’t it more convenient to let the education department which has the necessary wherewithal to run and provide training to the Anganwadis to run the centers?
The NEP also prescribes that three years of preschool or Anganwadi education would then be followed by two years of Primary schooling which is class 1 and class 2. Of course, the emphasis is on play-based or activity-based learning strategies and language development, yet this is a crucial stage of child education and it needs to be taken seriously.
Lower Primary Education
The next stage is the preparatory stage and this will be for three years and it will include children in the age of 8 to 11 years old. In this stage, the classes are from 3r t0 5th grade. Early education which includes Lower Primary School education is another part of the NEP 2020 that the government needs to take a serious look at. These two aspects of the NEP 2020 are the areas which the government needs to give immediate attention to.
Education is a basic human right
The state will certainly not be hundred percent prepared for implementation of the Policy and it is also known to all that there is no going back on the NEP. The onus is therefore on the state and those at the helm of power to provide education to the young people of the state and to ensure that our children are provided education that is at par (if not better) with the children and youths in the rest of the country. This is their basic human right and the government cannot deny them their right.