A review undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi vis-à-vis the National Educational Policy 2020 on Saturday occasioned the floating of some new concepts. Among other things, the PM stressed on developing a hybrid model of education. The policy that was introduced two years ago has allowed full-fledged online courses and raised the permissible online content for education to 40 per cent. What is envisaged is a mix of direct schooling and online study, the possibilities of which were amply explored during the last two years of Covid pandemic. Necessity is the mother of invention; and the Covid phase had helped the education sector explore something that had not been practiced with any seriousness in the past. Both students and teachers are now exposed to online system of education. Over a period of time, this is going to be more widespread even as direct schooling has its great advantages.
The PM has also said this hybrid online and offline system should ensure students are not over-exposed to technology. At the same time, he has proposed a system where students at secondary school level can engage farmers in their regions and be of help to them by doing soil testing in school labs. This will help farmers know what kind of crops are best suited for their soils. It is about half a century ago that degree courses in agriculture were started. These produced large numbers of agriculture officers. Complaints from farmers are that they are shirking responsibilities like soil testing; and instead sit and spend all their time in offices, dealing with files, and not fields – meaning no legwork and no direct engagement with farmers.
By contrast, the Gram Sevaks, the simple, humble field-level staff of the olden times, had visited the farms and guided farmers in many respects. Today’s agriculture officers, like other bureaucrats, have developed a British Raj mindset. Field visits are not insisted on for agricultural officers, even as this makes all the difference. Now, if the students and school labs can be of help to farmers, it should be a welcome step forward to boost the agriculture scene in the country. Another idea mooted by the PM was to use indigenously developed toys to develop conceptual skills in students. Education is becoming more and more an exercise in mugging up lessons for examinations and vomiting them into answer-sheets. The spirit of inquiry is lacking in the new generation of students. Hope is that the National Education Policy 2020 will change the scenario for the better.
