New National Education Policy 2020

In May 2016, “Committee for Evolution of the New Education Policy” under the Chairmanship of “Late Shri T.S.R. Subramanian”, Former Cabinet Secretary, submitted its report. In June 2017 a “Committee for the Draft National Education Policy” was constituted under the Chairmanship of eminent scientist “Padma Vibhushan, Dr. K. Kasturirangan”. “Draft National Education Policy 2019” submitted to the “Hon’ble Human Resource Development Minister” on 31st May, 2019. After that Draft National Education Policy 2019  was uploaded on MHRD’s website for eliciting views, suggestion and comments.

HRD Minister said, National Education Policy 2020 will bring transformational reforms in school and higher education systems in the country.

NEP 2020 aims for Universalization of Education from pre-school to secondary level with 100 % GER in school education by 2030 and it will also increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education including vocational education from 26.3% (2018) to 50% by 2035. At least 3.5 crore new seats will be added to higher education institutions.

The Ministry of Human Resource and Development (HRD) has been renamed as the Ministry of Education following an approval from the Union Cabinet. The name change was a key recommendation of the draft New Education Policy.

Some Important Changes & New Set up in Education System for students and Teachers:

• E-courses will be developed in regional languages, virtual labs will be developed and National Education Technology Forum is being created.
• National Assessment Centre- ‘PARAKH’ (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) has been created to assess the students.
• MPhil courses will be discontinued under the new policy.
• All the courses at undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD level will now be interdisciplinary.
• All higher education institutions, except legal and medical colleges, will be governed by a single regulator.
• Home language, mother tongue or regional language will be the medium of instruction up to Class 5.
• School curriculum will also be reduced to core concepts and and there will be integration of vocational education from Class 6. National Curriculum Framework for School Education, NCFSE 2020-21, will be developed by the NCERT.
• The board exams for Grades 10 and 12 will be continued. Board exams will be made ‘easier’. Viable models of Board Exams will be annual/semester/modular Board Exams or offering all subjects beginning with mathematics, at two levels, objective type and descriptive type.
• Common entrance exams will be held for admission to universities and higher education institutions.
• Report card will be comprehensive report and it will include skills and capabilities of students.
• New Policy promotes Multilingualism in both schools and HEs; National Institute for Pali, Persian and Prakrit , Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation to be set up.
• Multilingualism and the power of language-No language will be imposed on any student. Under the “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” initiative Students from grade 6-8 will participate in a fun project/activity on “The Languages of India”.
• Every state/district will be encouraged to establish “Bal Bhavans” as a special daytime boarding school, to participate in art-related, career-related, and play-related activities. Free school infrastructure can be used as Samajik Chetna Kendras.
• For Robust Teacher Recruitment and Career Path – National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) will be developed by the National Council for Teacher Education by 2022.
• Teacher Education- National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education, NCFTE 2021, will be formulated by the NCTE in consultation with NCERT. By 2030, the minimum degree qualification for teaching will be a “4-year integrated B.Ed. Degree”.