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SARTHAQ deadlines THAQ) divides every K-12 reform mandated by NEP 2020

into eight-12 tasks to be completed by designated authori-
URING THE TWO YEARS after presentation of NEP ties/groups within prescribed timelines.
2020 to Parliament despite the Union education For instance, the mandated reforms in Early Childhood
Dministry experiencing the exit of two ministers, sur- Care and Education have been divided into 297 tasks such
prisingly the bureaucracy in Shastri Bhavan, Delhi, hasn’t as development of the National Curriculum Framework
been letting the grass grow under its feet. For instance for ECCE (Task 1) by NCERT by 2022-23; SCERTs in the
under the chairmanship of Anita Karwal, former chairman of states to develop state curriculum frameworks with local
CBSE and currently secretary of the Department of School contextualisation by 2022-24 (Task 2); NCERT will prepare
Education and Literacy (DoSEL), it has drawn up a detailed total learning materials for ECCE by 2022-24 and so on. The
blueprint to implement NEP 2020 reforms relating to K-12 SARTHAQ document has divided the school reform man-
education. The blueprint named Students’ and Teachers’ dates of NEP 2020 into 295 tasks to deliver 304 ‘outputs’.
Holistic Advancement through Quality Education (SAR- The major implementation deadlines of SARTHAQ are:

Task Responsibility Timeline

Task 293 DoSEL will set up subject-wise implementation DoSEL 2021-22
committee.
Task 294 States/UTs will set up similar subject-wise States/UTs 2021-22
implementation committees.

Task 295 The implementation plan for NEP would require MoE 2021-23
amendments in certain sections of the RTE Act, 2009.
This task will be undertaken immediately by initiating
consultations and taking the draft to the Legislature.
Task 296 To ensure effective implementation of major States/UTs 2021 onwards
recommendations of NEP 2020, States and UTs will
prepare yearly reports on the progress of following
themes/subjects: (timeline: 2021 onwards) (i)
foundational literacy and numeracy (ii) progress on
ECCE (iii) report on e-governance and digital education
(iv) convergence initiatives with various line ministries
(v) progress on vocational education (vi) progress on
teacher education (vii) state innovations in education
report. These reports will be submitted in the month of
June every year.
Task 296 To generate awareness about innovative pedagogies, MoE, 2021-22
puzzles, games etc. for students and teachers, States/UTs
hackathons to be organised at national and state levels

priority. But the pace of implementa- remain a mere wish-list document,” are bottom ranked in international
tion is slow with many states not hav- warns Dr. Popat Vats. competency tests and none of India’s
ing begun to constitute the numerous The danger of NEP 2020 remaining universities is ranked among the Top
committees mandated by NEP 2020. a wish-list document in the manner of 200 in respectable WUR (World Uni-
A detailed document called SAR- its predecessor policies of 1968 and versity Rankings) league tables. The
THAQ has been developed by the 1986 is very real. Over half a century overwhelming majority of much trum-
Union education ministry which has since NEP 1968 was promulgated with peted and lionised Indian nationals
separated each proposal of the policy high hopes and ambitions, Indian ed- who head transnational corporates in
into tasks with responsibility to com- ucation at all levels has suffered stag- the West, are alumni of Western uni-
plete them within given timelines by nation, if not regression. The country versities.
specified government departments hosts the world’s largest number of The half-heartedness with which
and organisations to attain measur- illiterate adult citizens estimated at NEP 2020 is being implemented
able outcomes. These 297 tasks need 300 million; learning outcomes in arouses apprehension that the new
to be started and completed urgently primary education have gone from policy is in danger of being hijacked
to ensure that the NEP does not just bad to worse; our secondary children by RSS and sangh parivar ideologues

JULY 2022 EDUCATIONWORLD 43