Page 46 - March EW PDF 24

Cover Story

has not been followed with sufficient
budgetary allocation. The Central
government’s allocation for the ICDS
(Integrated Child Development Ser-
vices) programme for the country’s
1.39 million anganwadis is a mere
Rs.21,200 crore — Rs.1,263 per child
per year (according to the Central
Square Foundation, Delhi) — grossly
insufficient to provide adequate nutri-
tion let alone professionally adminis-
tered early childhood education as
envisaged by NEP 2020. Moreover
the grand Saksham Anganwadi and
Poshan 2.0 Abhiyaan programmes
have not received additional alloca-
tions. Also, no budgetary and policy
provision has been made to train and Dr. Kasturirangan (left) presenting NCF-SE 2023 to Union education minister Pradhan
upgrade the skills of the country’s 2.3
million anganwadi workers and help- dents at every stage — foundational, for class XII school-leavers for admis-
ers to enable them to deliver quality preparatory, middle and secondary, sion into the country’s 56 Central gov-
ECCE. as well as diluting rigid boundaries ernment universities; upgradation of
between arts, commerce, and science 14,500 existing Central/state govern-
PRIMARY-SECONDARY streams. Moreover, it proposes that ment schools into PM SHRI Schools
EDUCATION the school-leaving class X and class showcasing implementation of NEP
T HE MODI GOVERNMENT’S to “ensure that students have enough Labs in 8,600 schools countrywide.
2020, and setting up Atal Tinkering
XII board exams are held twice a year
Modi government’s school edu-
showpiece NEP 2020 has
time and opportunity to perform
provided India’s primary-
secondary education system well”. According to the Union educa- cation lapses. Successful imple-
mentation of NCF-SE requires larger
tion ministry, twice-a-year board ex-
an overdue roadmap for curricular ams will be rolled out in 2025-26. budgetary allocations, which have
and pedagogic reform. NCF-SE apart, other major K-12 not been made. Government expen-
Modi administration’s primary- initiatives of the BJP government are diture (Centre plus states) for public
secondary achievements. Among scrapping the no-detention policy un- education has been stuck in the 2.8-3
NEP 2020’s school reform mandates: der the Right to Education Act 2009, percent of GDP rut — way below the
shift from rote learning to experien- which guaranteed promotion from 6 percent recommendation made by
tial learning pedagogies; compulsory class I-VIII; introduction of a Com- the Kothari Commission in 1967. NEP
vocational education; exam reforms mon University Entrance Test (CUET) 2020 prescribes that the Centre and
to test children’s conceptual compre-
hension, creativity and critical think- Centre & state government spending
ing capabilities rather than memory; on public education as % of GDP (2013-2023)
introduction of continuous formative 6%
assessment systems to replace sum-
mative exams, and promotion of new
digital technologies usage in school
education.
To implement these recommenda- 3.10 2.90 2.90 2.90 2.90
tions, last April NCERT released the 2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80
National Curriculum Framework for 2.60
School Education (NCF-SE) 2023.
The voluminous 600-page NCF-SE
has been welcomed by a majority of
educators for detailing step-by-step 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23
curriculum achievement goals and il-
lustrative learning outcomes for stu- Source: The Economic Survey 2016-17 & 2022-23

46 EDUCATIONWORLD MARCH 2024