Page 44 - EducationWorld Aug 2020 Flipbuilder

Cover Story

NEP 2020 highlights tion. Undergrad programmes can be of three-four years with

multiple exit options and certification.
he Union Cabinet of the BJP/NDA 2.0 government ap-  Academic Bank of Credits to be established to facilitate
Tproved the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 on July transfer of credits.
29. Formulated over a period of four years and based on the  Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities
recommendations of the T.S.R Subramanian Committee Re- (MERUs) on a par with IITs, IIMs, to be promoted country-
port (2016) and draft NEP of the Dr. K. Kasturirangan Com- wide as models of best multidisciplinary education of global
mittee (2017-19), NEP 2020 replaces the National Policy on standards.
Education (NPE), 1986/92.
 National Research Foundation to be the apex body for
School education developing a strong research culture and building research
capacity in higher education.
 NEP 2020 is aligned with the United Nations SDG-4 of all A Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) will be an
children from preschool to secondary level in school educa- overarching umbrella body for all higher education, excluding
tion by 2030. medical and legal education institutions. Four independent
 The policy mandate is to re-induct 20 million out-of-school verticals — the National Higher Education Regulatory Council
children back into mainstream education. (NHERC) for regulation, General Education Council (GEC) for
 The current 10+2 system to be replaced by a new 5+3+3+4 setting standards, Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC)
curricular structure corresponding to ages 3-8, 8-11, 11-14, for funding, and National Accreditation Council (NAC) for ac-
and 14-18 years. The new system will have 12 years of school- creditation, to be established under HECI. Public and private
ing with three years of anganwadi/preschool learning. higher education institutions will be governed by the same
 Every child to attain foundational literacy and numeracy set of norms for regulation, accreditation and academic stan-
by class III (age eight). Vocational education to start from class dards.
VI with internships.  College affiliation with universities to be phased out in 15
 Medium of instruction until class V or preferably until class years and a mechanism for granting graded autonomy to col-
VIII to be in mother tongue/regional language “wherever pos- leges to be instituted. Over a period of time, every college will
sible”. The three-language formula to be followed. either develop into an autonomous degree-granting college
 Assessment reforms with 360 degree holistic progress or a constituent college of a university.
card to track students progress. Examinations by appropriate
authority in classes III, V and VIII. Others
 A new and comprehensive National Curriculum Framework  An autonomous National Educational Technology Forum
for Teacher Education (NCFTE 2021) will be formulated by (NETF) to be established to provide a platform for the free ex-
the NCTE in consultation with NCERT. By 2030, the minimum change of ideas on the use of technology to improve learning,
degree qualification for teaching will be a four-year integrated assessment, planning, administration.
B.Ed degree.  NEP 2020 mandates a Gender Inclusion Fund and Special
Education Zones for under-developed regions and socio-
Higher Education economically disadvantaged groups (SEDGs).
 Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education to be raised  The new policy favours multilingualism in schools and
to 50 percent by 2035; capacity in higher education to be higher education. National Institute for Pali, Persian and
expanded by 35 million. Prakrit, Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation to
 NEP 2020 introduces broad based, multi-disciplinary, ho- be promoted.
listic undergraduate education with flexible curricula, creative  The Centre and the states will work together to increase
combinations of subjects, integration of vocational education investment in public education to reach 6 percent of GDP at
and multiple entry and exit points with appropriate certifica- the earliest. Source: Union HRD ministry & PIB

intervention and supervision needs to private sector representation although largesse of the Central government.
be questioned. 47 percent of the country’s in-school It’s self-evident, if not axiom-
In this connection, it’s worth noting children, and 66 percent of youth in atic, that such sarkari committees
that T.S.R Subramanian was a career higher education are enrolled in pri- can never entertain the proposition
civil servant who over four decades vate colleges, universities and institu- that government supervision which
in the IAS rose to the apex position tions. The sole private HEI rep in the rapidly transforms into micro-man-
of cabinet secretary, and Dr. Kasturi- KR Committee was Manjul Bhargava, agement in Indian conditions, is the
rangan made a career in the highly- professor of mathematics at the off- problem — rather than solution — of
respected government-owned Indian shore Princeton University, New Jer- Indian education. The elaborate gov-
Space Research Organisation (ISRO) sey (USA), while the other members of ernance architecture prescribed by the
where he rose to the position of chair- the nine-strong KR Committee were KR Committee and adopted by NEP
man. The members of both commit- vice chancellors of obscure provincial 2020 sits ill at ease with the promises
tees were drawn from government- universities and the Left-dominated of autonomy and self-regulation made
funded public universities without any JNU, pathetically dependent on the in the policy document. The proposi-

44 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2020