The National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 has been approved by the Union Cabinet on 29th July 2020. NEP 2020 is the first education policy of the 21st century, which aims to address the many growing developmental imperatives of our country and is aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The National Education Policy, 2020 is built on the foundational pillars of Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability, and Accountability.
NEP 2020 recommends many transformational ideas for school education. The New Education Policy emphasized ensuring universal access to high-quality ECCE across the country in a phased manner. Special attention and priority will be given to districts and locations that are particularly socio-economically disadvantaged.
A 5+3+3+4 curricular and pedagogical structure based on cognitive and socio-emotional developmental stages of children has been proposed:
Foundational Stage (age 3-8 years): 3 years of pre-primary plus Grades 1-2
Preparatory Stage (8-11 years): Grades 3-5
Middle Stage (11-14 years): Grades 6-8
Secondary Stage (14-18 years): Grades 9-12.
It also seeks to ensure foundational literacy and numeracy in a mission mode and a host of curricular changes and reduced content load in school education curriculum as well assessment reforms for holistic development of students. There will be no hard separations between arts and sciences, between curricular and extra-curricular activities, between vocational and academic streams, etc.
NEP 2020 promotes active pedagogy, development of core capacities and life skills, including 21st-century skills, experimental learning at all stages, low stake board exams, holistic progress card, transformation in assessment to promote critical and higher-order thinking among students, mainstreaming of vocational education, and reforms in teacher education. NEP also puts focus on the empowerment of teachers and improving their recruitment, service conditions, transfer policy, and career progression opportunities at all levels. The National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) will specify norms and standards for different levels of teachers. Recommendations are also made for using the unutilized capacity of school infrastructure to promote social, intellectual, and volunteer activities for the community and to promote social cohesion during non-teaching / schooling hours and schools to be used as a “Samajik Chetna Kendra”. NEP 2020 recommends mother tongue/home language/local language, as a medium of instruction at least till Grade 5 and at later stages, wherever possible. The policy envisages the separation of regulatory, administrative, and policy-making functions to eliminate conflicts of interest and the setting up of a State School Standards Authority. There is also a greater emphasis on technology to improve multiple aspects of education including learning, assessment, planning, and administration.
The National Education Policy, 2020 (“Policy”), unveiled by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (“MHRD”), is revolutionary in every sense. While the Policy focuses on multiple aspects, including the need for early childhood care, inclusive education, and revamping of the current curriculum, an inherent thread that runs through the Policy is the interplay of education and technology.
Over the last decade, India has transformed itself into an ‘information-intensive society and there is a growing requirement to embrace the usage of technology in the field of education. In this regard, the Policy notes that one of the central principles steering the education system will be the extensive use of technology in teaching and learning, removing language barriers, increasing access as well as education planning and management.
In the current ‘pandemic circumstances’, with virtual learning replacing in-person learning experiences, students and teachers have been compelled to re-imagine conventional learning and teaching techniques. The introduction of the Policy at such a critical juncture is significant, as it details the vision of education for future generations and will be a quintessential tool for building a ‘self-reliant’ India.
Key Aspects
Primary Education
The Policy recognizes the importance of technology in aiding teachers, bridging the language barrier between teachers and students, creating digital libraries, popularising language learning as well as ensuring greater access to education (specifically for differently-abled children). It is also proposed that coding be introduced in school curriculums as an important skill that students must develop. The Policy also notes that technology can be an effective tool in facilitating teacher education and encourages the utilization of technology platforms for online teacher training.
Professional and Higher Education
The need to embrace technology in professional education (legal/health) as well as the incorporation of technology to expedite the aim of achieving 100% literacy (by introducing quality technology-based options for adult learning) has also been put forward. The Policy recognizes the importance of technology in addressing various societal challenges and seeks to promote interdisciplinary research and innovation. For instance, Higher Education Institutions (“HEIs”) have been encouraged to set up start-up incubation centres and technology development centres, and a National Research Foundation is also proposed to be set up to cultivate a culture of research. The Policy envisages the establishment of the National Educational Technology Forum (“NETF”), which shall operate as a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment planning, and administration for school and higher education.
An interesting facet of the Policy is its focus on utilizing technology to ensure efficiency and transparency of regulatory bodies such as the State School Standards Authority, the Higher Education Commission of India as well as its four verticals (National Higher Education Regulatory Council, National Accreditation Council, Higher Education Grants Council and the General Education Council).
Adapting to AI
The Policy recognizes challenges arising on account of the widespread use of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) and highlights the need to adopt changes occurring on account of the increased use of AI across sectors. It has tasked the NETF with identifying and categorizing emergent technologies based on their ‘potential’ and ‘estimated timeframe for disruption’ and to present a periodic analysis of the same to the MHRD, who shall then formally identify such technologies which require appropriate responses from the education system. In light of the emerging ‘disruptive technologies’, the Policy is pioneering as it notes the need to generate awareness as well as conduct research on various aspects of the emerging disruptive technologies, including concerns pertaining to data handling and protection.