WHAT IS THE NEW EDUCATION POLICY IN INDIA?
Posted on : August 28, 2023Author : GURLEEN KAUR
Education has a key and decisive role in the scenario of contingencies. Presently, if there is to be some change in terms of development in society, then the education policy should be changed first. The picture of education in any country shows that the place of education is the priority of the government there and how much it deals with it there. We have all endured the pitfalls of the Indian education system; there were issues of the multiple boards that the old system encompassed. Each board propagated different learning methods and honed different skills amongst its students. Adding to the discordance between the multiple boards are the higher level standardized exams such as the JEET and UPSC which do favor the teaching styles of certain boards.
However, as we observe, the New Education Policy (NEP) is a watershed moment in India’s education system. After 34 years of following the same norms, the Ministry of Education has made significant changes to our education policy on July 29, 2020. The Central government’s NEP established in 2020 came into effect during the 2023-2024 academic year, bringing with it a slew of changes. From syllabus updates to grade structure modifications, it is evident that the NEP aims to both disrupt and revolutionize the current system. The strategy proposes a comprehensive and integrated approach to education that focuses on skill development, multi disciplinary learning and encouraging creativity and critical thinking. It also emphasizes on the use of technology and digital resources to improve learning.
The policy’s main principle is to determine and nurture each child’s potential and to provide them with flexible learning opportunities. Its primary purpose is to raise the standard of education in India to a global level, allowing the country to emerge as a leader in knowledge-based sectors. The government has enacted various revisions to the former education policy as part of the NEP 2023 with the goal of improving education by quality and enabling children to have a good education.
MAJOR REFORMS UNDER THE 2023 NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY
Under this new policy, instead of 1.7%, the government will now be spending 6% of the country’s GDP on education. The National Education Policy will now make education universal with the exception of medical and law studies. With the establishment of a uniform centralized board that oversees the education of all Indian students, it will diminish the need for the multiple pre existing boards. This means that the current system would have to undergo a complete overhaul and endure long periods of collaborations as the various boards converge under a single centralized unit.
Formally, the pattern of 10+2 was followed, however, under the NEP, the pattern of 5+3+3+4
will be adopted. There will be no discernible divide between the arts, science, academic, vocational, curricular and extracurricular disciplines. Instead of every academic year, student’s examinations will be held only in classes 2nd, 5th and 8th from now onwards. The PARAKH (Performance Assessment Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) Organization will define the standards for Board Examinations. The new grade system challenges the existing educational infra structure of several educational institutions in India calling into question the ‘qualifications’ provided by these institutions. The classic definitions of primary and secondary education will also undergo a drastic shift as their objectives change. The Undergraduate courses under this new system will now last for 4 years. The government hopes to place a greater emphasis on pupil’s cognitive growth. This new framework will also assist students in fully exercising their rights to an education because the structure caters to children aged 3 to 18 rather than 6 to 14. Aside from that this structure will be useful in significantly enhancing student retention rates.
“We have tried to create a policy that will change the educational landscape in our understanding so that we can prepare the youth to face the current and future challenges. The policy is also based on the guiding objectives like access, quality, affordability and accountability.” (K Kasturiranjan, Committee Chairman)
THE LEARNING REVOLUTION FROM A GENDERED PERSPECTIVE
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2023 also envisages equitable and inclusive education for all, with a special focus on children and youth, especially girls, from socially and economically disadvantaged groups. Among many reasons, the onset of menstruation and the lack of availability of hygienic toilets are responsible for girls leaving school without completing education.
The NEP 2023 thus intends to meet this challenge through its Gender Inclusion Fund (GIF). The fund will be used to provide quality education to all students. Hopefully, it will also be used to ensure facilities secured and hygienic toilets. Besides toilets, hostel facilities for girl students have been recommended by NEP. This would be welcome in those areas where students have to travel long distances to reach school. While the policy does lay emphasis on gender sensitization, what needs more attention is the curriculum. The component of sex education needs to be carefully added and be made a mandatory part of the teaching-learning process.
This should include instruction on menstrual health and hygiene.Another important aspect that should be included as compulsory education is legal literacy. The girl student must be made aware of her legal rights. Framers of curriculum under NEP 2023 must ensure that these two essential domains are properly factored into the curriculum and not done as tokenism with mere cosmetic value.
Furthermore, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2023 classifies transgender children as Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs) and ensures equal quality education for all such students, among other things. This includes provisions to help transgender children gain access to education, as well as support for community-based interventions that address local context specific barriers to transgender children’s access to and participation in education, with the goal of eliminating any remaining disparities in access to education (including vocational education) for children of any gender or other SEDGs.
For the nation to progress, there are numerous other important issues to be dealt with logically and practically. Population explosion is one such factor. Infrastructural loopholes and logistical issues need to be dealt with. Language should not impede the progress of a nation. Needless to mention, we have to reach the masses first. Patriotism is loyalty towards the welfare and progress of our nation and not blind support of recreating the past. Culture and language are ever growing phenomena. We learn new lessons every day and change our mindsets based on new experiences and knowledge. The NEP’s absence of a detailed implementation strategy is one of its biggest flaws. The policy has several challenging aims and objectives, but it doesn’t offer a clear plan for how they will be accomplished.
While the NEP has begun gathering a fair degree of momentum, the road to its realization is filled with endless potholes.
The policy’s emphasis on the significance of ensuring equitable access to education raises another issue because it does not sufficiently describe how this would be accomplished. There are now worries that the NEP won’t effectively meet the requirements of underprivileged pupils including, those from rural areas, low income families, and minority groups. Therefore, the New Education Policy has several flaws that have been pointed out by educators, decision makers and other stakeholders. These issues include the need for a detailed implementation strategy, insufficient resources, a focus on standardized testing and a disregard for the needs of under served populations.
Thus, in my opinion, the NEP 2023 is a long overdue and comprehensive reform that intends to make the Indian education system more inclusive, flexible and learning centered. The new strategy is intended to address the present issues and shortcomings in the education sector and to provide quality education to all students regardless of their socio economic backgrounds. If the aforementioned changes are implemented with commitment and consistency, we would witness a significant reform in the way the younger generation would perceive and experience education in our country. These self-aware students will lead us to the emergence of a highly skilled workforce with a great capacity to inspire economic growth. To sum up, the NEP 2020 is truly a path-breaking document in every sense. The policy, amongst others, aims to address pedagogical issues, structural inequities, broadening of access apart from making the learners future ready while meeting the demands of a 21st century India. Simultaneously, the NEP has the most challenging task of addressing multiple crises in the education system. A number of states have officially launched the policy and many others are in the process to do the same. Yet, there is a long road ahead of the NEP.
REFERENCES
Adarsh Kumar. (2020). “What is the New Education Policy of india?”
India Energy Portal. (2023). “National Education Policy (NEP) 2023 Benefits, Features & Full Details”
https://indiaenergyportal.org/national-education-policy/
Jai Decosta. (2023). “National Education Policy: What does NEP truly mean for students in India”
https://m.economictimes.com/news/how-to/national-education-policy-what-does-nep-truly-mean-for-students-in-india/articleshow/101402955.cms
Ritika Chopra. (2020). “Explained India’s National education Policy 2020”
Team Leverage Education. (2023). “Decoding the New Education policy in India”
https://leverageedu.com/blog/new-education-policy/
GURLEEN KAUR
INTERN, ASIA IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS
The originality of the content and the opinions expressed within the content are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of the website
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