Why National Education Policy is a step towards $5-trillion economy
The nation is in the process of a major transformation by launching the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Education is one of the most important transformers of an economy and the NEP is an attempt to transform the educational sector to ensure supply of world-class manpower for the country. The focus is on universalisation of primary education by taking the GER in primary education to 100% by 2030; it has also envisioned a mission of achieving GER of 50% in higher education. Also, all single-stream colleges and universities have been suggested to become multidisciplinary by 2040.
The NEP has emphasised on curriculum reforms with a focus on outcome-based approach and minimise the load of schoolbag by removing redundant content from the curriculum. The NCERT shall be the key driving force behind curriculum reforms.
The NEP also aims to open new vistas of opportunities for students to study in foreign universities on Indian soil, thereby checking the outflow of foreign exchange and brain drain. It has recommended for the replacement of the 10+2 model with a new model of 5+3+3+4, wherein students will have a load of relevant, modern and contemporary curriculum designed by experts from the NCERT. It has focused on academic delivery in the mother tongue or a regional language till class V, which has done away with the compulsion of studying English at a younger age.
The implementation of the NEP shall be done under a collaborative approach in consultation with states (education is on Concurrent List, and both the central and state governments are empowered to enact laws). A high-level implementation team shall evolve well-defined targets and key performance indicators for the stakeholders, and shall evaluate the performance of all the stakeholders against the targets in advance. The NEP is more normative than prescriptive, and states will also have a significant say in the process of its implementation.
To summarise, the new NEP has ushered in a new era of hopes and new horizons to achieve new benchmarks of excellence, to help enable India emerge as a $5-trillion economy by radical transformation of the educational sector.
Post a Comment