How to Make NEP 2020 Work

Context: Policy, regulatory and institutional mechanisms and participation of stakeholders, will be needed to ensure fruitful implementation of the New Education Policy (NEP).

Four contributors to the policy failure: as identified by Bob Hudson, David Hunter and Stephen Peckham. 

• Overly optimistic expectations.
• Implementation in dispersed governance.
• Inadequate collaborative policymaking.
• Vagaries of the political cycle.

Five-point implementation plan to help implement NEP 

• Build intellectual and social capital through institutional mechanism :

• Ensure coordination and cooperation between the Centre and states, developing collective consciousness in achieving the targets of NEP.
• The PM’s Task Force on Higher Education Reforms can be an advisory body comprising experts from the public and private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to ensure time-bound implementation with fixed accountability. 

• Establishing a National NEP Implementation Standing Committee for creating and monitoring the NEP Implementation Plan in a time-bound manner. 

• Constitute the National Education Ministers’ Council with Education Ministers of all states and UTs, chaired by the Union Minister for Education.

• The Council will be an important institutional mechanism to monitor the implementation of NEP in states and Union Territories (UTs) and will act as a forum for discussions.

• Integrate the vision of Institutions of Eminence (IoE) with the NEP: by empowering the IoEs with more freedom, autonomy and resources.

• Constitute the National Higher Education Philanthropic Council:  

• It will help in raising funds for the HEI since nearly 70% of them are private and lack resources.
• Employ innovative institutional mechanism: like tax incentives, endowment frameworks and other incentives to encourage corporate sector funding. Following funds can be created - 

• Higher Education Infrastructure Development Endowment Fund, Higher Education Student Scholarship Endowment Fund, Higher Education Research Grants Endowment Fund.

Elements for successful implementation of any Policy: which can be utilized in context on NEP - 

• Incentives: Create stakeholder incentives

• Instruments: Formulate instruments in the form of legal, policy, regulatory and institutional mechanisms.

• Information: Build reliable information repositories.

• Adaptability: Develop adaptability across HEIs, regulatory bodies and government agencies.

• Credibility: Develop credibility through transparent actions and participation of all stakeholders.

• Management: Develop sound principles of management.