At The Start of The Learning Curve

Context: Funding lies at the heart of India’s education ills and will remain pivotal to the roll-out of the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

National Education Policy (NEP) 2020

• Multi-disciplinarity and flexibility concept: ensures flexible curricula, innovation in the combinations of subjects, focus on vocational education, and an all-new Academic Bank of Credits (ABC). 
• Centrality of technology in education and training: can ensure more effective and efficient learning outcomes.
• It can enhance learning, assessment, planning and administration, classroom processes and the professional advancement of teachers.
• Focus on academic reforms on both the institutional and faculty fronts: can raise the relevance of education through industry-linked orientation like
• Internships, greater industry-academia engagement, and co-creation of curricula with the active involvement of students.
• Independent and autonomous colleges and universities: can evolve into sustainable institutions offering high-quality teaching, research, and community engagement. 
• Independent National Research Foundation (NRF) can bring research out from the wings.

Addressing teacher shortages

• Make teaching as a viable and attractive career choice. 
• Teachers must be paid more so that the best and brightest academics and students can be drawn to the profession.
• Faculty development could pave the way for more motivated and empowered teachers who can design their own curricula and take on leadership roles.
• Higher grants in research and development can draw the sharpest minds and help in building a pool of PhDs and Intellectual Property (IP).
• Generous funding is needed for the economically and socially disadvantaged students to maximise inclusion. 

Conclusion: NEP assures a more generous financial outlook for the education sector and also aims to usher in a slew of reforms across its various categories, segments and dimensions.