An Education Policy That Is Sweeping In Its Vision

Context: The National Education Policy 2020 provides a comprehensive framework to ensure quality and inclusive education.

Salient features of New Education Policy (NEP) 2020:

• A new model for school education: Adopting a 5+3+3+4 model for school education, the policy recognises the primacy of the formative years from ages 3 to 8 in shaping the child’s future.

• Multilingual: Learning in the child’s mother tongue until at least Class 5. 
• 100% Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in school education by 2030.

• Vocational courses: Introducing vocational courses with internships in high school.
• Multi-disciplinary higher education framework:  NEP 2020 proposes portable credits and multiple exits with certificates, diplomas and degrees.

• National Research Foundation: to support research in Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERU).
• Empowering colleges as autonomous degree-granting institutions and phasing out the college affiliations.
• Online pedagogy and learning methodologies for attaining the GER target of 50% is envisaged by 2035. 

• Self-assessment: NEP 2020 aims to free educational institutions from periodic inspections by focussing on self-assessment and voluntary declaration. 
• Light but tight oversight:  By setting up a single body with four verticals for standards-setting, funding, accreditation and regulation.
• Inclusivity: NEP emphasizes providing adequate support to every challenged child by providing special support. 
• Promoted Indic knowledge systems: Neglected ancient Indian languages and Indic knowledge systems are identified in the new policy. 
• Funding: Target of public spending at 6% of GDP has been set. 

Conclusion: Public and political need to be mustered for pooling public and private sources for spending on education. NEP 2020 provides the right ingredients but what we make of it depends entirely on us.