The new education policy of 2020 focuses on the overall holistic development of students and learners. The aim is to move education to real understanding and practicality rather than mere focus on textbook and resource knowledge. It also aims to build character and improve the critical thinking of an individual from a very tender age. All aspects of pedagogy and curriculum will be reoriented and revamped to attain these critical goals. The NCERT has taken the initiative to look into the required fields of improvement and development.
Flexibility is a core concept in the current education sector. This factor aims to provide ample opportunities to students in order to help them choose from their areas of interest. The system also ensures that there won’t be any harsh separations between the art streams and science streams between curricular activities and extra-curricular activities between vocational and academic streams, in order to eliminate unwanted hierarchies between different areas of learning.
Major highlights of new education policy 2020
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The New Education policy has its own highlights that add to the educational sector, the 10+2 structure has been replaced with a 5+3+3+4 structure, which includes 12 years of schooling and 3 years of Anganwadi and pre-schooling. Instead of exams held every year, school students will sit for exams only in classes 3,5, and 8. The mother tongue, a local or regional language will be the medium of instruction up to class 5 in schools. The 4-year UG program has made a comeback. However, colleges will get a choice between the 3-year and 4-year formats. The NEP also offers multiple exit options to students. The government will set up a higher education council of India which will regulate higher education. The focus will be on institutions that have 3000 or more students barring legal and medical colleges.
Among the council’s goals is to increase the gross enrollment ratio from 26.3% in 2018 to 50% in 2025. A national research foundation will be formulated to foster a strong research culture and build research capacity among students in the higher education sector. For the encouragement of holistic education, the NEP proposes that higher educational institutions like IITs impute art and humanities subjects for students learning science and vice-versa. The HRD ministry is also renamed the Ministry of Education.
In conclusion, the proponents of the New Educational Policy state that, the center and states will work together to increase public investment in education to reach 6% of the GDP. The NEP as a whole aims to provide fulfillment to all students based on their fields of interest and ability. This, in turn, will create a huge impact on the existing society.