Understanding the National Education Policy 2020

After 6 years of deliberation, India finally made major reforms to its 34-year-old education policy. With HRD Ministery changing its name to Ministery of Education, Education Minister Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal announcing series of changes that will affect 300 million students along with ramping up the public investment from 4.4% of GDP to 6%. Let’s take a look at the new reforms.

School Education:

NEP 2020 will replace the existing 10+2 structure to 5+3+3+4 which categorizes the classes according to the developmental stages of children to provide them with a better holistic approach towards life. Today, a student (in most urban cities) enter formal education at the age of 3 through extracurricular playschools. Apart from the structure, the NEP also proposes a considerable change in the examination structure. Key stage assessments (at Grades 3, 5, and 8) would be conducted to track the development of the child. As for the secondary stage, the board examinations would be reformed. They would be made easier where students would be tested on their core capabilities. Instead of just one board, a more modular model to be explored.

One contentious point in the discussion is the medium of instruction. There was some confusion that lessons till grade 5 would be taught strictly in the mother tongue or the local language prevalent in the region. But that’s not entirely accurate. According to the policy, “Wherever possible, the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the mother tongue... Thereafter, the home/local language shall continue to be taught as a language wherever possible. This will be followed by both public and private schools.” So this phrase ‘wherever possible’ clearly gives some wiggle room to schools. All in all, three languages are to be taught to all students and while states are allowed to decide what to pick, two of these languages have to be native to India.

Once these students get to grade 6, the pedagogy will evolve to more experiential learning in the sciences, mathematics, arts, social sciences and humanities. This is also when students will be introduced to vocational training- they’ll be taught technical skills that will allow them to take up jobs in specialized trades or crafts like pottery or carpentry. In fact, they’ll also have to do a 10-day internship with local experts!

This will go on till students get to grade 9. Once there, they will be exposed to multidisciplinary studies where they get to pick the subjects they like from the ones available. No more Science vs Commerce. No more compartmentalization of those adept at mathematics and the ones interested in History. Basically, there are no more streams. You can choose to study Physics along with Sanskrit, or Political Science along with Computers, and your school will have to accommodate you. Even vocational courses and extracurricular activities will be given as much leverage as academic studies.

Of course, amid all these changes, something will have to be done about those career-defining assessments that make students everywhere tremble- board exams. Unfortunately, the policy does not discontinue board exams. But it does lower their importance and make them easier. What’s more, students will be allowed to take them again if they think there’s scope for improvement!

College Education:

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will be charged with conducting (optional) entrance examinations for admissions into higher educational institutes across the country. This will be a standardized test, similar to the SAT which is used for college admissions in the US.

Once selected into a college, students will enroll in a 3 or 4-year undergraduate degree, with the option of leaving whenever they want. If you complete one year, you’ll get a certificate. Two years gets you a diploma. If you stick it out for three or four years (depending on the course), you’ll get a degree. And if you pursue a four-year program with research, you’ll be an eligible Ph.D. candidate.

Another cool bit here is the Academic Bank of Credit (ABC). An ABC will store the academic credits that students earn by taking courses from various recognized higher education institutions. Whenever you complete a course, some credits will be added to your bank. You can then transfer these credits if you decide to switch colleges. And even if you’re forced to drop out for some reason, these credits will remain intact. Meaning you can come back years later and pick up from where you left off.

Another thing the policy focuses on is the need to make universities multidisciplinary. Meaning, they’ll be expected to teach everything from arts, science, management, etc. under one roof. By 2040, the government seeks to phase out single-stream institutions in favor of this model.

The NEP also has made a bold move to resolve the binary of research and teaching and the focus on research will foster a strong culture for innovation. All in all, the changes underlined in the NEP seem well thought out. If implemented in its true vision, the new structure would bring India at par with the leading countries of the world.