Academic Bank Of Credit Launched And Other NEP 2020 Highlights

The National Education Policy is a framework of the education policy in India. The first policy was transcribed in 1968, followed by a reformed document in 1986. It has been 34 years since a new policy had been launched in India.

29th July marked the one-year completion of the new National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020). PM Narendra Modi addressed this by making key announcements of transformative reforms under NEP 2020.

On the occasion, Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Education Minister tweeted, "The NEP will help prepare global citizens who will merge the best of tradition with the most modern and global outlook. These valuable human resources will shoulder collective responsibilities in the face of natural disasters & find solutions for issues that confront humanity."

PM Modi stressed the role of NEP 2020 in creating an Atma Nirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India). On this day he called for inclusive affordable education for all. In the spirit of inclusivity, 14 colleges across India will offer engineering courses in 11 regional languages, online courses on Artificial Intelligence in regional languages was also launched, moreover, Indian Sign Language (ISL) was given an official language status.

Dr Sunita Gandhi, Educationist of the Year 2014, commented, "The NEP insists that without basic learning, the rest of the NEP becomes irrelevant. In it lies the biggest possibility of NEP’s impact on not only education but also on equity and inclusion, the hallmarks of a great education that guarantee everyone is on the same page and that everyone knows how to read that page!"

Vidya Pravesh will ensure remote areas will have playschools. In the spirit of inclusivity, the Vidya Pradesh program will see all children will have access to playschools.

"It is important for the government and schools to slowly and steadily make playful learning a central aspect of strengthening primary education and, thus, the holistic development of every child." commended Kavita Sahay Kerawalla, Vice-Chairperson, VIBGYOR Group of Schools

Congratulating educators across the country for working hard on making the policy a reality. He announced the launch of NISHTHA 2.0, an integrated programme for teacher training by NCERT.

Divya Lal, Managing Director, Fliplearn commended this effort, stating "Smart initiatives like integrated programmes for teacher’s training designed by NCERT; SAFAL is definitely going to benefit us tremendously."

The Academic Bank of Credits is to take full effect. One of the most discussed initiatives is finally going to be implemented, allowing students academic freedom. A move that has seen great support from educators. Vikas Singh, Vice-Chancellor, ITM University, Raipur remarked, "Initiatives such as Academic Credit Bank will free up the students from clutches and let them choose the best program, the best time and best place to study." 

Technology is at forefront of NEP 2020. The pandemic has certainly sped technology dependency across the globe, NEP 2020 now takes this a step further through the launch of the National Digital Education Architecture (NDEAR) and the National Education Technology Forum (NEFT). PM’s announcement of these launches supports educators across the nation, as well as educational planning.

"The new initiatives such as NDEAR and NETF are absolutely vital to reform education by bringing in digital technology. This will provide the much-needed impetus to achieve scale and quality in education at a small marginal cost and make it affordable to the common man." Added Prof. Milind Padalkar, Pro-Chancellor, The NorthCap University

NEP 2020 is actively working to build a quality, affordable and accessible education system. As Sumeet Mehta, Co-founder & CEO, LEAD stated "It’s time for all of us to shift gears from crisis-management mode towards future-building mode." This means laying strong foundations for the youth of the nation. Starting with early childhood education, skill-building, onto academic freedom for all. All initiatives align with the goals of creating a holistic education system that aligns with India’s goals of becoming a global knowledge superpower.

Vinesh Menon, CEO- Education, Skilling & Consulting Services, Ampersand Group, added, "While the ministry of education under the PM’s guidance has launched game-changing initiatives such as Academic Bank of Credits, NDEAR and NETF to set the tone for the way forward, this year should focus on removing the challenges in execution of these initiatives across the length and breadth of the country through parallel focus on better accessibility to digital devices, deeper internet coverage and stronger Public-Private Partnerships to revive an education sector that is currently gasping to keep pace with the new age requirement by the next generation of students."

The NEP 2020 address has instilled a new motivation among educators on evolving the sector for the future. However, this is a framework and much labour needs to be done for these visions to be realised.

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Launches

• Vidya Pravesh, a three-month play-based school preparation module for class 1 students
• NISHTHA 2.0, an integrated programme of teacher training designed by NCERT
• SAFAL (Structured Assessment For Analysing Learning Levels) is a competency-based assessment framework for classes 3, 5 and 8 in CBSE schools
• Artificial Intelligence training website
  • Online Course of AI in Regional Language
• National Digital Education Architecture (NDEAR)
• National Education Technology Forum (NETF)

Key announcements

• Academic Bank of Credit that will provide multiple entries and exit options for students in Higher education
• Engineering Programmes in Regional Languages in 14 colleges
• Guidelines for Internationalisation of Higher Education
• Indian Sign Language given language status
  • Indian Sign Language as a subject at the secondary level