National Education Policy 2020: Progressive Step Towards Making Education Inclusive

Vibhuti Taneja Aug 04, 2020

Did you know India had an archaic education system in the world? Given that India is an emerging superpower, our education is not as updated or contemporary as the other developed countries. However, all that ends well is good and with the new National Education Policy (NEP) rolled out it would give a breath of fresh air to the education system in India.

The much-awaited National Education Policy is a progressive and heading towards the country’s agenda of educational inclusion for all that will provide flexibility to students and enhance digital education in the ecosystem. There has already been positive progress towards digital education over the last decade and with changes in the NEP structure, it will provide a much needed shot in the arm for the education system in India. The new framework has emphasised on Early Child Care and Education, Vocational Learning, Skill Development, Experiential Learning, Creativity and stronger Conceptual Understanding something that has been a miss in the earlier education framework.

With an early-stage focus on life skill like coding and tech-enabled learning will prepare students for the real world and promote India as an education hub making a mark at a global stage. It’s a welcome move and all the stakeholders are excited to incorporate and embed the new policy to prepare the next generation workforce for a fully tech-enabled world.

Introduction of Early Child Care and Education (ECCE) - The Foundation of Learning

Most of the developed countries put a lot of emphasis on ECCE of a child’s education as it provides an indispensable foundation to a child. With the introduction of ECCE in the new framework, the objective is to focus on the child’s cognitive, physical and motor, socio-emotional-ethical, cultural/artistic development and the improvement of communication and early language literacy. This warrants trained teachers that specialise in the curriculum of ECCE. It’s a great move and with the government ready to invest in training teachers and focusing on ECCE, it will definitely help children in gaining the right knowledge and contribute efficiently to a child’s development.

From Rote learning to Realistic and Comprehensive Learning

The race for better grades and evaluation based on the points system has developed a Rote learning culture among the students across the country. Unfortunately, India was known to churn the largest number of unemployable graduates in the world and this was mainly because of lack of realistic learning. With the focus now shifting on ‘Holistic Development of Learners’ the students will move towards realistic learning on how to learn and do away from the culture of rote learning. The focus will not solely be on cognitive learning but also on building character and creating holistic and well-rounded individuals equipped with the key 21st-century skills. Specific sets of skills and values across domains will be identified that will be integrated at each level of learning.

Enhance essential learning and critical thinking

The debate on curriculum content had been ongoing for some time now and how students were burdened with unnecessary pressure because of the content load. It’s a good move to curtail the content and shift focus on critical thinking, holistic, inquiry-based, discovery-based, discussion-based, and analysis-based learning. Students learn and grasp concepts when taught in an interactive manner and this is where key concepts, ideas, applications and problem-solving abilities of students tend to show.

Some of the other positive factors of new NEP

Mother tongue as a medium of instruction at schools is a significant move as India has diverse languages and this will help students to understand and learn in the language that they are comfortable with. The new NEP will provide more flexibility and freedom to students to learn at a pace that they are comfortable with, not all students have the same learning ability and providing flexibility will address this issue. Changes in assessment policy will prove to be a game-changer in the new NEP with a focus on the holistic and multidimensional assessment that will reflect detailed progress and uniqueness of learner. Teaching as a profession will get its due and will be viewed with more dignity and privilege: as new policy focus on continuous self-improvement opportunity.

Overall it’s a great move and everything about the new National Education Policy promises a better future for all the stakeholders in the education sector. Now the objective should be on implementation of the policy and create a world-class and exemplary education ecosystem that the world can look up to and learn.