Introduction
The National Educational Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), approved by the Union Government on 29 July 2020, was introduced to implement changes at all levels of education in India. It also creates a scope for the teachers to refine the way they engage with their students by providing them guidance, support, and training,
The NEP 2020 replaces the erstwhile National Policy Education of 1986 introduced by the Rajiv Gandhi government, modified once in 1992 when P V Narasimha Rao was Prime Minister and prior to that, the first education policy that was passed in 1968 by the Indira Gandhi government. Thus, the NEP 2020 is the third consecutive education policy which has been introduced in India after a long gap of about 34 years. The NEP 2020 also paved the way for renaming the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) as the Ministry of Education.
This report peeps into some of the less-discussed parts of the National Educational Policy 2020 with a special focus on the educational scenario of Jammu and Kashmir.
The steps for a new education policy (NEP 2020) were initiated in 2015, and in May 2016, the ‘Committee for Evolution of the New Education Policy’ came up with a report, based on which the MHRD prepared ‘Some Inputs for the Draft National Education Policy, 2016’. Finally, in June 2017, the Committee for the Draft National Education Policy, constituted under the chairmanship of Dr. K Kasturirangan, former chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), submitted the ‘Draft National Education Policy, 2019’ to Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal on 31 May 2019, after he took over the charge of the MHRD.
“The NEP 2020 was formulated after considering nearly over 2 lakh suggestions from 2.5 lakh gram panchayats, 6,600 blocks, 6,000 ULBs and 676 districts,” the government said. The NEP 2020 policy document says that it “aims at producing engaged, productive, and contributing citizens for building an equitable, inclusive, and plural society”.
The policy is based on the pillars of “access, equity, quality, affordability, accountability” and will transform India into a “vibrant knowledge hub,” tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon after the NEP 2020 was unveiled. The Modi-led Central government plans to reform the education system with the National Educational Policy 2020, which it believes has the vision to transform the country into a “knowledge superpower by equipping students with the necessary skills and knowledge”. It aims to inculcate the feeling of nationalism and respect among the students towards the Fundamental Duties and Constitutional values, and make them aware of their roles and responsibilities in a changing world.
The NEP 2020 Vision
A forward-looking policy, the NEP 2020 targets to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education including vocational education from 26.3 percent to 50 percent by 2035. According to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), the GER in higher education has increased from 25.8 percent in 2017-18 to 26.3 percent in 2018-19, while in absolute terms the enrolment increased from 3.66 crores to 3.74 crore students. The survey also found that GER for Scheduled Castes had also grown from 21.8 percent to 23 percent and Scheduled Tribes from 15.9 percent to 17.2 percent.
The NEP 2020 seeks to increase the focus on early childhood care by reforming the existing 10+2 structure of school education to a 5+3+3+4, covering children between the ages of 3-18. It will reduce the syllabus and add more activities to improve the critical thinking of the students and restructure the education regulatory framework by setting up an independent State School Regulatory Authority for each state that will prescribe basic uniform standards for public and private schools and setting up of National Higher Education Regulatory Authority (NHERA) by replacing all existing regulatory institutions. It also seeks to set up a National Education Commission, increase public investment in education by spending 6% of the GDP. It also recommends extending the ambit of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE) to include early childhood education and secondary school education (3 to 18 years) and no detention till class 8. The policy raises the concern that India is lagging in “Research and Innovation” and recommends establishing a National Research Foundation, an autonomous body, for funding, mentoring and building the capacity for quality research in India. The Foundation will be provided with an annual grant of Rs 20,000 crore (0.1% of GDP).
The undergraduate program would be interdisciplinary with multiple exit options and appropriate certificates will be awarded to the students. Under the four-year programme, students can exit after one year with a certificate, after two years with a diploma, and after three years with a bachelor’s degree, and a Bachelor’s with research after 4 years.
The NEP 2020 document focuses on strengthening the use of technology and increase focus on vocational and adult education. The policy document emphasizes the need for practical-based classes through virtual laboratories to ensure remote access to laboratories in various disciplines. It recommends learning in three languages and does not compulsorily prescribe Hindi. The three languages referred to are Hindi, English and the regional language of the respective States. “There will be greater flexibility in the three language formula, and no language will be forced on states,” the policy clarifies. “The three languages learned will be the choice of state, region and of course the students as long as two of the three languages are native to India”.
Three-Language Formula (Kothari Commision 1968)
First language: It will be the mother tongue or regional language.
Second language: In Hindi speaking states, it will be other modern Indian languages or English. In non-Hindi speaking states, it will be Hindi or English.
Third Language: In Hindi speaking states, it will be English or a modern Indian language. In the non-Hindi speaking state, it will be English or a modern Indian language.
Training of Teachers
The NEP 2020 aims to improve the skills of teachers by introducing a large number of merit-based scholarships across the country for four-year integrated BEd programmes, which would be a minimum qualification for teaching by 2030; however, those who have already obtained a bachelors degree or a masters degree, there will be different requirements for them. The policy plans to strengthen the teacher eligibility tests (TETs) to “inculcate better test material” and the scores of the TETs will be taken into account at the time of recruitment.
Teachers will also be offered local, regional, state, national, and international workshops as well as online teacher development modules so that they are able to improve their skills and knowledge and will be expected to participate in at least 50 hours of such professional development opportunities in a year.
Moreover, according to the NEP 2020, teachers will be encouraged to avoid participating in activities such as electioneering, so that they are able to devote their maximum time to teaching.
Educational Scenario in the country
The percentage of all children in standard 3 who can read at standard 2 level has climbed up slowly over the past few years, according to the government’s Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2018, a biennial nationwide survey of children’s ability to read simple text and do basic arithmetic.
At least 25% of school children in the four-eight age group do not have age-appropriate cognitive and numeracy skills, making for a massive learning deficit at a very early stage, according to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2019.
The government-run preschool system is losing out to private schools in terms of enrolment, said ASER 2019, which this year focuses on early education. The report, based on a survey conducted in 26 districts across 24 states by education non-profit Pratham, further highlights a gender gap in schooling.
Just 37.4% of children below six are able to recognize at least letters and only 25.6% can do additions, according to the report. Similarly, only 34.8% of children in Class II can read a text meant for the level below. And at Class III, only 50.8% can read texts meant for their juniors two levels below.
The report underlined the need to focus on the early years to improve the basics of education. A focus on the “breadth of skills” and activities that strengthen cognitive skills rather than formal subject-learning in the early years may generate substantial benefits for later academic performance, it said.
The study also showed how a better education level among mothers can lead to better outcomes among children in preschools and early schools. Numeracy skills among Class III children of illiterate mothers are much lower than those whose mothers had studied till Class XI or above. Only 29.2% of Class III children of illiterate mothers can do a two-digit addition. This rises to 64% for the same student cohort of mothers, who have studied at the level of senior secondary or above.
The findings also showed that more girls are enrolled in government institutions and more boys in private institutions. Among four-five-year-old children, 56.8% of girls and 50.4% of boys were enrolled in government schools or preschools, whereas 43.2% of girls and 49.6% of boys were enrolled in private preschools or schools, the survey found.
“The gap in enrolment between boys and girls is larger among 6-8-year-olds, with 61.1% of all girls versus 52.1% of all boys in this age group going to a government institution,” it said.
The NEP 2020 hammers to smithereens any hope that the underprivileged and the socially disadvantaged people have of improving their precarious life through education, according to experts. The new education policy does not mention improving the condition of the government education sector but instead emphasizes “encouraging private philanthropic efforts for quality education”, which would obviously provide an impetus to the private school business.
The reform that the school system in India needed
Early childhood care and education – For the first time, early childhood care (for 3-6-year-old children) has been included in the educational framework. This came as a welcome change, especially for the children who come from low-income families. Given that 85% of a child’s cumulative brain development occurs before the age of 6, there is a need to give importance to appropriate care and stimulation of the brain in early childhood to ensure healthy brain development and growth. Maria Montaserri has rightly said, “Early childhood care is the key to the betterment of society.” But presently quality Early Childhood Children Education (ECCE) is not available to crores of children particularly those who belong to a socially disadvantaged population. NEP 2020 understands the need for the ECCE but it has not spelled out the plan to achieve it. The new education policy has introduced two different types of models to impart ECCE, one is the Anganwadi model and another is the pre-primary school model. It remains to be seen how these two different models impart ECCE.
The new education policy has also given a progressive provision of the ‘Gender-Inclusion Fund’ to build the nation’s capacity to provide equitable and quality education to all girls as well as transgender students.
Jammu and Kashmir’s educational scenario
While NEP 2020 aims to overhaul the country’s education system, a highly appreciated move, but what matters most for the students of Jammu and Kashmir is as follows:
- The normal functioning of schools, colleges and universities
- Good quality education in government-run schools and colleges.
It goes without saying that parents in Jammu and Kashmir prefer private schools over government-run schools to ensure that their children receive a good quality education.
According to the official data, there are around 29092 government and private schools in 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir. The data indicates that about 43153 children are presently out of school (including dropouts and those who never enrolled in school). “The average dropout rate is 10.5% at the primary school level and the dropout rate of girl students shot up to 11.3% in 2018.”
The government needs to focus on the districts which have literacy rate below 60 % then move to the district which has a below 70% literacy rate and seek solutions for addressing the problem. According to the census 2011 Jammu, Samba and Leh district has the highest literacy rates of over 90 percent while Bandipora, Ganderbal, Budgam, Ramban, Kulgam, and Reasi have a literacy rate of less than 60 percent.
The table below shows districts of JK which have a literacy rate below 70 percent
| District | Literacy (%) |
| Kishtwar | 56.20 % |
| Ramban | 54.27 % |
| Ganderbal | 58.04 % |
| Reasi | 58.15 % |
| Bandipora | 56.28 % |
| Kulgam | 59.23 % |
| Badgam | 56.08 % |
| Anantnag | 62.69 % |
| Srinagar | 69.41 % |
| Baramula | 64.63 % |
| Kupwara | 64.51 % |
| Rajouri | 68.17 % |
| Pulwama | 63.48 % |
| Udhampur | 68.49 % |
| Punch | 66.74 % |
| Doda | 64.68 % |
Source: Census 2011 Data
There is already a huge gap in the performance of government and private schools in Jammu and Kashmir. The government-run schools continue to show poor performance in class 10th result as the pass percentage of government-run schools is only 62 percent and private schools perform better with the pass percentage of 82 percent.
According to the Jammu and Kashmir State Board of School Education (BOSE) officials, more than 41 government-run schools have failed to produce 20 percent result. Among the poor-performing schools, nine have produced zero percentage results which include three in Anantnag, two in Bandipora, and one in Budgam, Baramulla, Kupwara, and Kulgam districts.
The new education policy stresses introducing coding classes from class 6th and starting virtual labs in the schools which is very fascinating. But that does not seem feasible as more than half of government schools in J&K don’t have any electricity.
Although technology is a key focus of NEP 2020, only 59% of schools across the country have access to electricity.
The UT government is supposed to build a highly sophisticated infrastructure in its schools for ensuring a good outcome of the new education policy. It includes electrifying schools, putting computers in every government-run school along with internet facility.
Conclusion
The world is undergoing rapid changes in the knowledge landscape. It is moving with big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, environmental issues, depleting natural resources, pandemic, etc. and we need a new skilled workforce to adapt to these changes.
Any policy’s effectiveness depends on its implementation. And the NEP 2020 requires multiple initiatives and prompt action by involving all the stakeholders in a synchronized and systematic manner.
The new education policy provides a vision for the country’s future education system but lacks the clarity on improving the status of government schools and colleges which forms an essential part of the quest for improving the education system. The government’s first priority must be to redefine rural education in the country. The government-run schools and colleges in rural India need well-qualified teachers with a good pay scale, access to electricity, computer labs in and proper libraries.
India is a part of the global education development agenda reflected in Goal 4 (SDG4) of the 2030 agenda to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. The new education policy has the potential to change and transform the education system of India in line with SDG4, provided that it is implemented using a bottom-up approach. Much of its implementation will depend on whether the promise to spend 6 percent of the GDP, without facing financial limitations, is fulfilled to enable all students to receive quality education.
References
- Chopra, R. (2020, September 16). India National Education Policy 2020: The takeaways. Retrieved from https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/reading-new-education-policy-india-schools-colleges-6531603/#:~:text=In%20a%20significant%20shift%20from,14%2D18%20(secondary).
- Government School in Jammu and Kashmir: Scenerio and Strategy. (2014, March). Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/hp%20p/Desktop/J&K/j&k%20Govt.pdf
- Jammu and Kashmir: Impact of lockdown on Human rights. (n.d.). Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/hp%20p/Desktop/J&K/Human%20right%20jk.pdf
- Ministry of Human Resource Development, G. o. (2020). New Education policy- 2020. Delhi.
- Explained: The National Education Policy 2020 & Reforms it Brings Retrieved from https://www.thequint.com/explainers/explained-the-national-education-policy-2020-and-reforms-it-brings SHREYASHI ROY
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