NEP 2020: From rote to real

After the cabinet replaced the 34-year-old NPE, 1986 with the NEP 2020 on July 29, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi aptly highlighted Dr A P J Abdul Kalam’s saying, “The purpose of education is to make good human beings with skill and expertise. Enlightened human beings can be created by teachers.” Hailing the ambitious NEP 2020, the PM said, “Changes in the education policy are a major way to provide the nation better students, professionals and better human being.” In fact, the very goal of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) aims at transforming the education system of India into a knowledge superpower and promoting the holistic development of students in both academic and non-academic spheres. However, there is always room for improvement and refinement in any policy to achieve its desired goals effectively.

NEP 2020 has garnered significant appreciation from educators who applaud the policy’s emphasis on fostering conceptual understanding instead of rote learning and exam-oriented education. According to Saloni Chitkara, associate professor (operations), Jaipuria School of Business, Ghaziabad, NEP 2020 stresses an all-encompassing and multidisciplinary way to deal with the education system. It provides flexibility and choice to students in selecting subjects based on their interests and aptitudes. “The NEP 2020 focuses on developing essential skills such as critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration. It advances experiential learning strategies, hands-on learning, tasks, and internships, which enhance practical knowledge and critical thinking skills,” she said.

The traditional perception that science students are viewed differently from arts students is no longer applicable in today’s dynamic world. NEP 2020 also doesn’t draw any hard separations between arts and sciences, between curricular and extra-curricular activities, between vocational and academic streams, etc to eliminate harmful hierarchies among, and silos between different areas of learning. Under NEP 2020, education focuses on recognising the unique strengths and talents of students across all disciplines, fostering a sense of equality, and encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration. Niru Agarwal, trustee, Greenwood High International School, Bangalore believes the main motto of NEP is “equitable and inclusive education” with the vision that no child should be denied access to quality education because of their socio-cultural background.

“The policy addresses the main challenges of employability of Indian students, rote learning, emphasis on memory and repetitive learning models that bring about a complete lack of innovation. The NEP addresses these challenges by framing a policy of holistic education at all levels including universal access and opportunities to students and state-of-art infrastructure. It promotes life-long learning and enables students to adapt to change in different sectors. Skill and vocation-based learning as recommended by the NEP enables a wide variety of learning capacities and incorporation of qualities that will help students handle the real world,” she said.

One of the notable outcomes of the NEP 2020 has been the revamping of the school curriculum to align it with the changing needs of the 21st century. The inclusion of subjects like artificial intelligence (AI) and financial literacy in several schools reflects the policy’s commitment to equipping students with relevant knowledge and skills. Furthermore, the emphasis on promoting the mother tongue or regional languages as a medium of instruction is a commendable step towards preserving cultural diversity and ensuring effective communication.

“NEP 2020 addresses the problem of out-of-date curricula that frequently don’t have any connection to requirements in the real world. It presents a flexible, multidisciplinary curriculum that includes critical thinking, creativity, communication, and digital literacy as well as other crucial abilities. By highlighting the significance of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), the NEP 2020 tackles the deficit of early childhood education in India. The goal of the policy is to guarantee that every child ages 3-6 has access to high-quality ECCE. It suggests developing age-appropriate curricula and pedagogical approaches, training ECCE teachers, and integrating ECCE into the official educational system. Overall, the NEP 2020 addresses the difficulties looked at by the Indian education system by zeroing in on student-driven approaches, even-handed access, expertise advancement, educator quality, technology integration, and research focus,” said Chitkara.

NEP 2020 acknowledges the need for teachers to receive training in both high-quality content and effective pedagogy. It also highlights robust and transparent processes for the recruitment of teachers. “The NEP enables teachers to develop their practical teaching skills by sharing and learning from each other and reflecting on their practices to improve teaching in the context of the school. It encourages teacher autonomy and reduction of administrative work so that teachers can spend their time on teaching and learning,” said Agarwal.

However, implementing the NEP 2020 efficiently requires overcoming several obstacles, including resistance from various stakeholders such as educators, administrators, and parents. To ensure successful implementation, it is crucial to create awareness and build consensus through effective communication and engagement strategies. “Comprehensive policy dissemination and awareness campaigns are needed for stakeholder understanding. Alignment and coordination among educational institutions and authorities are crucial, achieved through collaboration and cooperation. Teacher training and capacity building are critical, requiring comprehensive professional development programmes and ongoing support. Infrastructure development and resource allocation are essential, ensuring equitable access to quality infrastructure, technology, and learning resources. Collaboration, monitoring, and evaluation are key for ensuring the NEP 2020’s successful execution,” said Harshil Gala, CEO, Navneet Toptech.

Takeaways

* Ensuring quality early childhood care

* Ensuring education for all children between 3-6 years

* New curricular and pedagogical structure (5+3+3+4)

* Establishing National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy

* Emphasis on promoting multilingualism and Indian languages

* Special emphasis on Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups

* Robust and transparent processes for recruitment of teachers and merit-based performance

* Internationalisation of education

* Extensive use of technology in teaching and learning