The new National Education Policy 2020 was revealed on 29th July 2020. The new Education Policy seeks to implement and introduce new changes in all the education levels in India. The new Education Policy 2020 also seeks to improve the ways of teaching in our schools, colleges, and how teachers should approach education. The new National Education Policy 2020 also renamed our Minister of Human Resource Development (MHRD) into the Ministry of Education, which is a sign of the country’s new and improving education.
Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted after the unveiling of the National Education Policy that it stands on the pillars of “access, quality, equity, accountability and affordability,” and the new Education Policy will help India in India into a “vibrant hub of knowledge.”
National Education Policy was applied from which year in India?
The first National Education Policy was introduced by Indira Gandhi in 1986, 34 years ago, which was once modified in 1992. The National Education Policy 2020 is the first new education policy to be introduced in the 21st century. The new Education Policy was the Bhartiya Janta Party’s (BJP) one of the polls promises in 2014’s Lok Sabha elections.
Efforts for the new Education Policy was underway since 2015, and then in May 2016, the committee responsible for the evolution of the new Education Policy submitted it is reported. The MHRD, or now the Ministry of Education, drafted a new Education Policy based on the inputs from that report. Eventually, in June 2017, under the chairmanship of Dr. K Kasturirangan, former chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), a committee for the Draft National Education Policy was constituted. The committee then submitted the Draft National Education Policy 2019 to Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal on 31st May 2019 after he took charge of the Education Ministry. The cabinet then approved the new Education Policy on 29th July 2020.
According to the government, the new Education Policy 2020 was constructed after having considered nearly over 2 lakh suggestions from over 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats, 6600 blocks, 6000 ULBs, and 676 districts.
Advantages and disadvantages of the new National Education Policy 2020
Let’s see some of the advantages of the new Education Policy :
For School students
- New ways of teaching and improved curricular structure in schools(5+3+3+4): The current structure education system follows is 10+2, but soon this will be replaced by 5+3+3+4. The new structure divides the curriculum as per the overall developmental stages of a child, i.e., early childhood, school education, and secondary stage, which is a 4-year college program. Earlier, the schooling for a child was mandatory for the age between 6 and 14 years. But according to this new policy, now education will be compulsory for every child aged from 3 to 18 years.
- As a medium of education(Mother Tongue): The new Education Policy also includes a three-language policy. This means the child will learn 3 languages throughout their schooling; at least 2 of them should be a language used in India. This policy also aimed to increase the Gross enrolment Ratio in secondary education in any higher institutions.
- Bagless days and informal internships: According to this policy, now every student will participate in a 10-day bagless program. During this program, students of class 6th to 8th will intern and work under the vocational experts in their locality like carpenters, artists, gardeners, etc.
- Coding: Children from class 6th onwards will now learn how to code in any computer language. All the basics of coding and computer programming languages will be taught to the students.
- Choice of multiple streams: Now, the students will be able to choose any subject from various streams, all depending on their interests and choice. For example, a student of physics will also be able to take subjects like politics, history, economics, and civics, etc. as per his or her interests.
For College students
- A Common SAT Entrance Tests for Colleges: Students will now be ranked according to a common SAT like a test, which will allow them to be eligible for various colleges in India. These tests can be given twice a year.
- A 4-year Bachelor degree: This also allows students to drop out and change the degree of his preference. A student dropping out after completion of 2 years will get a diploma certificate. And if a student drops in the 3rd year will get a bachelor’s degree, and he will only miss out on the research opportunities in the final year.
- Fee cap: The new education policy puts a limit on the fee charged by higher educational institutions, which is a relief to parents giving a huge amount of fees.
Now let’s look for some of the disadvantages of the new Education Policy :
- Language: First problem comes in introducing Mother Tongue in schools because all the students became familiar with English. Also, India already faces a shortage of teachers, which results in the lowering of teacher: students ratio in our country.
- 4-year graduation program: Why must a student wait for 4 years of graduation to complete if he can drop out at 2 years and get a diploma and add 2 years of work experience rather than doing classes? What is the purpose of dropping outs a later stage? These questions come up with opposition to this policy.
- The increase in disparity between sections of society: For a child to learn coding from class 6th, he or she should have a computer at home. If a family can’t afford that, then there comes a gap between students. Also, studying materials can be downloaded from the internet, and only 30% of Indian families have a smartphone.
When will the New education policy be applied from?
If some aspects of this policy are to reach the classroom by 2022, the biggest challenge before the government for this is the skilled teacher. To implement this education policy, the government will first have to train the teachers according to this policy. Only then all the different goals can be achieved.
Providing new pre-primary education by 2025
The objective of this new education policy 2020 is to make pre-primary education available to students from three to five years by 2025.
Access to all new education by 2030
It is also the goal of the government to provide education to all under the new policy, which is to be completed by 2030. The goal is to provide compulsory education to all children age 3 to 18 years.
