Impact of Covid-19 and NEP 2020 on School Education in India

Version 2.2.3

An in-depth observation and analysis of the changing times in school education. A continuous and dynamic article with every edit noted as a version. Hope you will enjoy reading, reflecting, and sharing your views as the article evolves.

Better Late Than Never!

Let me begin by stating a fact on which I can bet all my money. Covid-19 and the National Education Policy 2020 will change the future of school education in India. The only thing that needs to be pondered upon is the magnitude of change and its impact on the education system. Differences in opinions may arise due to personal beliefs, experiences, and reasonings that reflect an individual's conditioning. So let me first share where I am coming from.

On 7th August 2020, ICSL launched Friday@5 as a free weekly e-convo for educators. On 21st February 2022, we will host the 70th episode of the program which has so far been attended by over 65000 educators from 35 countries. As the moderator, I was fortunate to engage in amazing conversations with more than 150 eminent scholars, practicing school leaders, and industry experts from India and abroad. Honestly, this has been one of the most rewarding and enlightening experiences of my lifetime. Each episode is a learning experience with clearn indications that something new is about to happen in school education. [You may want to check out the videos of these conversations on the YouTube channel of ICSL or the website.]

The financial sector was revolutionized when Dr. Manmohan Singh introduced financial reforms. The automotive sector was transformed when Maruti was launched. The launch of Jio was a landmark moment for the mobile industry. The Observer Research Foundation published a book that lists 70 economic policies since independence that shaped today's India. Guess what! None of these relates to education, even though everyone strongly believes and propagates the power of education to shape a country's economic future. I believe that a similar document published in 2030 will mention the National Education Policy 2020. I believe that the time has come for a big disruption in the education sector.

Covid-19 forced schools to adopt technology at an unprecedented pace. Twenty-one years ago, as a consultant with one of the first EdTech companies in India we struggled in explaining the merits of eLearning to schools. About 9 years back, I launched MathBuster with 1300+ videos for the CBSE mathematics syllabi of classes 9 - 12. I ran out of fuel while convincing school principals and management to adopt technology to enhance students' learning. Today, everyone accepts eLearning. Every school is preparing to implement hybrid learning. This is a huge disruption.

According to Vinay Sharma, CEO and Director, Convergia Digital Education, "Covid has made technology in schools 'must have' instead of "nice to have". It's important to build a strong support system that will help school leaders and teachers to move towards a new hybrid system smoothly. Secondly, work needs to be done on creating new tech-relevant pedagogies which can move the needle on learning outcomes".

It is true that all the previous education policies were not executed well. This is a collective failure of all the stakeholders. Will the NEP 2020 have the same fate? I don't think so. The Ministry of Education has announced, introduced, or implemented several initiatives that indicate its seriousness towards implementing the NEP 2020. Now it's up to the teachers to implement the spirit of the policy in their classrooms. And, it's upto the school leaders to make the change in their schools. The responsibility of implementing the policy can not solely rest with the government. The NEP 2020 has the potential to reposition India as the best education system on the planet. And, I believe that over the next two decades, this vision will be realized, provided all of us act on it.

Actions Speak Louder than Words

The NEP 2020 has been the most talked-about policy ever. Numerous webinars and discussions have been organized by schools, associations of schools, and organizations. This was necessary to build awareness amongst school management, school heads, and teachers on the various facets of the policy. But, this is not sufficient to make the change happen.

As we step into 2022 and get ready for the next academic session, it is time to "Walk the Talk". This time, if we do not change, we will cease to be relevant for the future. This time, we do not have a choice. This time, we need to act both at an individual level as well as an institutional level. Has your school crafted its vision for 2030 based on the recommendations of the NEP 2020? As a school leader or a teacher, have you written down your own professional development plan to stay relevant for the future?

Unpredictable and Uncontrollable Future

Being a pure mathematician, I have a tendency to introduce mathematics in any meaningful discussion. Chaos Theory, a fascinating branch of mathematics gives us great insights into the convoluted problem we are facing.

If you are not mathematically inclined, take my word that principles of chaos theory tell us that the future of school education or schools is neither predictable nor controllable. You can accept this fact and move to the next sub-heading. Those interested in the mathematical explanation can read on.

Did you know that "a seven-day forecast can accurately predict the weather about 80 percent of the time and a five-day forecast can accurately predict the weather approximately 90 percent of the time? However, a 10-day (or longer) forecast is only right about half the time". So, if you want to know the weather condition in your city two weeks later, you might as well toss a coin. [To know more about how the weather is predicted, read this article.]

The reasons why we "fail" to accurately predict the weather for longer durations are explained by Chaos Theory. And, pretty much the same reasons hold true for predicting the future of school education.

An education system (or an independent school) is a complex dynamical system in which several components interact with each other and the state of the system changes continuously governed by several independent and dependent variables. Chaos theory states that in such systems, even a minor change in any one or more variables (or components) can produce a completely unexpected result over a period of time. This is called "The Butterfly Effect". Let us see how this concept plays out in our context.

Now, let us assume that our aim is to improve the quality of education in India or in a particular school. The most acceptable definition of 'quality' is the state that meets our expectations. This is the reason why 'quality' is a subjective parameter and cannot be defined universally. However, it is possible to define the "minimum expectations" from an education system or a particular school. If we are able to meet these minimum expectations, we can be assured that the minimum quality standards of the education system or the school have been achieved.

Achieving the quality standards in an education system or a school is governed by several factors. The most significant factor of these is the human factor which in turn is governed by several other factors. Non-human factors include the school environment, learning culture, curriculum, content, pedagogical strategies, assessment strategies, technology, and various policies that govern the education system or the school.

According to Chaos theory, even a minor change in the assessment strategies (or any other variable) can over a period of time impact the quality of education, in ways that in impossible to predict or control. This year, because of Covid-19, the format and structure of the CBSE board exams were altered. Instead of one, there were two board exams. The duration of the first board exam was 90 minutes and it consisted of only MCQs. Let us assume that this policy becomes permanent. Is there any way to accurately predict the impact of this change on the quality of secondary education over a period of 10 or 20 years? Is there any way to ensure that this change will result in improving the quality of education after a period of 20 years? According to Chaos Theory, the answer to both the questions is NO.

If we can't say for sure that a small change in assessment strategies will improve the quality of school education over the next decade or two, how are we sure that the mammoth changes suggested by the National Education Policy 2020 or the increased use of technology due to Covid-19 will eventually improve the quality of education? The short answer is that we can't. And even without having the surety, we will need to go ahead and implement these changes with the belief that they will benefit our students and our country.

Dealing with an Unknown Future

I remember a beautiful couplet by Allama Iqbal that my Dad shared with me when I was a kid. This couplet is the best strategy to deal with an unknown future.

?hudī ko kar buland itnā ki har taqdīr se pahle,

?hudā bande se ?hud pūchhe batā terī razā kyā hai

For those not versed with Hindi, the poet says that one should reach such heights that before deciding your destiny, God asks your will. School education is about to witness a tsunami of changes. And, the best way to survive a tsunami is to raise yourself to the peak. Everyone in the school education sector will have to upskill themselves to acquire new competencies. There are no two ways about this.

A complex dynamical system, such as a school (or school education system) needs to be monitored continuously and carefully. We need to collect, analyze, and interpret data about student performance and progress and use this data to make decisions. If we don't, then our only option is to hope for the best.

The NEP 2020 says, "The teacher must be at the centre of the fundamental reforms in the education system". This puts the maximum responsibility of bringing about change on the teachers. The policy also recognizes that "The motivation and empowerment of teachers is required to ensure the best possible future for our children and our nation".??

The National Curriculum Framework will be released by 2024. NCERT will release new content subsequently. Teachers will need to evolve their pedagogical practices to meet the needs of digital natives. Schools will need to change the way students are assessed. Students will be mentored to become independent learners. Parents will become important stakeholders in the education process. The future is exciting. At the same time, it is going to pose several challenges to practitioners who are used to the old and traditional system of learning and teaching.

You have only two choices. You can either change your professional conduct or change your profession. Many teachers in the USA are resigning as they cannot handle the stress caused by hybrid learning. But, there are millions of teachers who are considering hybrid learning as an opportunity for self-growth. Which group would you prefer to join? It is safe for me to assume that you plan to become a more professional teacher (or a school leader) and acquire the competencies you would need to stay relevant. For if not, you would not have read this article so far :-)

Next, we need to understand the three basic objectives of the NEP 2020 for which we are transforming the education system and changing ourselves. Can you guess what these are?

One shouldn’t miss the forest for the trees

Our education system's obsession with marks on standardized tests has significantly diluted the purpose of education. We have moved away from being a "learning-centric" knowledge system to an "assessment-centric" education system. The certificates and mark sheets have become symbols of intelligence and success. The irony of the situation is all those who chase marks know that a decade later these marks will have no value. Once you join the workforce, either as an employee or an entrepreneur, the only things that matter are your personality, character, and competencies.

The NEP 2020 aims to pivot our education system to elements of education that matter. There are three objectives that NEP 2020 wishes to achieve. At the end of school education, students should develop respect for the country, problem-solving skills, and citizenship values. The NEP 2020 explains very well the reason for focusing on these aspects.

Here is the big question. Should not the assessment strategy of school education focus on these primary strands that need to be achieved by all students? Instead of measuring the performance of students in 5 or 6 specific subjects, should we not measure their performance on these criteria throughout their schooling and create an individualized progress curve? Instead of GPA, CGPA, or Average percent, the achievement of each student should be reflected through a single number on a scale of 100. I will elaborate on this later in this article when we discuss the impact of COVID-19 and NEP 2020 on assessment in more detail. For now, I would love to hear your response to this question.

Everything about school education must focus on the primary strands. This means that the curriculum should be designed to deliver the above objectives. Each strand must be expanded to include secondary strands. For each secondary strand, we must define age-appropriate learning outcomes. For each learning outcome, we must define 5-6 proficiency levels. The content, pedagogical strategies, and assessment should then be designed to facilitate students to achieve mastery on each learning outcome. This may confuse some of you. So, let me try to share an example.

Let us consider the primary strand P1: India. To be able to respect India, students need to be aware of and appreciate its history, geography, people, cultures, languages, literature, traditions, art, etc. These form the secondary strands: P1a, P1b, P1c, etc To move forward, let us consider P1b: Geography of India. Now, we need to determine the competencies (knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behavior) that students have to demonstrate through 12 years of school education in this secondary strand. Hopefully, when they graduate from high school, students will have the same sentiments towards India as Mark Twain.

Let us assume that the geography experts decide that in the middle school years students will learn about the Mountain ranges of India. To study these ranges, students will be required to use several concepts of mathematics and sciences. They will also learn about the language, cultures, art, food, attire, and traditions of the people who inhabit these regions. They will visit these places virtually or physically. This is the kind of integration of knowledge that NEP 2020 wishes to promote.

On 12th January 2022, as part of the celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM), the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced the third Expression Series for the session 2021-22. The theme of the CBSE Expression Series is ‘My Vision for India @100 Years’. Students of classes 3 to 12 can participate in this competition. Now, this is a great example of a learning task that should be part of the P1 strand.

If we need to focus on achieving the three primary objectives of school education as proposed by NEP 2020, every aspect of the education system will change. This in turn demands a complete overhaul of how schools function. And, one of the major areas of change would be a complete revamp of the learning culture of schools. Let us look at this in some detail next.

The Crucial First Step: A New Learning Culture

Mumbai and Delhi are culturally different. What does this mean? Simply put, the people of Mumbai and Delhi "do things" differently. These differences are manifested in every aspect of the way people think, behave, or act. The cultural differences between the two cities are big enough for everyone to realize even if they visit the cities for a few days each. Two households in Delhi will also have different cultures, however, this difference may be relatively small, as the culture of each home will be influenced by the culture of Delhi.

Similarly, each school and each classroom has a unique learning culture. This is the 'way' students learn in the school or the classroom.

The implementation of hybrid learning and NEP 2020 will have an enormous impact on the learning cultures of schools and classrooms.

The NEP 2020 aims to put an end to the culture of rote-memorization and instead focus on developing problem-solving skills. This requires students to develop 21st-century skills of communication, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration. These skills in turn require students to reflect on their learning, take accountability for learning, and become independent learners. The existing culture of emphasizing "notes" that could be memorized to prepare for examinations will cease to be effective any longer.

Hybrid learning too will disrupt the existing learning cultures of schools. Till now, learning happened on campus or in the classroom. These boundaries are now shattered. The Covid-19 pandemic has convinced every stakeholder that students do not need to be in school or in the classroom to learn. It is true that so far, optimal efficiencies have not been achieved for online learning and there are certain teething problems that need to be addressed. A lot of these problems exist because of faulty implementation of hybrid learning and the required experimentation process. Once these issues are resolved over the next few years, new learning cultures will emerge.

On 16th January 2022, we asked the ICSL members community to share 3 words that would describe the "hybrid learning cultures" of the future. More than 300 educators participated in the poll. We captured their words as a word cloud using Mentimeter. The update word cloud till 4 pm on 18th January is shared below.

Some of the words that stood out were: Accessible, Adaptive, Assisted learning, Co-created, Collaborative, Connected, Creative, Differentiated, Dynamic, Empathetic, Engaging, Experiential, Flexible, Global, Inclusive, Individualized, Innovative, Inquisitive, Inspirational, Integrated, Interactive, Joyful, Liberal, Participatory, Personalised, Project based, Research, Self-driven, Student-centric.

Nurturing any of the above as inherent and intrinsic elements of the school's learning culture requires substantial and consistent effort over a long period. Before schools rush to the goal post, it is important to develop clear understanding of the real meaning of hybrid learning. We need to be convinced of the need to develop a learning culture that is supported by, and support hybrid learning. It is also important to understand the role that school management, school heads, teachers, parents, and students will need to play to nurture the new learning culture.