New Education Policy 2020: Did you ever read a policy document which had the word ‘fun’ mentioned 5 times?

I got my hands on the draft of the New Education Policy the day it was announced after having seen some (surprisingly) excellent creatives on the highlights. Nice to see the government upping its game on communication!  I’d seen the earlier version that had been put up for commentary and also seen a number of discussions around it so I was quite familiar with the direction it was taking. 

But when I saw the (almost) final version, I was pleasantly surprised at what an interesting document it is. Education is something that should concern us all and I would encourage people to read the full document before opining on it. What struck me was the easy style of writing, the soul-baring analysis of what’s wrong with the current system and the emphasis on ‘fun’ and ‘play’ in the context of learning. There’s a reward for anyone who can tell me one other policy document that would have the word ‘fun’ in them. It tells you that this time, it might just be different. I finally downloaded the final version from the MHRD...oops! The Ministry of Education website and so I can comment on reality now.

The majority of criticism about the policy (from those who’ve read only the highlights of course) that’s emerging is ‘This is all wonderful, but how will it get implemented?’. 

My counter is, ‘Even if half of it gets implemented’ it’s a game changer and then sheer momentum will carry it through. Call me an optimist but I have no shame in saying that I have faith. I have faith that things will change because they simply have to. I also believe that we can all contribute to making a change so lets get inspired and do what we can. We can now base all our creative ideas on the NEP 2020 and it will be hard for anyone to reject them!

Enough has been written about the popular highlights so let me share some of the gems that I unearthed.

Children need to learn to learn: How profound is this? The introduction talks about how rapid changes in the knowledge landscape require that children not only learn but learn how to learn.  Talk to anyone who hires people in the corporate world and they will tell you that the most precious skill they hire for these days is Learning Agility. And why is it so precious? Because things are changing rapidly around us and automation is taking over simple jobs.  Adapting and evolving need continuous learning, hence, learning to how to learn.

Teachers need to be seen as the most respected members of our society: Much has been written on the emphasis on teacher education in the NEP, but the spirit behind this is what is is laudable – ‘The new education policy must help re-establish teachers, at all levels, as the most respected and essential members of our society, because they truly shape our next generation of citizens’. Yes, yes and another yes. The multiplier effect a teacher has is incalculable. With the emphasis on continuous teacher training and new performance management methods, this can actually happen. A bonus for teachers - to help with this objective, teachers will not be asked to do non-teaching work like electioneering or cooking mid-day meals!

Tech everywhere:   Technology in various forms peppers the policy document liberally – Using technology to estimate teacher requirements, using technology to enable students to learn, using technology for a more inclusive learning experience, using technology to foster multi-lingual capability and of course, technology as a subject.

To enable 'informed consent' in a country where digital literacy is low: There is a recognition that as disruptive technologies become mainstream, people need to be able to understand how to use them. The word used is ‘informed consent’.  In a country like ours, literacy is low and digital literacy is lower. But all our critical functions are moving online – be it Aadhar, be it banking, be it education, be it public services. Awareness building in school and continuing education is needed to raise public awareness.  The need to prepare study material on ethical issues related to these technologies has been called out. This is an absolutely crucial requirement to ensure that technology works for us and instead of enslaving us.

Increasing the supply of teachers by making it mandatory for all PhD students to teach: The idea of all Ph D students having to take courses in teaching /education /pedagogy/ writing is another powerful one. They will have to have a minimum number of hours of actual teaching experience through being Teaching Assistants. What a fabulous way to expand the availability of qualified teachers. Once kids get used to good teachers, the pressure on the system will build for all teachers to either be extremely engaging or extreme geniuses! 

Remove the language barrier to learning: The 3-language formula continues but the radical recommendation of all education being in the mother tongue till Class 5 is a welcome one. English is spoken by very very few people. And in the race to become ‘English medium’, millions of kids are plunged into a state of mediocrity with language becoming a barrier to learning and killing any spark they might have. To every reader who disagrees with this, please look around you and ask people which language they think in. I rest my case. A young child’s mind is curious and like a sponge. This is the time when ‘English medium’ crushes her ability to comprehend the world with joy. Mother tongue led learning, will bridge this gap.

Reposition the perception of vocational education: There is a recognition that the lack of planning and the poor delivery of vocational education has contributed to the creation of a social status hierarchy in which vocational education is perceived to be inferior to mainstream education, and meant largely for students who are unable to cope with the latter.  In every skill development forum, lip service is paid to vocational education but when the rubber hits the road, it’s the degree that gets favoured.   The thought behind encouraging short term certification courses in various skills, including soft skills and allowing student to get credit for them is a strong move from ‘knowing’ to ‘doing’. The transition will take time but it has to begin, and this is a good start.

Incorporating technology curriculum in agricultural universities: Enough has been written about the gradual move of all Higher Education Institutions becoming multi-disciplinary but it’s the call out on agricultural education that is equally promising. If agricultural universities incorporate learning about the emerging technologies in their curriculum, they can start thinking about critical issues such as declining land productivity, climate change and food sufficiency and using technology for scalable solutions. Agricultural Technology Parks could be the next big thing after Software Technology Parks!

Enough said as of now.  I hope this encourages any of us who is even remotely interested in bringing about change to our education system to read the policy document. I shall put down a part 2 of this train of thought in another post.

Till then, here’s the link for some inspiring reading. https://www.mhrd.gov.in/national-education-policy-2020-0