The progressive new India's National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 paves way for transformational reforms of the Indian Education System

To meet the challenges of the rapid changes in the knowledge landscape and future of jobs, India recently launched a very progressive National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 for 21st century which is holistic in nature and culminates traditional Indian system (as it was based in Nalanda) & modern education system. The foundational pillars of this Policy are access, equity, quality, affordability and accountability.

The new National Education Policy envisage an education system that contributes to an equitable and vibrant knowledge society, by providing high-quality education to all. The policy will facilitate the education system that will promote recognition, identification, and then fostering the unique capabilities of each student by sensitizing teachers as well as parents to promote each student’s holistic development in both academic and non-academic spheres.

The NEP is based on the principles of flexibility, no hard separation (SILOS) among subjects & learning, multidisciplinary & holistic, conceptual understanding, critical thinking & creativity, ethics & human values, equity & inclusion, respect for diversity & local context, community participation, teacher & faculty at the heart of learning, unique capabilities, continuous formative assessment based on coaching, light and tight monitoring & regular reviews.

NEP also focuses on competency based education, integration of subjects, development of scientific temper, digital literacy, promotion of multi-lingual teaching and mental and physical health & wellbeing of students. 

The aim of education will not only be cognitive development, but also building character and creating holistic and well-rounded individuals equipped with the key 21st century skills.

School Education System:

As per NEP 2020, the school system will be based on 5 + 3 + 3 + 4 design consisting of the foundational (3 years of preschool + Grades 1-2), Preparatory (Grades 3- 5), Middle (Grades 6-8), and High school (Grades 9-12). Based on the principles of this National Education Policy 2020, a new and comprehensive National Curricular Framework for School Education, NCFSE 2020-21, will be developed.

The new school education system will provide a strong base of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) from age 3 to promote better overall learning, development, and well-being. The Policy gives highest priority to achieving Foundational Literacy and Numeracy by all students by Grade 3. A new National Curricular and Pedagogical Framework for Early Childhood Care and Education (NCPFECCE) for children up to the age of 8 will be developed by NCERT. The overarching goal will be to ensure universal access to high-quality ECCE across the country.

The Policy focuses on creativity and critical thinking to encourage logical decision-making and innovation among students along with life skills such as such as communication, cooperation, teamwork, and resilience. Another progressive step is to promote multilingualism and the power of language in teaching and learning.

Students will be given increased flexibility and choice of subjects to study, particularly in secondary school

The Policy emphasises on conceptual understanding & learning how to learn  rather than rote learning and learning-for-exams and aims to transform teaching learning process and reforming assessments and examination in secondary school including board exams. More emphases will be given to regular and formative competency based assessments. This will require training of teachers on competency-based learning and education and writing criteria-based assessments based on learning outcomes, capabilities, and dispositions as specified for each subject of a given class. The assessment process will also include self & peer assessment.

It is proposed to set up a National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development), as a standard-setting body under MHRD

In all stages, experiential learning will be adopted. Vocational education will be added from grade 6 onwards. To facilitate learning for all students, the scope of school education will be broadened to facilitate multiple pathways to learning involving both formal and non-formal education modes.

Contemporary subjects such as Artificial Intelligence, Design Thinking, Holistic Health, Organic Living, Environmental Education, Global Citizenship Education (GCED), etc. will be added at relevant stages will be undertaken.

To regulate public and private schools, an effective quality self-regulation or accreditation system will be instituted for all stages of education including pre-school education - private, public, and philanthropic - to ensure compliance with essential quality standards.

Higher Education System

Higher education plays an extremely important role in promoting human as well as societal well-being. The National Education Policy 2020 will be promote India as a global study destination providing premium education at affordable costs thereby helping to restore its role as a Vishwa Guru.

The National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC) will be established as single point regulator for Higher Education and will focus on "light but tight" style governance. NEP 2020 focuses on multi-disciplinary, holistic higher education with flexibility in the choice of subjects and multiple entry and exit points with credit banks which will allow individuals get educated while employed.

The main thrust of this policy regarding higher education is to end the fragmentation of higher education by transforming higher education institutions into large multidisciplinary universities, colleges, and HEI clusters/Knowledge Hubs.

The overall higher education sector will be integrated into one higher education system -including professional and vocational education. The assessment will include criteria based grading system that assesses student achievement based on the learning goals for each programme, making the system fairer and outcomes more comparable. The University degrees will be for 3 years or 4 years research based. The NEP 2020 aims to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education including vocational education from 26.3% (2018) to 50% by 2035.

The flexible curricular structures will enable creative combinations of disciplines for study, and would offer multiple entry and exit points, thus, removing currently prevalent rigid boundaries and creating new possibilities for life-long learning. Under multiple entry and exit system, student can exit with a certificate after 1st year, Diploma after 2nd Year and degree at the end of the 3-year or 4-year programme.

The students will be able to earn various credits from their advanced learning. The Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) will digitally store the academic credits earned from various recognised HEIs so that the degrees from an HEI can be awarded through recognition of prior learning (RPL) and taking into account credits earned.

A National Research Foundation will be established to fund outstanding peer-reviewed research and to actively seed research in universities and colleges.

The NEP 2020 will empower HE Faculty by giving them the freedom to conduct innovative teaching by designing their own curricular and pedagogical approaches including assignment and assessments within the approved framework.

The NEP 2020 aims to internationalize India Higher Education system. High performing Indian universities will be encouraged to set up campuses in other countries, and similarly, selected universities e.g., those from among the top 100 universities in the world will be facilitated to operate in India. Research/teaching collaborations and faculty/student exchanges with high-quality foreign institutions will be facilitated. Credits acquired in foreign universities will be permitted, where appropriate as per the requirements of each HEI, to be counted for the award of a degree.

 Teacher Education System:

Teacher education is vital in creating a pool of schoolteachers that will shape the next generation. To restore the prestige of the teaching profession, the new NEP focuses on reforming teacher education system to enhance teaching and learning by introducing National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) and National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE). The standards (NPST) would cover expectations of the role of the teacher at different levels of expertise/stage, and the competencies required for that stage. The NPST will also inform the design of pre-service teacher education programmes

The 4-year integrated B.Ed. will be launched in addition to 2-year or 1-year B.Ed for those who have already received a 3 or 4-year Bachelor’s degree in a specialized subject. 4-year integrated B.Ed will be a dual-major holistic Bachelor’s degree, in Education as well as a specialised subject (such as a language, or history, music, mathematics, computer science, chemistry, economics, etc).

The recruitment into teacher education will be through common entrance test. The teacher training programme will include training in pedagogical skills, teaching strategies & techniques, multi-level teaching and evaluation, teaching children with disabilities, teaching children with special interests or talents, use of educational technology, and learner-centered and collaborative learning.

Regular in service continuous professional development (CPD) will be an important aspect of developing skills in emerging pedagogies and educational approaches and for progression in the profession. Minimum 50 hours of CPD per year will be required.

Teacher recruitment policies will change and incorporate Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) for all categories of teachers. The TET will be based on content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge.

Reimagining Vocational Education

The NEP aims to overcome the social status hierarchy associated with vocational education through requiring that ALL educational institutions - schools, colleges and universities - integrate vocational education programmes into mainstream education. There will be vocational exposure at early ages, quality vocational education through middle and secondary school and quality specialist vocational & professional education at higher education level. This will integrating vocational education in a way that will ensure that every child learns at least one vocation and is exposed to several more, emphasising the dignity and importance of labour and exciting students about various vocations including those involving local arts and artisanship.

The National Skills Qualifications Framework will be detailed further for each discipline vocation / profession and occupational standards will be aligned with the International Standard Classification of Occupations maintained by the International Labour Organisation.

This Framework will provide the basis for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) by aligning the practical experience with the relevant level on the Framework and assigning credits. The Framework will also facilitate mobility across general and vocational education.

Professional Education

As per National Education Policy 2020, the professional education including technical education, health science education, legal and agricultural education will be an integral part of the overall higher education system and will significantly involve critical and interdisciplinary thinking and research.

Education is fundamental for achieving full human potential, developing an equitable and just society, and economic development. . Indeed, with the quickly changing employment and global ecosystem, it is becoming increasingly important that we teach our children not only what to lean but also how to learn. Education must thus, move towards less content, and more towards learning about how to think critically and solve problems, how to be creative and multi-disciplinary, and how to innovate, adapt, and absorb new material in novel and changing fields.

If the new National Education Policy 2020 is implemented well, India will have one of the best education system in the world.