The Education Reform 2020
The National Education Policy 2020, brought with it a cause to rejoice amidst the harsh pandemic. Gone will be the days where we saw students complaining about the education system and criticizing its learn-for-exam approach.
This policy aims to bring a revolution in the system of education in India. It shall help in the synchronization of evolving changes in the universe and its understanding among the people. It includes everything from humans and their interactions, to the machines they created and to the environment which they have polluted.
Along with the students the policy also promises to help re-establish teachers at all levels.
As compared to its predecessors, which largely focused on issues of access and equity (as was the need by then) this policy strikes us with some amazing features that includes – flexibility in choosing one’s learning programs and a multidisciplinary approach with no hard separation of streams.
Let’s have a look at the changes one by one.
School Education
- The pupil-teacher ratio of 30:1 and 25:1 (in areas of a large number of socio-economically disadvantaged students) is said to be ensured.
- Increased focus on literacy and numeracy - and generally, on reading, writing, speaking, counting, arithmetic, and mathematical thinking - throughout the preparatory and middle school curriculum, with a robust system of continuous formative/adaptive assessment to track and thereby individualize and ensure each student's learning.
- Regular health check-ups in schools and health cards will be issued to monitor the same.
- Increased flexibility in the choice of subjects. There will be no hard separations under the heads of – curricular, co-curricular, extra-curricular or arts, science, commerce, humanities, or academic or vocational streams.
- For young children to learn and grasp nontrivial concepts more quickly, mother tongue will be preferred as a medium of instruction.
- Children will be exposed to different languages at early age (ages 3-8).
- Indian Sign Language will be standardized across India for use by the students with hearing impairment.
- Activities involving computer coding shall be introduced in the syllabus in the middle stage.
- Students will be able to participate in a 10-days bagless period sometimes between grades 6-8 in which they shall intern with local experts in crafts, carpentry, electric work, etc.
- The assessment shall be more regular and formative, competency-based, promotes learning and development for our students, and tests higher-order skills, such as analysis, critical thinking, and conceptual clarity as against the previous tests of rote memorization skills.
- The progress card will be a holistic, 360-degree, multidimensional report that reflects in great detail the progress as well as the uniqueness of each learner in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains.
- Board exams for 10 and 12 grades to be continued but with a liberty to the students to choose their subjects for board exams.
- Principles of the University entrance exam will remain the same.
- B.Ed. programs shall be of four years as against the present two-year program.
- Teachers’ transfers will be halted and will only be made under special circumstances.
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Higher Education
- Multidisciplinary Universities will be encouraged.
- Credits will be given to all Bachelors’ Degree Program for the subjects that are done from other departments or through online distant learning (ODL) when they are not offered in the class in HEI.
- Multiple exit points in the degree course to address dropout issues. E.g. certificate on completion of 1st year, diploma on completion of 2nd year and bachelors’ degree on completion of the 3 or 4-year course respectively. If the student completes rigorous research in the completion of the course a degree ‘with Research’ will be awarded to the student.
- Undertaking a PhD will require either Masters’ Degree or a Bachelors’ degree with Research. MPhil will be discontinued.
- An Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) shall be established which would digitally store the academic credits earned from various recognized HEIs so that the degrees from an HEI can be awarded taking into account credits earned.
- There shall be an increase in the employability the potential of higher education programs.
Other Areas
- An outstanding adult education curriculum to be developed. Technology-based options like apps, online course modules, TV channels shall be encouraged.
- Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation (IITI) shall be established to expand India into a hub of interpretation and translation of learning materials.
All in all, there will be a definitive shift in the education system from rote learning to more play and discovery-based learning styles. Certainly, the emphasis on a scientific approach shall be accompanied by the grace of critical thinking. The policy surely did not fail to take into account India’s rich culture may it be in a plethora of languages or the beautiful traditional dance forms and thereby making arrangements for its citizens to build a career in it and keep it alive.
But whatever be the policy, it shall produce its fruits only when its implementation goes well. Interestingly, the policy also shows concern in how it shall be implemented effectively. The policy initiatives shall be carried out in a phased manner. Each step will be linked with the successful completion of the previous. Subject wise committee of experts in consultation and coordination of the Ministries will be set up at both the Central and State levels. Such huge activity will of course call out for financial support, which is said to be met out by investing 6% of the GDP for education as against the present 4.4%.
This policy, after 34 long years, has put forward a revolutionary system for education and every Indian has great expectations from it. We hope for it to be implemented proficiently.
Author
Shruti Ramteke
B.A., LL.B.(Hons.) 5th Year
Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur
About the author
An IPR and Cyber law enthusiast with an urge to sync the logic of science with the common sense of laws.A poet with an art of presenting any information with a rhythmic symphony.
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