National Education Policy 2020 (Part 1- School Education)

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 released on July 30, 2020.  The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) had constituted a Committee for drafting the National Education Policy Chaired by Dr. K. Kasturirangan in June 2017.  The Committee submitted a draft NEP for public consultation in May 2019.  The NEP will replace approx. 30+ year old National Policy on Education, 1986. 

HRD Ministry Renamed as Ministry of Education

GDP in Education is increased from 1.6% to 6%

Key point of NEP segregated in three (3) parts:

1.    School Education

2.    Higher Education

3.    Other Major Reforms in Education policies

• Revised School Curriculum: The NEP recommends that the existing structure of school education must be restructured to make it more relevant to the needs of students at different stages of their development.  The current 10+2 structure of school education will be redesigned into a 5-3-3-4 design comprising: 
  (i)Five years (05 Year) of foundational stage (for ages 3 to 8)
  (ii)Three years (03 Year) of preparatory stage (for ages 8 to 11 or classes three to five) 
  (iii)Three years (03 Year) of middle stage (for ages 11 to 14 or classes six to eight)
  (iv)Four years (04 Year) of secondary stage (for ages 14 to 18 or classes 9 to 12).

• Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE): ECCE consists of play-based and activity based learning comprising of alphabets, language, puzzles, painting, and music for children in early years of their life.  The Committee observed that over 85% of a child’s cumulative brain development occurs prior to the age of six.  It recommends that ECCE for children in the age group of 3-6 should be incorporated in the school structure by following the 5+3+3+4 design of school curriculum. ECCE will be delivered through: 
  (i) Stand-alone aanganwadis, 
  (ii) Aanganwadis located with primary schools, 
  (iii) Pre-primary sections in existing primary schools, and 
  (iv) Stand-alone pre-schools.  
  Further, a national curricular and pedagogical framework for ECCE will be developed by the National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT).  Aanganwadi workers with senior secondary qualifications and above, will be given a six-month certification programme in ECCE.        
   
• Achieving foundational literacy and numeracy: The Committee observed that a large proportion of the students currently enrolled in elementary school (over five crore) have not attained foundational literacy and numeracy (the ability to read and understand basic text, and carry out basic addition and subtraction).  It recommends that every student should attain foundational literacy and numeracy by grade three.  To achieve this goal, a National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy will be setup under the MHRD.  All state governments must prepare implementation plans to achieve these goals by 2025.  A national repository of high-quality resources on foundational literacy and numeracy will be made available on government’s e-learning platform (DIKSHA).    
       
• Universal coverage & Inclusivity : The Committee observed that while the Right to Education Act, 2009 has been successful in achieving near universal enrollment in elementary education, retaining children remains a challenge for the schooling system.  It noted the declining Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) as students move to higher grades indicating large dropouts from the schooling system.  GER denotes enrollment as a percent of the population of corresponding age group.   

Further, it noted that the decline in GER is higher for certain socio-economically disadvantaged groups, based on: 

(i) Gender identities (female, transgender persons)

(ii) Socio-cultural identities (scheduled castes, scheduled tribes)

(iii) Geographical identities (students from small villages and small towns) 

(iv) Socio-economic identities (migrant communities and low income households) 

(v) Disabilities.  

It recommends that schemes/policies targeted for such groups should be strengthened.  Further, special education zones should be setup in areas with significant proportion of such disadvantaged groups.  A gender inclusion fund should also be setup to assist female and transgender students in getting access to education.   

• Revision in School Curriculum Content: Curriculum load in each subject should be reduced to its essential core content to allow for critical thinking, discussion and analysis based learning.  Students should be given more flexibility and choice in subjects of study, particularly in secondary school.  A new and comprehensive national curricular framework for school education will be undertaken by NCERT in accordance with these principles.  This framework can be revisited every 05-10  years.
   
• Local Language Priority (Mother Tongue): The medium of instruction should be in the local language/mother tongue of the child at least till grade five, and preferably till grade eight (in both public and private schools).  The current three language formula will continue to be implemented.  However, there should be more flexibility in the formula, and no language should be imposed on any state.  The three-language formula states that state governments should adopt and implement study of: 
  (i) Hindi, English and a modern Indian language (preferably a southern language) in the Hindi-speaking states, 
  (ii) Hindi, English and the regional language in the non-Hindi speaking states.  
  The NEP recommends that the three languages should be based on choice of states and students.  However, at-least two of the three languages should be native to India.  Further, Sanskrit should be offered as an option at all levels of education.
   
• 360 Degree Assessment of students: The Committee observed that the current nature of secondary school exams and entrance exams have resulted in coaching culture, which is causing harm to student learning.  It recommends that the existing system of such exams be reformed.  Board examinations should test only core concepts, and cover a range of subjects.  Students can choose their subjects, and will have the option to take the exams on up to two occasions during a given year.  To track students’ progress throughout their school experience, examinations will be conducted in grades three, five, and eight.  The examination in grade three will test basic foundational literacy and numeracy, and its results will only be used for improvement of the school education system.  Further, a National Assessment Centre will be setup under the MHRD as a standard setting body for student assessment and evaluation.   
   
• Teacher Training & Management: The existing B.Ed. programme for teacher training will be replaced by a four-year integrated B.Ed. programme that combines high-quality content, pedagogy, and practical training.  Further, teachers will be required to complete a minimum of 50 hours of continuous professional development training every year.  A national curriculum framework for teacher education will be formulated by the National Council for Teacher Education, in consultation with NCERT.  Teachers should not be engaged in non-teaching administrative activities and excessive teacher transfers should be stopped (unless in special circumstances as decided by state governments).
   
• Effective Governance of Schools: The Committee observed that establishing primary schools in every habitation across the country has helped increase access to education.  However, it has led to the development of schools having low number of students (the average number of students per grade in elementary education was about 14 in 2016-17).  The small size of schools makes it operationally and economically challenging to deploy teachers and critical physical resources (such as library books, sports equipment).  The NEP recommends grouping schools together to form a school complex.  The school complex will consist of one secondary school and other schools, aanganwadis in a 5-10 km radius.  This will ensure: 
  (i) Adequate number of teachers for all subjects in a school complex 
  (ii) Adequate infrastructural resources 
  (iii) Effective governance of schools. 
   
• Uniform School Regulation: Currently, the Department of School Education is responsible for all functions of governance and regulation of school education.  The Committee observed that this leads to a conflict of interest and centralization of power.  It recommends that the Department should only be involved in policy making and overall monitoring, but not in regulation of schools.  An independent State School Standards Authority should be set up in each state.  It will prescribe basic uniform standards for public and private schools.  A self-regulation or accreditation system will be instituted for schools.

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