“The purpose of education is to make better human beings with skill and expertise. Enlightened human beings can be made by teachers.” – Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
With the rapidly evolving global employment and ecosystem landscape, it is becoming increasingly essential that students not only learn but, more importantly, know how to learn. Therefore, education is moving towards teaching how to be multidisciplinary, think critically, innovate and solve problems, adapt, and absorb new study material in vigorous fields.
And to match the step with this changing world and to reduce the gap between the learning, a new education policy was released by the Ministry of Education, known as the (NEP 2020) National Education Policy 2020. As per the ministry, the new policy 2020 focuses on enhancing the Gross Enrolment Ratio in education, including vocational learning and teaching, from 26.3% in 2018 to 50% by 2035.
The new policy was created to reform the existing educational system in India after 30 years with an aim to upgrade and advance India’s schools to the level of international standards. It is developed in collaboration with the state and central governments.
National Education Policy 2020 – An Overview
New Education Policy 2020 is the first policy of the 21st century which addresses the new aspects of teaching and learning. It proposes revising and revamping every part of the education structure, like its governance and regulation, to make a new system aligned with the aims of 21st-century education. The education policy changes the education system in a significant way to provide the nation with better school professionals, students and better human beings.
The National Education Policy 2020 makes India an international choice for education by providing a varied, dynamic and high-quality learning hub to all the people abroad. Following are the principles of New Education Policy 2020 –
- Introduce students to Indian culture
- Increase students’ reading and numeracy knowledge
- Determine and nurture each student’s potential
- Emphasise the usage of evaluation and technology
- Providing flexible academic opportunities
- Improve your student’s creativity and logical thinking
- Enhance education quality
- Spend money on public education
- Transparency in education policy
- Teach many languages
- Do excellent research, empower and teach good governance children
The NEP 2020 focuses and is based on five essential pillars: Equity, Affordability, Quality, Accountability and Access. In addition, the new curriculum will include:
- Ensure practical, critical, and experimental thinking
- Focus on key skills
- Previous curriculum content will be reduced.
- Internships for a vocational programme will be given from the 6th- class onwards.
- Flexibility to choose subjects.
The new policy strives to devise four different National Curriculum Frameworks, for which the National Council of Educational Research and Training and the Ministry of Education have jointly created a comprehensive plan and strategies. Have a look!
- National Curriculum Framework for School Education
- NCF for Early Childhood Care and Education
- National Curriculum Framework for Adult Education
- National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education
Principles of National Curriculum Framework
The NCF/National Curriculum Framework serves as a guideline for designing the textbooks and syllabus and introduces new teaching practices in the country. Given below are some of the principles designed for the entire range of school stages –
- Ensuring education approaches rather than rote methods
- Connecting education to real-life examples outside school
- Improving flexibility in taking exams and integrating them with class-school life
- Enhancing the curriculum to offer experiences and knowledge beyond textbooks
Conclusion
The new policy is transforming and changing education, and it has set the education system on a path to delivering high-quality education for all, with inclusion and equity. Among the most transformative aspects of National Education Policy 2020 is the new 5+3+3+4 curricular phase, which integrates Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) for all children ages 3 to 8.
