After 34 years, on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, India got its new education policy. This is a massive reform, not just for the education sector but for all the sectors and industries in India. Education changes everything, it has the power to make or break a country. The Union Cabinet approved the new National Education Policy (NEP). The HRD Ministry will now be known as the Education Ministry. Union Ministers Prakash Javadekar and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said that there would be a single regulator for all higher educational institutions and MPhil would be discontinued, with the amendment in place. A joint press conference will be held at 1600 hours on July 30.
Encouraging digital learning
The increased use of gadgets and technology demands an educational reform that will enable students to grow with digital trends. The increased need for digital learning has driven the government to create a National Educational Technology Forum (NETF). Higher Education Secretary, Amit Khare, said, “E-courses will be developed in eight regional languages initially and virtual labs will be developed.”
Standalone Higher Education Institutes and professional education institutes will be evolved into multi-disciplinary education. Khare added, “There are over 45,000 affiliated colleges in our country. Under Graded Autonomy, Academic, Administrative and Financial Autonomy will be given to colleges, on the basis of the status of their accreditation,”
The process of NEP amendment
The Government had initiated the process of formulating a New Education Policy through the consultation process for an inclusive, participatory and holistic approach, which takes into consideration expert opinions, field experiences, empirical research, stakeholder feedback, as well as lessons learned from best practices.
The Committee for preparation of the draft National Education Policy submitted its report to the Ministry on 31.05.2019. The Draft National Education Policy 2019 (DNEP 2019) was uploaded on MHRD’s website and also at MyGov Innovate portal eliciting views/suggestions/comments of stakeholders, including the public. The draft NEP is based on the foundational pillars access, affordability, equity, quality and accountability.
Post submission of Draft Report States/UTs Governments and Government of India Ministries were invited to give their views and comments on Draft National Education Policy 2019. A brief summary of the Draft National Education Policy 2019 was circulated among various stakeholders, which was also translated in 22 languages and uploaded on the Ministry’s website. Meetings with State Education Secretaries of School Education and with State Secretaries of Higher & Technical Education were held.An Education Dialogue with Hon’ble MPs of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, Karnataka & Odisha.
More updates will be posted soon, as the press conference is in the evening