headed by then UGC Chairperson D S Kothari, was constituted to draft a national and coordinated policy<\/span> on education. Based on the suggestions of this Commission, Parliament passed the first education policy<\/span> in 1968.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A new NEP usually comes along every few decades. India has had three to date. The first came in 1968<\/span> and the second in 1986, under Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi respectively; the NEP of 1986 was revised<\/span> in 1992 when P V Narasimha Rao was Prime Minister. The third is the NEP released Wednesday under<\/span> the Prime Ministership of Narendra Modi.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What are the key takeaways?<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n The NEP proposes sweeping changes including:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n (a) opening up of Indian higher education to foreign universities,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n (b) dismantling of the UGC and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE),<\/span> (c) introduction of a four-year multidisciplinary undergraduate program with multiple exit options, (d)<\/span> discontinuation of the M Phil program.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In school education, the policy focuses on <\/span>overhauling the curriculum<\/i><\/b>, \u201c<\/span>easier\u201d Board exams<\/i><\/b>, a<\/span> reduction in the syllabus to retain \u201ccore essentials\u201d and thrust on \u201cexperiential learning and<\/i><\/b> critical thinking\u201d.<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n I<\/i><\/b>n a significant shift from the 1986 policy, which pushed for a 10+2 structure of school<\/i><\/b> education, the new NEP pitches for a \u201c5+3+3+4\u201d design corresponding to the age groups 3-8<\/i><\/b> y<\/i><\/b>ears (foundational stage), 8-11 (preparatory), 11-14 (middle), and 14-18 (secondary).<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n This brings early childhood education (also known as pre-school education for children of ages 3<\/span> to 5) under the ambit of formal schooling.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0The mid-day meal program will be extended to pre-school children.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The NEP says students until Class 5 should be taught in their mother tongue or regional<\/span> language.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Students to gain greater exposure to vocational skills and Coding being taught from Class 6<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n The policy also proposes phasing out of all institutions offering single streams and that all<\/i><\/b> universities and colleges must aim to become multidisciplinary by 2040.<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n The policy aims to achieve a 100 percent gross enrollment ratio (GER) in school<\/i><\/b> education by 2030 and 50 percent GER in higher education by 2035. <\/i><\/b>The<\/span> emphasis on making higher education multidisciplinary and holistic by making the<\/span> curriculum more flexible, creating of e-courses in regional languages, and adapting<\/span> to times by advocating for increased use of technology are welcome reforms.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Notably, the policy commits to increasing public expenditure on education to 6<\/i><\/b> p<\/i><\/b>ercent of the GDP from the current 4.43 percent(important shit)<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n How will these reforms be implemented?<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n The NEP only provides a broad direction and is not mandatory to follow. Since education is a<\/span> concurrent subject (both the Centre and the state governments can make laws on it), the reforms<\/span> p<\/span>roposed can only be implemented collaboratively by the Centre and the states. This will not<\/span><\/p>\n happen immediately. The incumbent government has set a target of 2040 to implement the entire<\/span> p<\/span>olicy.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sufficient funding is also crucial; the 1968 NEP was hamstrung by a shortage of funds.<\/span> The government plans to set up subject-wise committees with members from relevant ministries<\/span> at both the central and state levels to develop implementation plans for each aspect of the NEP.<\/span> The plans will list out actions to be taken by multiple bodies, including the HRD Ministry, state<\/span> Education Departments, school Boards, NCERT, Central Advisory Board of Education and<\/span> N<\/span>ational Testing Agency, among others. Planning will be followed by a yearly joint review of<\/span> p<\/span>rogress against targets set.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What does the emphasis on mother tongue\/regional language mean for English-medium<\/b> schools?<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Such emphasis is not new: Most government schools in the country are doing this already. As for<\/span> p<\/span>rivate schools, it\u2019s unlikely that they will be asked to change their medium of instruction. A<\/span> senior ministry official clarified that <\/span>the provision of mother tongue as a medium of instruction<\/i><\/b> was not compulsory for states. <\/i><\/b>\u201cEducation is a concurrent subject. This is why the policy<\/span> clearly states that kids will be taught in their mother tongue or regional language \u2018wherever<\/span> p<\/span>ossible\u2019,\u201d the officer said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n How does the government plan to open up higher education to foreign players?<\/b> The document states universities from among the top 100 in the world will be able to set up<\/span> campuses in India. While it doesn\u2019t elaborate the parameters to define the top 100, the incumbent<\/span> government may use the \u2018QS World University Rankings\u2019 as it has relied on these in the past<\/span> while selecting universities for the \u2018Institute of Eminence\u2019 status.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0However, none of this can start unless the HRD Ministry brings in a new law that includes<\/span> details of how foreign universities will operate in India.<\/span><\/p>\n It is not clear if a new law would enthuse the best universities abroad to set up campuses in India.<\/span> In 2013, at the time the UPA-II was trying to push a similar Bill, The Indian Express had<\/span> reported that the top 20 global universities, including Yale, Cambridge, MIT and Stanford,<\/span> University of Edinburgh and Bristol, had shown no interest in entering the Indian market.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Participation of foreign universities in India is currently limited to them entering into<\/span> collaborative twinning programs, sharing faculty with partnering institutions, and offering<\/span> distance education. Over 650 foreign education providers have such arrangements in India.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n How will the four-year multidisciplinary bachelor\u2019s program work?<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Under the four-year program proposed in the new NEP, <\/span>students can exit after one year with a<\/i><\/b> certificate, after two years with a diploma, and after three years with a bachelor\u2019s degree.<\/i><\/b> \u201cFour-year bachelor\u2019s programs generally include a certain amount of research work and the student<\/span> will get deeper knowledge in the subject he or she decides to major in.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After four years, a BA student should be able to enter a research degree program directly depending on<\/span> how well he or she has performed\u2026 However, master\u2019s degree programs will continue to function as<\/span> they do, following which student may choose to carry on for a PhD program,\u201d said scientist and former<\/span> UGC chairman V S Chauhan.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What impact will doing away with the M Phil program have?<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n The government claims that this should not affect the higher education trajectory at all. \u201cIn normal course,<\/span> after a master\u2019s degree, a student can register for a Ph.D. program.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This is the current practice almost all over the world.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In most universities, including those in the UK (Oxford, Cambridge, and others), M Phil was a middle<\/span> research degree between a master\u2019s and a Ph.D. Those who have entered MPhil, more often than not ended<\/span> their studies with a Ph.D. degree.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n MPhil degrees have slowly been phased out in favor of a direct Ph.D. program.<\/span><\/p>\n Will the focus on multiple disciplines not dilute the character of single-stream institutions,<\/b> such as IITs?<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n The IITs are already moving in that direction.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n IIT-Delhi has a humanities department and set up a public policy department recently.<\/span> IIT-Kharagpur has a School of Medical Science and Technology.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Asked about multiple disciplines, IIT-Delhi director V Ramgopal Rao said, \u201c<\/span>Some of the best universities<\/i><\/b> in the US such as MIT have very strong humanities departments. Take the case of a civil engineer.<\/i><\/b> K<\/i><\/b>nowing how to build a dam is not going to solve a problem. He needs to know the environmental and<\/i><\/b> social impact of building the dam. Many engineers are also becoming entrepreneurs. Should they not<\/i><\/b> know something about economics? A lot more factors go into anything related to engineering today.\u201d<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Inclusive efforts for building equity<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n NEP 2020 has the gender inclusion fund for improving equity for the disadvantaged regions in<\/span> our country.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The policy is going to be a great aid for SC [scheduled caste], ST [scheduled tribe], and other<\/span> disadvantaged sections.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Thanks to the Special Education Zones setup for the backward regions. With Balika Vidhyalayas<\/span> and tribal welfare pre-schools and, there\u2019s going to be a lot of out-of-school girl children and<\/span> those never enrolled in the mainstream.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The shortcomings of NEP 2020(everything earlier can be considered the<\/span> positives)<\/span><\/p>\n To many, the NEP reform is considered as a boon to our entire gamut of education. To the other<\/span> few, it carries some challenges visible in it. Here are some;<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Inadequate mention of Sex Education<\/b><\/p>\n The NEP seems to be avoiding the discussion over significant contemporary issues in the<\/span> lives of children.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Not only does the word \u2018sexuality\u2019 find no mention in the <\/span>document<\/span>, \u2018sex education\u2019 has been<\/span> subsumed under the component of \u201c[e]thical and moral reasoning\u201d. It is done with the intent<\/span> to advance \u201c[b]asic health and safety training, as a service to oneself and to those around us\u201d.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It, moreover, sparingly envisions equipping students to make \u201cfuture judgment<\/i><\/b> s<\/i><\/b>urrounding consent, harassment, respect for women, safety, family planning, and STD<\/i><\/b> p<\/i><\/b>revention\u201d.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n To structure your\u00a0CAT online preparation<\/a>\u00a0in an efficient way consider joining iQuanta which is a\u00a0top online cat coaching<\/a>\u00a0institute and being a part of the iQuanta CAT 22 Course.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.iquanta.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/WhatsApp-Image-2021-12-16-at-4.09.20-PM-1.jpeg\")
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