After an enormous gap of 34 years the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is arrived with many comprehensive changes ranging from universalisation of education to increment of Gross Enrolment Ratio. But there is unending curve on the side of reforms. Our education system was last revamped in 1992, almost three decades ago which was mainly oriented on attainment of higher enrolment. From 1992 to 2020 the education system has witnessed several ups and down, hence it needs eclectic solutions and transformations. The big question in the current scenario is whether features of new NEP would be triumphant or not.
NEP-2020 aims to achieve 100% Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in school education by 2030. According to Global Education Monitoring(GEM) report 2017-18 India ranks among the countries which has not been able to provide even the basic elementary education. One of the major factor is deprivation of marginalized children from lime light of education. Gender stereotype, financial issues, no classroom, lack of learning material, exclusion of children with disability, distance from home to school, hunger and poor nutrition are paramount and create obstacle in path of achieving 100% GER. The problem is not compact as it seems, accomplishment of 100% GER would need more comprehensive panacea. Robust remote campaigning is vital to remove gender stereotypes. Affordability requires more propulsion as modern education is expensive though government schools provides free education its quality is not up to the mark. Refurbishment of government school is very important for an inclusive approach towards 100% GER. Also affordability is a major factor in case of higher education. NEP-2020 focuses on achieving 50% (current 26.3%) GER in higher education by 2035. Scholarships and fellowships are not in hand of every student, as a result not every individual is able to study in higher standards.
Funding to the education system of India needs impetus as it will play a major role in entrenchment of NEP-2020. The policy promises investment of 6% of GDP in education sector but nearly seems unfeasible as fiscal deficit of India is continuously rising. The same effect is exacerbated by current economic situation caused by covid-19 pandemic. Taking into consideration the data of April-June 2020, the fiscal deficit stands at Rs 6.62 lakh core(against the aim of Rs 7.961 lakh crore) i.e.83% of the targeted. This suggest succeeding circumstances will be difficult and the following steps would be very arduous. Notably, the policy commits to increase public expenditure on education to 6% of GDP. However, it is unclear how this increased expenditure will be shared between centre and state.
Additional attribute of NEP 2020 is energy-filled breakfast, in addition to nutritious mid-day meal, to help children achieve better learning outcomes. The subsequent move needs to acknowledge various impediments on its path. Insufficient and delayed funds, lack of infrastructure for storage, procurement of dry ration from the retail shops and quality issues are those impediments. A comprehensive mechanism is required to address following, inclusive of factors like quick disposal of funds, proper cold storage facilities and easy procurement of dry ration.
Co-curricular activities and vocational subjects like sports, arts, commerce and science will be treated at the same level. But there are limited schools in India who give equal importance to vocational subjects. Even many government schools are impotent to provide such basic amenities. Numerous schools in India doesn’t have variation in optional subject. NCERT should collaborate with all stakeholders and focus creating a format which will enable schools in rural areas to access vocational courses and faculties.
Youth needs to switch to teaching as profession. Consequently several measures are suggested for the same including scholarships, housing and providing opportunities for their continuous professional development (CPD) . But on contrast the measures suggested in the NEP to attract “outstanding” talent is not spontaneous. The conditions provided are not optimal or they are just minimal conditions. In fact, security of tenure and salary of a government school is an adequate attraction for most of the people, but in the neo-liberal regime, even that is under threat. If government aims to recruit more young talent in teaching profession, more and more incentives are required. More inducements like good salary package, gradual promotions, good working conditions and job security for women is mandatory.
According to NEP, what will be medium of education since if local language or mother tongue will be considered as medium then English will be removed out in an initial phase while living in a state of diversity wherein there are so many local languages, then which language will be considered as medium in states like Delhi which has different kind of people with different languages. Therefore, how many schools will be built of different languages or all schools will provide one common language as medium is a serious question.
Another prominent feature fascinates many coders. Computer students will be allowed to take up coding from 6th standard. It may seem practical for schools located in urban areas but may not be possible for government schools. Normal subject faculties like English, Hindi, Science, Social science and Math are not available in government school negating the possibility of a coding teacher. Basic electronic infrastructure viz. Computers, Servers, CPU’s, and keyboards are inaccessible to children’s of Government schools. It is not wrong to admit major impetus is required to make this provision happen.
NEP-2020 plans to renovate higher education in India and establish reputed universities. According to sources India has more than 800 universities and 3900 colleges. The quality of education still remains a matter of concern. Universities and colleges are working collectively to bring many new courses and diplomas. But when it comes to quality we are lagging far behind the global norms. Hence, NEP-2020 should give more thrust on Teacher Enrichment Programmes and modules should be developed and simultaneously launched at various e-content platforms and official websites of different colleges and universities.
The policy has opened the doors for foreign universities to have campuses in India. It will increase Forex of India but will they provide reservation to economically poor student?. On economical background this characteristic of NEP-2020 is appreciable. Since higher education in India is very lucrative for business men but highly draining for normal student and their families. After this scenario, the same feature may prove paradoxical in long run.
Moreover, centralising the education policy will violate the federal structure of India and the policies seemed to be moving towards privatisation. Despite having comprehensive provisions and decisions it may not be feasible to implement all these recommendations in a better way including all merits and demerits. And the main question is this policy seems very beneficial on paper but what about its practical implementation.
