CLAT GK SPECIAL: NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY
What is ‘NEP’:
A NEP is a comprehensive framework to guide the development of education in the country. A new NEP usually comes along every few decades. India has had three to date. The first came in 1968 and the second in 1986, under Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi respectively. The third
Source: SAFALTA
National Education Policy has been approved by the Union Cabinet as the new National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 with an aim to introduce several changes in the Indian education system - from the school to the college level. It also seeks to replace the 34-year old education
system in the direction of strengthening India as a global power. National Education Policy, 2020: In 2019, the Ministry of Human Resource Development released a Draft New Education Policy 2019, which was followed by a number of public consultations. On 29 July 2020, the cabinet
approved a new National Education Policy with an aim to introduce several changes to the existing Indian education system.
1. All higher education institutes excluding the medical and law colleges will be governed by a single regulator.
2. MPhil courses will now be terminated.
3. Board exams will now be more application and knowledge-based.
4. Both the public and private higher education institutes will be governed under the same norms.
5. To promote and give more emphasis on the regional language/mother-tongue, instruction medium up to class 5 will be in local/home languages.
6. All entrance exams for higher education institutes and universities will be held commonly.
7. School curriculum to focus more on core concepts.
8. Vocational education will also be imparted from 6th grade onwards.
9. 10+2 study culture discontinue and new structure of 5+3+3+4 will be followed, subjecting to the respective age group of 3-8, 8-11, 11-14 and 14-18 years.
Challenges:
● Considering the target set by the policy we must open one new university every week, for the next 15 years. Opening one University every week on an ongoing basis is a massive challenge.
● BUDGETARY ALLOCATION: Free breakfasts can only be considered in the next academic year if a budget allocation is made to cover them
● MEDIUM OF EDUCATION: The proposal to make the mother tongue the medium of instruction till Class 5, which has stirred up the fiercest debates, is dependent on state governments.