NEW DELHI: The Union Human Resources Development Ministry has decided to carry out a “screening” of the draft National Education Policy (NEP) to distinguish “implementable” recommendations from the “vague” ones before the government finally adopts them.
For this, 10 subgroups comprising educationists from the higher education sector have been tasked with studying the proposed NEP while the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is picking the practical aspects of the school education department.
The 477-page draft NEP prepared by a 9-member committee headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation chief K Kasturirangan.
The draft NEP which was released publicly just after the Modi government’s second term began has suggested some radical changes in country’s education system. This includes introduction of 4 year- undergraduate degree courses in universities, moving to a 5+3+3+4 education structure instead of the current 10+2+3 to expand the ambit of the Right to Education Act-from playschools to class XII—to stress on Indian languages to regulation of fee in private schools.
The draft has also suggested Liberal education with broad multi-disciplinary exposure, will be the basis of higher education.“It was however felt that not all suggestions related to school and higher education are practical and all key recommendations, therefore, need to be assessed thoroughly,” said a senior official. “Now the aspects that are implementable will be put down separately. After the final draft comes to us, we will take a view.”
The draft NEP, for which the government has already received nearly 80,000 suggestions from various stakeholders, has also suggested incorporation of Indian knowledge system into the curriculum whose topics might include Indian contribution to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, psychology, yoga, architecture, medicine as well as governance, polity, society and conservation.
Starting Tuesday, a number of meetings have also been planned with parliamentarians to take the policy forward, officials said.