KOCHI: The National Education Policy (NEP) announced by the Ministry of Education on July 29, 2020, had a very designed goal of transforming the prevailing education system to equip institutions and learners to meet the needs of 21st century India.In the past year, we have seen tremendous efforts from the ministry and stakeholders - the various boards and institutions working under them - to spread the message of NEP effectively. It has focused on bridging the gap and integrating it into the pedagogical system. More importantly, it talks about implementation without creating a rural-urban divide. A nationwide awareness has made NEP a very familiar concept. Rooted in Indian ethos, it aims to transform India into an equitable and vibrant society so that every child can constructively participate in the nation-building process.
I envision NEP to achieve fruition when all its aspects are implemented effectively from the basic to the secondary level. In structural terms, the NEP’s is introducing early childhood education from age three, offering school board examinations twice a year to help improve performance, moving away from rote learning, raising mathematical skills for everyone, creating literary skills, emphasising computational thinking skills and simultaneously educating them in mother tongue and regional languages.
The first year of NEP focused on three major areas - galvanisation of intellectual consciences among stakeholders regarding the vision and the objectives of NEP, developing internal capabilities within the ministry and the regulatory bodies and devising important reform initiatives as a prelude to the implementation.
Challenges in the process
A few of the challenges we faced during the initial implementation year include the switch to an online mode of education due to the pandemic that created a visible digital divide among the urban-rural population.
CBSE is in the process of implementation
While the Covid crisis created the necessary impetus for the educational sector to innovate, the Ministry of Education and other regulatory bodies announced new and progressive regulations to promote online education. To bring the new reforms envisioned for NEP, huge capacity building among teachers and other stakeholders are required which CBSE has initiated through its respective agencies. Reforms in the teaching-learning assessment will help schools achieve the objectives of NEP.
As part of the reforms to assess higher-order thinking skills and application of concepts, competency-based questions are being included in the board examination. As per the board’s vision, by 2025, almost 60 per cent of the board examination will include competency-based questions. This will, in a way, help the school system move away from rote learning to experiential learning.
There will be a 360-degree assessment of every learner. In the last year, CBSE has trained more than 10 lakh teachers in new subjects like coding, data science and handicrafts while early childhood education and care have been introduced to provide opportunities to learners.Schools and higher educational institutions in the country must work in tandem to see tangible results for NEP in the years to come.
The author is the secretary-general, National Council for CBSE Schools