Madhya Pradesh implements National Education Policy-2020

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh government on Thursday launched the National Education Policy-2020 (NEP-2020) in the state and became the second state in the country to implement NEP-2020 after Karnataka.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Governor Mangubhai C Patel and Higher Education Minister Dr Mohan Yadav were present at the launch.

Speaking on the occasion, Yadav said that the new education policy will break all the shackles and help students to explore outside their boundaries. "Earlier, a student had to study subjects prescribed according to a course. But now they can choose their subjects according to their interests," he said.

"The new policy also focuses on National Service Scheme (NSS), National Cadet Corps (NCC) and skill-based subjects," he added.

Yadav informed that the government is also introducing agricultural science as a subject in Vikram University and Rani Durgavati university to open up new avenues for students.

The minister said that the government intends to implement NEP-2020 in all the regions of the state, which includes 16 government universities and 40 private universities, within four years.

On being asked about campus placements in the state, Yadav said that the government has taken creative steps to increase placement in the state.

"We have deployed a placement officer for each district in the state. Last year, 86,000 students got jobs through college placements. We intend to increase it to two lakhs this year," he stated.

The Central government launched NEP on July 29, 2020. On its first anniversary last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched SAFAL (sTRUCTURED Assessment For Analysing Learning), a competency-based assessment for grades 3, 5, and 8 introduced by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).