NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a three-day Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam in Varanasi on Thursday, which will bring together 300 Vice Chancellors and directors from public and private universities, educationists, policymakers and industry representatives to deliberate on how the implementation of National Education Policy 2020 can be taken further in the country.
The summit, organised by the Ministry of Education in association with the University Grants Commission (UGC) and Banaras Hindu University, is expected to provide a platform for thought-provoking discussions that will articulate the roadmap and implementation strategies, foster knowledge exchange and build networks through interdisciplinary deliberations and discuss challenges being faced by educational institutions and articulate solutions.
Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will be present at the summit.
“The summit will provide a platform for leading Indian Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) to discuss, deliberate and share insights on strategies, success stories and best practices in implementing the National Education Policy, 2020,” the Education Ministry said in a statement.
The Ministry, along with UGC and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), has brought in several policy initiatives like Academic Bank of Credit, Multiple Entry-Exit, Multi disciplinarity and Flexibility in higher education, and regulations aimed at boosting online and open distance learning, revising the National Curriculum Framework to make it more in sync with global standards, promoting multi linguality and Indian Knowledge Systems and creating both a part of educational curriculum, mainstreaming skill education and promoting lifelong learning, to name a few, the statement said.
Many universities have already onboarded the reform train, but there are still many who are yet to adopt and adapt to the changes, it added.
The key highlight of the summit will be the adoption of the Varanasi Declaration on Higher Education, which will showcase India’s extended vision and a renewed commitment to help achieve the goals of the higher education system, the ministry said.
As the higher education ecosystem in the country spans centre, states and private entities, extensive consultations are required to take the policy implementation further.
“This consultation process has been going on at the regional and national levels,” it said.
Last month, the Prime Minister addressed a seminar of chief secretaries in Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, where states shared their insights on the issue.
The Varanasi Shiksha Samagam is next in the series of consultations in this regard.