TIRUPATI: The National Education Policy 2020 is a befitting reply to Lord Macaulay’s education policy intended to promote European learning in India, said National Sanskrit University Vice-Chancellor Prof Radhakant Thakur.
Speaking at a two-day national seminar on ‘NEP-2020: A Roadmap to Revamp the Indian Higher Education System’, which began at Srinivasa Auditorium in Sri Venkateswara University in the temple town on Tuesday, he said the NEP helps restructure and improve the Indian education system.
Over 1,000 delegates from several universities across the country are taking part in the seminar, being organised by the Akhil Bhartiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh (ABRSM), in association with SVU and Sri Padmavati Mahila Viswavidyalayam (SPMVV). Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan virtually addressed the seminar.
SVU Vice-Chancellor Prof K Raja Reddy said, “The NEP aims to bridge the technology and digitisation gap, which is visible in the contemporary education system. It will bring a fine balance between vocational courses and integrate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses with an inclusive outlook.”
Prof JP Singhal, national president of ABRSM and former VC of Rajasthan University, said the NEP is a way forward to transform the Indian higher education system and to make Bharat a ‘Vishwa Guru’ and global knowledge superpower. The India-centred NEP recommends many things, including focus on multidisciplinary and holistic approach of education.
“The NEP envisages flexibility, good governance, credible research and global aspects, while the multidisciplinary approach and holistic development of students are its key concepts,” Prof Singhal added.
Prof KN Satyanarayana, Director of Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati, said, “The NEP is well-thought and comprehensively made. It enables students to study courses of their choice, unlike the former rigid education system. However, the NEP implementation in an effective manner is a challenge.”
Prof P Kanagasabapathi, Chairman of Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi, said, “It is time to stick to Indian fundamentals in the higher education system. The effective implementation of the NEP is the need of the hour for the education system to function from an Indian perspective.”
KN Ganesh, Director of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati, Prof Duvvuru Jamuna, Vice-Chancellor of SPMVV, and others spoke.