CHENNAI: Despite massive furore from Tamil Nadu since last year, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved National Education Policy 2020. The draft came under criticism in the State for proposing a three-language formula.
Also many charged that it treated economic and social backwardness as the same, when that isn’t the reality. With regards to the language policy, the Centre has already clarified that Hindi would not be mandatory, and that the State governments can pick the three languages it wants to include in the syllabus.
School Education
In the policy introduced on Wednesday, the centre has said that the medium of instruction till grade 5 and preferably till 8 will be in the local language. However, it is unclear if this will be imposed on private english-medium schools as well. The 10+2 system will be divided into 5+3+3+4 format. This means the first five years of the school will comprise the foundation stage including three years of pre-primary school and classes 1 and class 2.
The next three years will be divided into a preparatory stage from classes 3 to 5. Later three years of middle stage (classes 6 to 8), and four years of secondary stage (classes 9 to 12).
Schools will not have any rigid formation of streams of arts, commerce, science, and students can take up whichever courses they want. Report cards will be a comprehensive report on skills and capabilities, instead of just marks and statements. Vocational courses shall be introduced from Class 6 onwards.
Prince Gajendrababu, general secretary, State Platform for Common School System pointed out that while children living in urban elite areas may find a new hobby in these vocational courses, kids from rural areas, many of whose parents follow these professions, will be entrapped in these jobs.
“The same way a singer’s child may pick up singing, a farmer’s child may pick up those skills from home. In an aspiration to break the vicious cycle of poverty, they send their children to school to acquire new skills to follow a different profession. It seems the government wants people to continue being in the same level without significant social mobility,” he said.
Higher Education
Major reforms in higher education include a target of 50 per cent gross enrolment ratio by 2035 and provision for multiple entry and exit. There will be a common entrance exam conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission to universities and higher education institutions.
All higher education institutions, except legal and medical colleges, will be governed by a single regulator. Gajendrababu charged that this may reduce State’s involvement in education and impose Centre’s instead.
All higher education working under a self-disclosure based transparent system for approvals in place of numerous inspections. This has caused fear if private institutions may indulge in foul play.
“Only if complete transparency is ensured in the process and consequences are enforced, will this work. Despite physical inspections, colleges fudge many figures including the faculty-student ratio, teachers’ salary and fees collected,” said KM Karthik, founder of All India Private College Employees’ Association.
“The much awaited NEP now stands on strong foundational pillars. The super structure needs to be built through statutory or regulatory interventions in a calibrated and accelerated manner,” said Vaidya Subramaniam, the Dean of SASTRA.
E-courses will be developed in regional languages and virtual labs will be developed and a National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) is being created. The p[olicy aims for public investment in the education sector to reach 6 per cent of the GDP at the earliest. The Union Human Resources Development Ministry will now be known as Education Ministry.