National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) has been approved by the Union Cabinet on 30th July 2020. Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal and IB Minister Prakash Javadekar briefed the media. With the announcement of the new Education Policy 2020, the Ministry of Human Resource Management (MHRD) has been renamed as ‘Ministry of Education’.
The NEP 2020 aims is to make India a global knowledge superpower. This new policy will pave the way for transformative reforms in school and higher education in the country. The new policy aims at universalization of education from pre-school to secondary level with 100% GER (Gross Enrolment Ratio) in school education by 2030. NEP 2020 will bring 2 crore out of school children back into the mainstream.
Here is a rundown of key strategy changes that have been reported and what it means for you.
NEP 2020 – School Education:
- Early Childhood Care and Education for 3 to 6 year old children.
- National Mission on Foundation Literacy and Numeracy Launched by NCERT.
- The current 10+2 system will be divided into a new 5+3+3+4 curricular structure corresponding to ages 3-8, 8-11, 11-14, and 14-18 years respectively. It will bring the uncovered age group of 3-6 years under school curriculum, which is a crucial stage for development of mental faculties of a child.
- New skills for children: start coding course.
- Extracurricular activities-involved in main curriculum.
- Emphasis on vocational education with internships: studies will start from class 6.
- New National Curriculum Framework ready: Board exam in two parts.
- Life skills included in the report card.
- Ensuring education for every child by the year 2030.
NEP 2020 – Higher Education:
- Multiple entry and exit options in higher education.
- Five year course exemption in MPhil.
- Autonomy based on accreditation of colleges.
- National Mission for Mentoring.
- One regulator for higher education.
- Legal and medical education not included.
- Government and private education standards the same.
- National Research Foundation (NRF) will be established.
- Promotion of technology in education.
- Change in education for PwDs (specially-abled).
- E-courses started in 8 regional languages.
NEP 2020 – Common entrance exam for admissions:
- Common Entrance Examination (CEE) for admission in higher education institutions by NTA (National Testing Agency).
- However, CEE will not be mandatory and will be left to individual universities and colleges to use NTA assessments for their admissions.
