Firstly, NEP 2020 establishes a holistic education philosophy at the root level of India's Educational System through a 5+3+3+4 Schooling structure. Then, more importantly, it approaches the HE (Higher Education) System with a higher degree of farsightedness and thoroughness.
Ref: The 66-paged PDF document, titled "National Education Policy 2020 - Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India", available on MHRD's website.
Note: We recommend that you check our previous blogs on NEP 2020, which covers the 5+3+3+4 Schooling structure adequately. You may use the following links:
Introduction & Overview of School Education Policies
Student-centric Policies in School Education
Teacher-centric Policies in School Education
Policies on School Infrastructure
Policies on Learning Environment in Schools
Major issues faced by the existing Higher Education System:
NEP 2020 proposes the following changes to handle the issues identified above:
NEP 2020 elaborates its policies on HE under the following 11 heads:
Vision:
Develop India as envisioned in its Constitution - a democratic, just, socially-conscious, cultured and humane nation upholding liberty, equality, fraternity and justice for all.Mission:
Create good, thoughtful, well-rounded and creative individuals through developing character, ethical and Constitutional values, intellectual curiosity, scientific temper, creativity, spirit of service and 21st century capabilities across a range of disciplines including sciences, social sciences, arts, humanities, languages, as well as professional, technical and vocational subjects.Core observations of NEP 2020 regarding Higher Education:
- The purpose of quality HE is much more than the creation of greater opportunities for individual employment (or simply, jobs).
- HE represents the key to more vibrant, socially engaged, cooperative communities and a happier, cohesive, cultured, productive, innovative, progressive and prosperous nation.
- HE must prepare students for more meaningful and satisfying lives. It must also enable economic independence.
Major issues faced by the existing Higher Education System:
- A severely fragmented ecosystem.
- Inadequate emphasis on the development of cognitive skills & learning outcomes.
- Rigid separation of disciplines, with early specialization and streaming of students into narrow areas of study.
- Limited access, particularly in socio-economically disadvantaged areas, with few HEIs that teach in local languages.
- Limited teacher and institutional autonomy.
- Inadequate mechanisms for merit-based career management and progression of faculty & institutional leaders.
- Lesser emphasis on research at most universities and colleges, and lack of competitive peer-reviewed research funding across disciplines.
- Suboptimal governance and leadership.
- An ineffective regulatory system.
- Large affiliating universities resulting in low standards of undergraduate education.
NEP 2020 proposes the following changes to handle the issues identified above:
- Move towards a HE system consisting of large, multidisciplinary universities and colleges.
- Shift to a more multidisciplinary undergraduate education.
- Bring in faculty and institutional autonomy.
- Revamp curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and student support for enhanced student experience.
- Reaffirm the integrity of faculty and institutional leadership positions through merit appointments and career progression based on teaching, research and service.
- Establish a National Research Foundation to fund outstanding peer-reviewed research, and to actively seed research in universities and colleges.
- Govern HEIs through highly-qualified independent boards having academic and administrative autonomy.
- Implement “light but tight” regulation by a single regulator for higher education.
- Effect increased access, equity, and inclusion through a range of measures, including greater opportunities for outstanding public education: - scholarships by private/philanthropic universities for disadvantaged and underprivileged students. - online education, and Open Distance Learning (ODL). - all infrastructure and learning materials to be accessible and available to learners with disabilities.
NEP 2020 elaborates its policies on HE under the following 11 heads:
- Quality Universities and Colleges.
- Institutional Restructuring and Consolidation.
- Towards a More Holistic and Multidisciplinary Education.
- Optimal Learning Environments and Support for Students.
- Motivated, Energized and Capable Faculty.
- Equity and Inclusion in Higher Education.
- Teacher Education.
- Reimagining Vocational Education.
- Catalyzing Quality Academic Research in All Fields through a new National Research Foundation.
- Transforming the Regulatory System of Higher Education.
- Effective Governance and Leadership for HE Institutions (HEIs).
Timelines for Higher Education:
By 2025:
- At least 50% of India's Students to have exposure to vocational education, through the School and HE systems.
By 2030:
- All Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to become multidisciplinary, positioned well to gradually increase student strength to the desired levels of one-thousand and above.
- There must be at least one large multidisciplinary HEI in or near every district of the country.
- Only educationally-sound, multidisciplinary, and integrated teacher education programs shall be in force.
- All stand-alone TEIs (Teacher Education Institutions) will be required to convert to multidisciplinary institutions. If they are dysfunctional, they may be shut down.
- The 4-year integrated B.Ed. offered by multidisciplinary HEIs to become the basic qualification for school teachers.
By 2035:
- The system of ‘affiliated colleges’ to be gradually phased out through a system of graded autonomy.
- All HEIs in India to become independent self-governing institutions, pursuing innovation and excellence, through graded accreditation and autonomy.
- All HEIs to be incentivized, supported and mentored, and must become autonomous with an empowered BoG (Board of Governors).
By 2040:
- All Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) that are already multidisciplinary institutions by 2030 to have larger student enrolments preferably in the thousands.