An environment that is conducive to learning is critical for an efficient Education System. The environment must be safe, neat & clean, peaceful, caring, tolerant, impartial, steady, corrective but not punishing, accountable, warm, responsive and inclusive. All these properties assume greater importance when it comes to School Education (from the pre-school stage to the pre-university stage) because that’s when the System either makes or breaks young minds!
The environment must prepare Students with the necessary Life Skills besides academic skills. India’s NEP 2020 takes great care to address the common issues related to the learning Environment, and proposes measures to keep it in top shape & form. The new Education System takes over a kid when she or he is just three years old, and that certainly puts enormous responsibility on the System.
That the local community of every School is considered a significant part of the Learning Environment, is a core aspect of India’s NEP 2020.
The environment significantly affects and controls every element of the Education System, NEP 2020 rightly observes.
Document Referred:National Education Policy 2020 (PDF format – 60 pages) by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. The NEP 2020 is a vast document, with elaborate sections of “School Education”, “Higher Education”, “Other Key Areas of Focus” (like ‘Adult Education‘) and “Making it Happen” (implementation). We (Miracle Learning Solutions) attempt to briefly cover every important point of this detailed policy document, in our own words. For easy reading, we have divided this large document into multiple parts, and this part (Part 5) addresses “School Education: Policies on the Learning Environment”.
To read the other parts, please use the links below:
An Ideal Schooling Environment, as envisaged by NEP 2020:
What are the important environment-related policies/remarks in NEP 2020?
The environment must support the mission to eliminate “rote learning” (by-heart learning), and must favor the student-centric objective “learn how to learn”.
Every attribute of the Environment must promote “discovery-based learning”.
It must allow multi-disciplinary learning, pushing a holistic approach to education.
The environment should enliven the feel of India, its heroes and honor, in the minds of Students.
The Local community must be considered a part of the Schooling Environment.
It must set the stage for a simplified curriculum & highly-engaging pedagogy.
It ought to minimize student drop-out cases, and help bring drop-outs back to Schools.
Students with impaired abilities and disadvantaged backgrounds must find better support in the Environment.
The Learning Environment must empower teachers.
It must discourage commercialization of Education and involvement of money-minded Private parties.
Vocational training and development of soft skills, cognitive skills & life skills must be highly enabled by the Environment.
It must take good care of the physical & mental health of Students.
The environment must promote scientific temper, peer-tutoring attitude and sportsman spirit among Students.
It must always be in sync with Digital Technology and modern technological trends.
It must have the commitment to uphold India’s “Unity in diversity” principle.
It must not allow disparity in any form. At the same time, gifted students and exceptional talents must be recognized, nurtured well, and be allowed to scale greater heights!
Students must find good “role models” in the learning environment.
The environment must promote the noble vision of “education to all”.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the policies on learning environment:
1. Eliminate “rote learning” (by-heart learning); emphasize the principle “Learn how to learn”:
This is in line with the requirements of the fast-paced & ever-changing world, where “smart working” is preferred over “hard working”, and where abilities to “adapt swiftly” and “innovate spontaneously” assumes critical importance. The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) program recommends “Discovery-based learning” & “Discussion-based learning” to achieve this objective. The environment must be adequately empowered to support these critical objectives.
2. Enhanced focus on India and the Student’s own locality:
The policy-makers emphatically state the importance of developing interest, respect and appreciation for India, in every student’s mind. Every school’s own locality must also be studied, along with its own heroes and the worthy. The learning environment has to set the stage for this to happen.
3. Developing soft skills, cognitive skills & Life skills:
The environment must support adequate training in soft / cognitive / Life skills like teamwork, communication, resilience, emotional intelligence, problem-solving techniques, creativity, critical thinking, ethics, spirit of service, democratic spirit, cleanliness, courtesy, etiquette, scientific temper, empathy, compassion, courage, perseverance & grit, liberty, responsibility, pluralism, equality, justice, tolerance, human rights, gender equality, non-violence, crisis management and leadership.
4. The idea of School Complexes / Clusters:
NEP 2020 proposes School Complexes or Clusters to improve the standard of Learning Environment.
Within a radius of 5 to 10 miles, there can be one Secondary School and multiple schools that offer foundational / preparatory / middle school grades. Resources like Libraries, science laboratories & equipment, computer labs, sports facilities & equipment, Hostels, Housing area, Play grounds etc can be shared. Teachers, counselors, technical and maintenance staff can be shared; extracurricular activities can be grouped & improved; various clubs/circles to promote healthy competition and peer-tutoring among students can be formed. Examples of such clubs/circles could be Science Circles, Math Circles, Music Performance Circles, Chess Circles, Poetry Circles, Language Circles, Drama Circles, Debate Circles and Sports Circles. These can certainly improve the standard of the Learning Environment to a great extent.
Improved support for children with disabilities can be given in School Clusters.
5. The role of the Local Community:
The local community of every School or School Cluster can play a major role in setting up the right environment for holistic education. Vocational training and Life skills training will be more effective with the active participation of the local community.
6. Measures to minimize expenses by parents: The overall education environment must not cause financial burden on parents.
NEP 2020 ensures free education to the disadvantaged and under-privileged. The simplified curriculum, assessment criteria and overall learning approach does not require special coaching/tuition for Students, which can save money for parents. Lesser number of text books, together with the provision to print PDFs, can save more money. Then, NEP 2020 has another program called “Adult Education”, using which parents can pick up skills to tutor their kids, which can further reduce the education expenses.
Conclusion: A good Learning Environment is not just good buildings or locality. It comprises competent teachers & supporting staff, quality education policies or principles, decent infrastructure, supportive local community, peaceful ambiance, efficient administrative & governing machinery, sincere commitment to the principles of Equity & Inclusion, and great collaboration by all parties. It is inclusive of every element in the Education System, which NEP 2020 recognizes and gives great importance to.
A decent infrastructure is essential for quality education, India’s NEP 2020 emphatically observes. It proposes “School Complexes”, or “School Clusters”, with better private/public participation to ensure quality physical environment in School Education. There’s focused attention on SEDGs (Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups) and disadvantaged areas of the country, with respect to school infrastructure development. Where physical schools are not feasible, Open and Distance Learning (ODL) facilities will be enabled.
Section 5.9 of NEP 2020 document states: “A very first requirement in this direction will be to ensure decent and pleasant service conditions at schools. Adequate and safe infrastructure, including working toilets, clean drinking water, clean and attractive spaces conducive to learning, electricity, computing devices, and internet, library and sports and recreational resources will be important to provide to all schools in order to ensure that teachers and students including children of all genders and children with disabilities, receive a safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environment and are comfortable and inspired to teach and learn in their schools.”
Document Referred:National Education Policy 2020 (PDF format – 60 pages) by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. The NEP 2020 is a vast document, with elaborate sections of “School Education”, “Higher Education”, “Other Key Areas of Focus” (like ‘Adult Education‘) and “Making it Happen” (implementation). We (Miracle Learning Solutions) attempt to briefly cover every important point of this detailed policy document, in our own words. For easy reading, we’ve divided the whole document into multiple parts. This is the fourth part, addressing “Policies on School Infrastructure”.
To read the other parts, please use the links below:
A major policy decision that directly affects Schooling Infrastructure:
NEP 2020 constitutes the new 5+3+3+4 academic structure, re-configuring the existing 10+2 structure. A student will now enter into formal education at the age of three (3). The corresponding age ranges will be 3-8, 8-11, 11-14 and 14-18 years, respectively. The School Infrastructure (buildings, class room spaces, supporting facilities etc) must now suit the clearly-distinct four school categories.
The first 5 years (Pre-school or Foundational) comprises 3 years of pre-school education & 2 years of lower primary schooling (grades 1 & 2)
The second 3 years (Medium or Preparatory School) covers grades 3, 4 & 5.
The third 3 years (Middle School) covers grades 6, 7 & 8.
The last 4 years (High or Secondary School) would prepare students for University education. Grades 9 & 10 will be its first phase, and 11 & 12 will be the second phase.
Ideal School Infrastructure, as envisaged by NEP 2020:
Let’s look at the Schooling Infrastructure-related policies of NEP 2020:
School complexes or Clusters, ideally one per District across the country, is recommended.
Every School must have clean drinking water, clean & working toilets and pleasant classroom spaces.
Public – Private Partnerships (PPP), in a properly regulated manner, is allowed/promoted.
There will be specifications & standards for every building and physical element in the School infra.
To enable “education for all”, the specifications & standards might be relaxed in exceptional cases, with proper permission/authorization.
Philanthropic private participation will be encouraged to improve the physical conditions of Schools across the country.
Where physical schools cannot be made available, Open and Distance Learning must be enabled.
There will be enhanced focus on under-privileged or under-developed areas of the country. Principles of Equity & Inclusion must always be followed.
Let’s check a few infra-related policies a little closer:
1. Expectations on the Schooling Infrastructure and Learning Environment:
Starting from the choice of locale, special care will be taken to ensure that the School environment is conducive to learning. Right from Anganwadis, every School must have high-quality infra (including working toilets, clean drinking water, clean and attractive spaces etc.), play equipment and well-trained teachers & supporting staff.
NEP 2020 proposes School Complexes or Clusters to improve the standard of education and administration. Within a radius of 5 to 10 miles, there can be one Secondary School (grades 9 to 12) and multiple schools that offer foundational / preparatory / middle school grades. Resources like libraries, science laboratories & equipment, computer labs, sports facilities and equipment, hostels, housing area, play grounds etc can be shared. Teachers, counselors, technical and maintenance staff can be shared; extra-curricular activities can be grouped & improved; various clubs/circles to promote healthy competition and peer-tutoring among students can be formed. Examples of such clubs/circles could be Science Circles, Math Circles, Music Performance Circles, Chess Circles, Poetry Circles, Language Circles, Drama Circles, Debate Circles and Sports Circles.
Improved support for children with disabilities can be given in School Clusters.
2. Involvement of Private / external entities in Education: Private schools or entities can participate in the School Clustering program. Only philanthropic Private participation is accepted. Every public school can be paired with a private school, wherever possible, to standardize and improve their quality. The whole system must gradually grow towards free education for all.
3. Steps to ensure Equity & Inclusion:
Disadvantaged districts / areas or classes of people across the country will be identified, and there will be intensified or concentrated effort to give them proper education, which includes development of better infrastructure. State/UT governments, Central govt and philanthropic private agencies would work together to achieve this aim.
4. Caring the disadvantaged / underprivileged / transgender / physically or mentally-challenged:
Education is the best tool to achieve economic and social equality. Doing justice to the Equity & Inclusion policy directives, adequate support will be given to every underprivileged student to ensure “education for all”. Free hostel accommodation, free bicycles, incentives in cash etc are only a few provisions to support them.
Where students are unable to attend physical schools, Open and Distance Learning (ODL) programs, or State Institutes of Open Schooling (SIOS) programs will be enabled.
The Government of India will constitute a ‘Gender-Inclusion Fund’ to build the nation’s capacity to provide a quality and equitable education for all girls as well as transgender students.
5. Controlled relaxation to certain rules, to enable education among the masses:
To handle extreme cases of disadvantaged sects, a few regulations can be relaxed if that would enable education. For example, if the qualifying criteria for a building to be termed as a School acts as a hindrance to Education in an otherwise impossible situation, the rule may be relaxed with caution and permission. In other words, the overemphasis on inputs, and the mechanistic nature of their specifications will be changed to suit the ground realities, without compromising the quality of education.
6. Reusing existing establishments, renewing them (like Anganwadis, Ashramshalas etc):
Existing infrastructure, mechanisms and staff must be reused in the implementation phase of NEP 2020. Changes must be smooth, gradual and inclusive of the existing infrastructure.
Renewing Anganwadis:
The Anganwadi Centres will be strengthened with high quality infrastructure, play equipment and well-trained Anganwadi workers/teachers. Every Anganwadi must have a well-ventilated, well-designed, child-friendly and well-constructed building with an enriched learning environment. Funds for this program will be provided by the Central and State/UT governments.
It’s time to summarize:
India is a fast-progressing Nation, especially with respect to all-around Infrastructure development. It’s quite natural that India’s new Education Policy gives significant attention to the infra development of the country’s Schools, Colleges, Universities and every other element that participates in the nation’s formal Education. With innovative concepts like School complexes or Clusters, public-private participation, together with the considerably enhanced budget allocation and a committed government machinery, a highly improved Schooling infrastructure does seem a closer reality!
NEP 2020 candidly states the present general condition of India’s Teaching staff & the teaching environment, and how their future ought to be. Let’s look at the following two sections from the School Education Policy document (quoted as is):
“Today, however, the status of the teacher has undoubtedly and unfortunately dropped. The quality of training, recruitment, deployment, service conditions and empowerment of teachers is not where it should be, and consequently, the quality and motivation of teachers does not reach the standards where it could be.”
………
“The new education policy must help reinstate teachers, at all levels, as the most respected and essential members of our society, because they truly shape our next generation of citizens. It must do everything to empower teachers, and help them to do their job as effectively as possible. The new education policy must help recruit the very best and brightest to enter the teaching profession at all levels, by ensuring teachers their livelihood, respect, dignity, and autonomy.”
Document Referred:National Education Policy 2020 (PDF format – 60 pages) by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. The NEP 2020 is a vast document, with elaborate sections of “School Education”, “Higher Education”, “Other Key Areas of Focus” (like ‘Adult Education‘) and “Making it Happen” (implementation). We (Miracle Learning Solutions) attempt to briefly cover every important point of this detailed policy document, in our own words. For easy reading, we’ve divided the document into multiple parts, and this part addresses “School Education: Teacher-centric Policies”.
To read the other parts, please use the links below:
What are the important Teacher-centric policies of India’s NEP 2020?
Teachers will be empowered with improved educational qualification, teaching (and learning) environment, technological skills and remuneration packages.
The 4-year integrated B.Ed. degree or its approved variant will eventually be the basic qualification for all Teachers.
A large number of merit-based scholarships will be given to attract outstanding/excellent students to the Teaching profession, especially from rural areas.
TET (Teacher Eligibility Test) will be strengthened to ensure that only the best talent enters this profession. The passion and motivation for Teaching will be specially gauged.
Teachers will be encouraged to use a bilingual approach (use of the approved medium of instruction, along with the local language).
Excessive transfers will be stopped, allowing teachers to build good bonding with their Students and the local community.
Sharing and/or hiring of Teachers, especially Specialised Teachers, can be allowed in the newly proposed “School Complexes, Cluster” environment. The practice of hiring teachers on short-term contracts will eventually be phased-out.
Teachers will not be put on duties that have no direct relation to teaching, like electioneering or cooking mid-day meals.
Teachers will be given more autonomy and flexibility in choosing the finer aspects of pedagogy, which will suit the community and classroom environment that they deal with.
There will be consistent programs to efficiently update Teachers with the latest trends and technology in Teaching.
NEP 2020 promises better recognition, rewards, incentives, opportunities for growth, and parity across all disciplines, for Teachers.
‘Special Educators’ will be created to teach/support students with disabilities, and those who need special care. Gifted or specially-talented students will have ‘Special Teachers’.
Teachers will have critical roles in handling the Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs) and School drop-outs, to ensure “education for all”.
Teachers will have better representation and say in the School management committees.
There will be clearly laid-out professional standards for Teachers (National Professional Standards for Teachers – NPST).
Let’s look at some of the policy aspects a little closer:
1. Empowering Teachers:
Well-qualified teaching staff, with psychometric qualities befitting a Teacher (a true “Guru”), will be chosen for the noble role. They will be respected, dignified, consistently trained, supported, rewarded, and will have favorable opportunities to grow in their career.
Technology to empower Teachers:
Teachers will be adequately trained to handle Smart Classes of the Information/Digital Age. Without any hindrance to their routine teaching activities, they will receive consistent training via physical mediums as well as digital platforms like Smart Phones (smart apps), DTH, Digital bulletins, Virtual conferences and online training sessions.
The Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Program:
This is a specialized program to strengthen and integrate all activities that improve professionalism of Teachers. Platforms (especially online platforms) will be developed and deployed for teachers to share ideas and best practices. Each teacher will be expected to participate in, say, 50 hours of CPD programs every year for their own professional growth.
2. Career Management and Progression:
Teachers who innovate well, and perform outstandingly will be recognized, and may be given salary raises, promotion, or incentives. To assess Teachers most proficiently, a system based on multiple parameters like peer reviews, attendance, commitment, hours of CPD, and other forms of service to the school and the community etc, will be developed by the State/UT Government.
3. Improved Academic Qualification:
Existing Anganwadi teachers will be taken through a six-month or one-year certification / diploma course based on whether they have 10+2 or lower qualification. Going forward, they will have to acquire the regular 4-year Integrated B.Ed. academic degree that NEP 2020 stipulates as the basic qualification for all School teachers. There’s also the provision of two-year or one-year B.Ed. program for aspirants with higher qualification in other academic disciplines. Every teacher will be given additional training based on his/her role or engagement with the System.
4. Specialized teachers to coach gifted students, exceptional talent:
B.Ed. programs may allow specialization in the education of gifted children, and Teachers with such specialization will be employed to coach them. Teachers will help gifted students to reach greater heights, involve them in peer-tutoring, and conduct accelerated mode of learning for them to fully utilize their potential.
5. No disparity across disciplines; no hard separations:
This rule is applicable to both Teacher and Student communities. Ensuring Equity, NEP 2020 strictly prohibits disparity in every aspect of teaching and learning. Every subject for teaching will have equal value, respect and chances. Teachers in various schools – foundational to secondary level – will have more or less the same pay, roles, importance and respect.
6. Involvement to handle school drop-out cases:
Teachers will be given incentives if they adopt innovative & effective measures to stop or minimize drop-out cases. India’s school dropout cases have always been high, which the new Education System will address with vigorous drive and focus. There will be government funding and special support to bring all dropouts back to school, and to block future cases.
7. Caring the disadvantaged / underprivileged / transgender / physically or mentally-challenged:
Specially qualified & trained teachers will be employed to teach/support the physically or mentally challenged students. The under-represented groups and areas of the Country will be identified and given special attention. The pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) will be adjusted to Students’ advantage in such cases / areas (like 25:1 rather than the standard 30:1).
Timelines to implement the new Policy:
A common guiding set of National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) to be developed by 2022.
The professional standards for Teachers will be reviewed and revised nationally in 2030.
The minimum degree qualification for teaching will be a 4-year integrated BEd by 2030.
Teacher education will gradually be moved into multidisciplinary colleges and universities by 2030.
Policy revision frequency:
By the end of 2021, the Teachers Policy set will be revisited and updated by NCTE (National Council for Teacher Education), taking into account the new NCF (National Curriculum Framework) and the changing context of teacher education.
NCFTE (National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education) will be revised and adapted once in every five years, based on the changes in NCFs and emerging needs in Teacher Education.
NEP 2020 is determined to reinstate the dignity, respect and the high professional standards for Teachers. It details out the policies required to make this objective a reality. Only the best will be chosen for this noble profession, and they will be empowered with consistently updated Knowledge, highly enabled environment that’s conducive to Learning, sufficient autonomy and flexibility in customizing the pedagogy, greater opportunities for career growth, and competitive remuneration packages. The very-Indian “Guru culture”, in its full goodness, honor and glory, must be rediscovered, NEP 2020 envisages.
Which is the foremost Student-centric Policy revision of NEP 2020?
NEP 2020 constitutes the 5+3+3+4 structure, re-configuring the previous 10+2 academic structure (4+3+3+2). A student will now enter into formal education at the age of three (3). The corresponding age ranges will be 3-8, 8-11, 11-14 and 14-18 years in the new 5+3+3+4 structure, respectively.
The first 5 years (Pre-school or Foundational) comprises 3 years of pre-school education & 2 years of lower primary schooling (grades 1 & 2)
The second 3 years (Medium or Preparatory School) covers grades 3, 4 & 5.
The third 3 years (Middle School) covers grades 6, 7 & 8.
The last 4 years (High or Secondary School) would prepare students for University education. Grades 9 & 10 will be its first phase, and 11 & 12 will be the second phase.
Document Referred: National Education Policy 2020 (PDF format – 60 pages) by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. The NEP 2020 is a vast document, with elaborate sections of “School Education”, “Higher Education”, “Other Key Areas of Focus” (like ‘Adult Education‘) and “Making it Happen” (implementation). We (Miracle Learning Solutions) attempt to briefly cover every important point of this detailed policy document, in our own words. For easy reading, we’ve divided the whole document into multiple parts. This is Part 2, addressing “School Education: Student-centric Policies”.
To read the other parts, please use the links below:
Let’s check the important Student-centric policies of NEP 2020:
1. Say NO to “rote learning” (by-heart learning), and get ready to “Learn how to learn”!
This is in line with the requirements of the fast-paced & ever-changing world, where “smart working” is preferred over “hard working”, and where abilities to “adapt swiftly” and “innovate spontaneously” assumes critical importance. The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) program recommends “Discovery-based learning” & “Discussion-based learning” to achieve this objective.
2. Give due importance to one’s mother-tongue!
The medium of instruction will be the student’s home language, up to 6th grade. The same is recommended until 8th grade. This policy will revitalize the otherwise-withering Indian languages, and is expected to give better comprehensive & expressive capabilities to students.
3. The Three-language learning paradigm:
Besides the student’s home language, there’s provision to learn two other Indian languages (from the 22 languages included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution). This approach is to promote Multilingualism, and it will begin in the Foundational Stage itself. Sanskrit will be an important option throughout the Schooling period.
4. The Multi-disciplinary learning approach:
Upholding the Holistic & Integrated style of education, every student would take lessons from various disciplines that would make him/her better-equipped to face the modern world. The BIGGER PICTURE is always kept in mind. As an output of this Policy, a Doctor of Medicine is most likely to have a reasonably-good grasp of arts, farming and music, say. Cool, right?!
5. Simplified and highly-engaging curriculum!
Why should formal education be boring & sometimes a torture?
Resorting to a simplified curriculum and engaging pedagogy, with minimum text books, students will now follow an activity-based, fun-filled learning style until 8th grade. There will be minimum load of text books on students, and their school bags will be much lighter! With each higher grade, the curriculum would slowly and steadily pick up momentum, adding material that would merge smoothly with the student’s learning curve.
6. The critical High School (or Secondary School) Stage is made a lot easier!
This is a critical phase, with four years of multidisciplinary study. It will build on the subject-oriented pedagogical and curricular style of the Middle Stage, with greater depth, greater critical thinking, greater attention to life aspirations, and greater flexibility and student choice. This phase will adequately prepare the Student for University education. Highly-engaging pedagogy will make this phase easier.
7. Enhanced focus on India:
Why should we ignore our local heroes, and be obsessed with the foreign ones?!
Students would be taught Indian culture, its heritage, traditions and its heroes in every sphere like Science, Mathematics, Medicine, Philosophy, Arts and Engineering. Indian scholars like Charaka and Susruta, Aryabhata, Bhaskaracharya, Chanakya, Madhava, Patanjali, Panini and Thiruvalluvar would be recognized. World-class institutions of ancient India, such as Takshashila, Nalanda, Vikramshila and Vallabhi will be academically rebuilt & revisited. This would develop better self-respect, confidence and appreciation for own country in the minds of students, which will go a long way towards national integration.
8. Let’s LIVE the principle Unity in Diversity!
India’s diversity in culture, religion, language and race must not hinder its progress as a Nation. Every student will be introduced to his nation’s diversity at a very young age, which will be developed consistently in higher grades. A module on student’s own “Identity” is included, to help him understand and interact with his Society better. The fact that Education is a great leveler and is the best tool for achieving Unity in Diversity will always be kept in mind. In the Middle grades (6 to 8), there’s this “The Languages of India” program, which will introduce & familiarize all major languages of the nation before Students. It’ll be fun, for sure!
9. Students have flexibility & better choices in the Secondary Schooling stage!
Students will have better flexibility in learning, where he/she can structure the curriculum starting from the secondary schooling stage. Subjects in physical education, arts, and vocational crafts offer choices.
10. Option to study foreign languages:
Students have the option to learn foreign languages in the secondary schooling stage. Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, French, German, Spanish, or Russian can be some of the options.
11. Vocational Training:
Aligned to the holistic / multidisciplinary / integrated learning principle, every Student will take vocational training in the secondary schooling stage. Carpentry, Metal work, Pottery, Electrical work and Gardening / Farming are a few vocational crafts offered. Locally available talent or expertise (‘specialized instructors’) may be hired and utilized here.
12. Developing soft skills, cognitive skills & Life skills:
Students will be given adequate training on soft / cognitive / Life skills like teamwork, communication, resilience, emotional intelligence, problem-solving techniques, creativity, critical
thinking, ethics, Constitutional values, spirit of service, democratic spirit, cleanliness, courtesy, etiquette, scientific temper, empathy, compassion, courage, perseverance & grit, liberty, responsibility, pluralism, equality, justice, tolerance, human rights, gender equality, non-violence, global citizenship, crisis management, healthcare basics (like first-aid) and leadership. Don’t worry, all these will be done through interesting, entertaining and engaging activities!
Scientific explanations of the detrimental and damaging effects of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs will be given emphatically.
13. The much-needed special focus on Technology and the Digital world:
Great emphasis is given to technological education because of the direction that today’s world is taking towards digitization, automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Machine learning, AI, computational mathematics, computer science, data science, smart apps, Digital libraries etc are given due importance. Teachers will be given consistent technology training.
14. Caring the disadvantaged / underprivileged / transgender / physically or mentally-challenged:
Education is the best tool to achieve economic and social equality. Doing justice to the Equity & Inclusion policy directives, adequate support will be given to every underprivileged student to ensure “education for all”. Free hostel accommodation, free bicycles, incentives in cash etc are only a few provisions to support them.
Specially qualified teachers and supporting staff will be employed to teach/support the physically or mentally-challenged students. Local sign languages will be respected and taught, wherever possible and relevant. The under-represented groups of the Country will be identified and given special attention. The Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) will be adjusted to Students’ advantage in such cases / areas (like 25:1 rather than the standard 30:1).
Where students are unable to attend physical schools, Open and Distance Learning (ODL) programs, or State Institutes of Open Schooling (SIOS) programs will be enabled.
The Government of India will constitute a ‘Gender-Inclusion Fund’ to build the nation’s capacity to provide a quality and equitable education for all girls as well as transgender students.
15. Caring for Students’ all-around health:
Along with the existing mid-day meal program, a staple breakfast program will also be undertaken to ensure students’ physical health. Counselors, Mentors will be employed to support students in their emotional issues.
16. Positive Changes in Student assessment:
This must be happy news for all kids!
The student assessment methodology will be completely revamped to ensure transparency, simplicity and ease. Students will be tested for their conceptual understanding rather than rote-learning. Exam-fear will be a thing of the past, the policy envisages. The overall approach can be seen as ‘light but tight’.
There will be formal assessments in grades 3, 5 & 8, along with board examinations in 10 & 12. The Grade 3 examination would test basic literacy, numeracy and other foundational skills.
17. What about gifted students, exceptional talent?
Geniuses, please raise your hands!!
Specially talented or gifted students will be identified, utilized, promoted and nurtured to scale greater heights. They can be utilized in peer-tutoring. There will be accelerated mode of learning for them. BEd programs may allow specialization in the education of gifted children, and Teachers with such specialization will be employed to coach them.
18. No disparity across disciplines; no hard separations!
This rule is applicable to both Student and Teacher communities. Ensuring Equity, NEP 2020 strictly prohibits disparity in every aspect of teaching and learning. Every subject for learning will have equal value, respect and chances. Teachers in various schools – foundational to secondary level – will have more or less the same pay, roles, importance and respect.
19. Focus on Local Culture / flavor / language / personalities / teachers:
There will be adequate focus on the Student’s Local Place attributes. Its culture, flavor, folklore, traditions, language, heroes, eminent personalities, art forms etc will be given due importance. Teachers from the local community must find sufficient representation in every School’s teaching staff. Eminent local personalities / talents will be invited to formally teach and interact with Students. They can also be utilized in the “vocational training” module.
20. Special mention of “Foundational Literacy and Numeracy”:
One of the core purposes of Education is to ensure “Foundational Literacy and Numeracy” among all adults. Every adult must be able to read & write (at least in the native language), and do basic arithmetic functions. For the student community, foundational literacy and numeracy must be achieved by grade 3. For the whole of India, 2025 is the target year.
21. What’s NEP 2020’s take on the University entrance test?
Rote-learning must not be the criterion for University admission. Instead, it must be conceptual understanding, adaptability, innovativeness and the ability to learn. All admission test and process will be handled by a single Government agency, which will ensure standardization, transparency and focus.
Let’s summarize:
With promises of lighter school bags, highly-engaging pedagogy, lots of fun ‘n activities, easier examinations, multidisciplinary learning, concession to the poor & disadvantaged, breakfast & mid-day meal programs, and friendlier schooling environment & teaching staff, the new Policy set does seem appealing! If its realization or implementation can be equally good, there’s no doubt that Schooling will be lot more pleasing and exciting than what it is today!
India is taking bigger strides in the path of progress, and is establishing its presence in every reputed field across the globe. Professionals from India have made their impressive entry into almost all Nations of the world. Aligning to the growing needs of the Digital world, and to address the common issues identified with the historical Indian professionalism, India has revised its National Education Policy in the year 2020.
The fact that India will have the highest youth population in the world over the next decade is another core factor behind the timing of its new Education Policy.
NEP 2020 is India’s first education policy of the 21st century.
Document Referred:National Education Policy 2020 (PDF format – 60 pages) by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. The NEP 2020 is a vast document, with elaborate sections of “School Education”, “Higher Education”, “Other Key Areas of Focus” (like ‘Adult Education‘) and “Making it Happen” (implementation). We (Miracle Learning Solutions) attempt to briefly cover every important point of this detailed policy document, in our own words. For easy reading, we’ve divided the whole document into multiple parts. This is Part 1, addressing “School Education: Introduction & Overview”.
To read the other parts, please use the links below:
“Build a world-class Education System that is rooted in Indian ethos, and aligned with the principles of Equity, Quality, Access, Affordability and Accountability, to transform India into a global knowledge superpower.”
Which is the most significant School Education Policy revision in NEP 2020?
Restructuring the 10+2 academic structure, NEP 2020 constitutes the 5+3+3+4 structure. A student will now enter into formal education at the age of three (3). The corresponding age ranges will be 3-8, 8-11, 11-14 and 14-18 years, respectively.
The first 5 years (Pre-school or Foundational) comprises 3 years of pre-school education & 2 years of lower primary schooling (grades 1 & 2)
The second 3 years (Medium or Preparatory School) covers grades 3, 4 & 5.
The third 3 years (Middle School) covers grades 6, 7 & 8.
The last 4 years (High or Secondary School) would prepare students for University education. Grades 9 & 10 will be its first phase, and 11 & 12 will be the second phase.
What are the main changes / improvements from the previous policies?
Call to eliminate “rote learning” (by-heart learning); emphasize the principle “learn how to learn”.
Start formal education at a very young age (three), under the program “Early Childhood Care and Education” (ECCE).
Greater focus on India and Student’s local culture, while maintaining the Global outlook.
Significant promotion of multi-disciplinary learning, taking a holistic approach.
Simplified curriculum & highly-engaging pedagogy.
Improved flexibility for students to choose subjects of their choice.
Greater emphasis to one’s mother-tongue, while promoting Multilingualism.
Significance to Technology as a means and subject of education.
Changes in the structure of curriculum & pedagogy, school management / administration / inspections / environment-building, student assessment and teacher management.
Marked effort to minimize student drop-out cases, and to bring drop-outs back to Schools.
Special focus on unprivileged / disadvantaged students and students with impaired abilities.
Marked empowerment of teachers and the learning environment.
Commitment to eliminate commercialization of Education.
Focus on vocational training, and on development of soft skills, cognitive skills and life skills.
Commitment to uphold India’s “Unity in diversity” principle.
No Disparity across disciplines / roles – no hard separation.
Focus to achieve Foundational Literacy and Numeracy by all Citizens.
Controlled relaxation of rules to enable literacy / education to all.
What’s the timeline to implement the new School Education Policy?
A common guiding set of National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) to be developed by 2022.
The whole Nation to achieve “foundational literacy and numeracy” by 2025.
State/UT governments to group or rationalize schools by 2025.
Quality early-childhood development, care and education, ensuring that all children entering Grade 1 are school-ready, to be achieved by 2030.
The professional standards for Teachers will be reviewed and revised nationally in 2030.
The minimum degree qualification for teaching will be a 4-year integrated BEd by 2030.
Teacher education will gradually be moved into multidisciplinary colleges and universities by 2030.
Is there any concerns / questions / grey area with respect to NEP 2020?
Yes. There’s a couple:
Whether Hindi is going to be a part of the School curriculum in non-Hindi-speaking states, is not clear. On the same line, the 3-language approach needs clarity.
When will the Student start learning English? Since the medium of instruction is the mother-tongue until 6th grade, will English be a secondary language? If so, which grade will start teaching English?
The State or UT’s roles are not clearly defined. While their involvement is mentioned in many cases, there are grey areas with respect to their authority/autonomy/responsibility.
While addressing the student drop-out issue, “family’s poverty” has been ignored. Child labor, which is the prime reason for drop-outs or absence-from-school issue, can be traced to family’s poverty.
Let’s summarize now:
The “School Education” policy revision in India’s NEP 2020 is a bold step towards modernized Education that’s aligned to the Digital Age. It addresses every detail required to ensure Equity, Inclusion, Quality and Competence. It is built on Indian ethos while maintaining the Global outlook. There’s clear intent to move away from rote-learning to adaptive or smart learning. The future goal of “free education to all” is made visible. If NEP 2020 can be implemented in its right spirit, commitment and completeness, it will take India to the forefront rank of Super-powers in Knowledge.
The overall education environment must not cause financial burden on parents.
A good Learning Environment is not just good buildings or locality. It comprises competent teachers & supporting staff, quality education policies or principles, decent infrastructure, supportive local community, peaceful ambiance, efficient administrative & governing machinery, sincere commitment to the principles of Equity & Inclusion, and great collaboration by all parties. It is inclusive of every element in the Education System, which NEP 2020 recognizes and gives great importance to.
