Salient Features of NEP- 2020 Initiative

The purpose of the education system is to develop good human beings capable of rational thought and action, possessing compassion and empathy, courage and resilience, scientific temper and creative imagination, with sound ethical moorings and values. It aims at producing engaged, productive, and contributing citizens for building an equitable, inclusive, and plural society as envisaged by our Constitution.

The fundamental principles that will guide both the education system at large, as well as the individual institutions within it are:

• Recognizing, identifying, and fostering the unique capabilities of each student, by sensitizing teachers as well as parents to promote each student’s holistic development in both academic and non-academic spheres;
• According to the highest priority to achieving foundational literacy and numeracy by all students by grade 3;
• Flexibility, so that learners have the ability to choose their learning trajectories and programmes, and thereby choose their own paths in life according to their talents and interests;
• No hard separations between arts and sciences, between curricular and extra-curricular activities, between vocational and academic streams, etc. In order to eliminate harmful hierarchies among, and silos between different areas of learning;
• Multidisciplinary and a holistic education across the sciences, social sciences, arts, humanities, and sports for a multidisciplinary world in order to ensure the unity and integrity of all knowledge;
• Emphasis on conceptual understanding rather than rote learning and learning-for-exams;
• Creativity and critical thinking to encourage logical decision-making and innovation;
• Ethics and human & constitutional values like empathy, respect for others, cleanliness, courtesy, democratic spirit, spirit of service, respect for public property, scientific temper, liberty, responsibility, pluralism, equality, and justice;
• Promoting multilingualism and the power of language in teaching and learning;
• Life skills such as communication, cooperation, teamwork, and resilience;
• Focus on regular formative assessment for learning rather than the summative assessment that encourages today’s ‘coaching culture ’;
• Extensive use of technology in teaching and learning, removing language barriers, increasing access for divyang students, and educational planning and management;
• Respect for diversity and respect for the local context in all curriculum, pedagogy, and policy, always keeping in mind that education is a concurrent subject;
• Full equity and inclusion as the cornerstone of all educational decisions to ensure that all students are able to thrive in the education system;
• Synergy in curriculum across all levels of education from early childhood care and
• Education to school education to higher education;
• Teachers and faculty as the heart of the learning process – their recruitment, continuous
• Professional development, positive working environments and service conditions;
• A ‘light but tight’ regulatory framework to ensure integrity, transparency, and resource efficiency of the educational system through audit and public disclosure while encouraging innovation and out-of-the-box ideas through autonomy, good governance, and empowerment;
• Outstanding research as a co-requisite for outstanding education and development;
• Continuous review of progress based on sustained research and regular assessment by educational experts; a rootedness and pride in india, and its rich, diverse, ancient and modern culture and knowledge systems and traditions;
• Education is a public service; access to quality education must be considered a basic right of every child;
• Substantial investment in a strong, vibrant public education system as well as the encouragement and facilitation of true philanthropic private and community participation.

This policy envisages that the extant 10+2 structure in school education will be modified with a new pedagogical and curricular restructuring of 5+3+3+4 covering ages 3-18 as shown in the representative figure below.

Curriculum and Pedagogy in Schools: Learning Should be Holistic, Integrated, Enjoyable, and Engaging

Restructuring school curriculum and pedagogy in a new 5+3+3+4 design.

The curricular and pedagogical structure of school education will be reconfigured to make it responsive and relevant to the developmental needs and interests of learners at different stages of their development, corresponding to the age ranges of 3-8, 8-11, 11-14, and 14-18 years, respectively.

The curricular and pedagogical structure and the curricular framework for school education will therefore be guided by a 5+3+3+4 design, consisting of the Foundational Stage (in two parts, that is, 3 years of Anganwadi/pre-school + 2 years in primary school in Grades 1-2; both together covering ages 3-8), Preparatory Stage (Grades 3-5, covering ages 8-11), Middle Stage (Grades 6-8, covering ages 11-14), and Secondary Stage (Grades 9-12 in two phases, i.e., 9 and 10 in the first and 11 and 12 in the second, covering ages 14-18).

Empower students through flexibility in course choices

Students will be given increased flexibility and choice of subjects to study, particularly in secondary school - including subjects in physical education, the arts and crafts, and vocational skills – so that they can design their own paths of study and life plans. Holistic development and a wide choice of subjects and courses year to year will be the new distinguishing feature of secondary school education. There will be no hard separation among ‘curricular’, ‘extracurricular ’, or ‘co-curricular’, among ‘arts’, ‘humanities’, and ‘sciences’, or between ‘vocational’ or ‘academic’ streams. Subjects such as physical education, the arts and crafts, and vocational skills, in addition to science, humanities, and mathematics, will be incorporated throughout the school curriculum, with a consideration for what is interesting and safe at each age.

National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE)

The formulation of a new and comprehensive National Curricular Framework for School Education, NCFSE 2020-21, will be undertaken by the NCERT - based on the principles of this National Education Policy 2020, frontline curriculum needs, and after discussions with all stakeholders including State Governments, Ministries, relevant Departments of the Central Government, and other expert bodies, and will be made available in all regional languages. The NCFSE document shall henceforth be revisited and updated once every 5-10 years, taking into account front-line curriculum.

Transforming Assessment for Student Development

The aim of assessment in the culture of our schooling system will shift from one that is summative and primarily tests rote memorization skills to one that is more regular and formative, is more competency-based, promotes learning and development for our students, and tests higher-order skills, such as analysis, critical thinking, and conceptual clarity. The primary purpose of assessment will indeed be for learning; it will help the teacher and student, and the entire schooling system, continuously revise teaching-learning processes to optimize learning and development for all students. This will be the underlying principle for assessment at all levels of education.

Continuous Professional Development (CPD)

Teachers will be given continuous opportunities for self-improvement and to learn the latest innovations and advances in their professions. These will be offered in multiple modes, including in the form of local, regional, state, national, and international workshops as well as online teacher development modules. Platforms (especially online platforms) will be developed so that teachers may share ideas and best practices. Each teacher will be expected to participate in at least 50 hours of CPD opportunities every year for their own professional development, driven by their own interests. CPD opportunities will, in particular, systematically cover the latest pedagogues regarding foundational literacy and numeracy, formative and adaptive assessment of learning outcomes, competency-based learning, and related pedagogues, such as experiential learning, arts-integrated, sports-integrated, and storytelling-based approaches, etc.

Quality Universities and Colleges: A New and Forward-looking Vision for India’s Higher Education System

The policy’s vision includes the following key changes to the current system:

• Moving towards a higher educational system consisting of large, multidisciplinary universities and colleges, with at least one in or near every district, and with more HEIs across India that offer medium of instruction or programmes in local/Indian languages;
• Moving towards a more multidisciplinary undergraduate education;
• Moving towards faculty and institutional autonomy;
• Revamping curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and student support for enhanced student experiences;
• Reaffirming the integrity of faculty and institutional leadership positions through meritappointments and career progression based on teaching, research, and service;
• Establishment of a National Research Foundation to fund outstanding peer-reviewed research and to actively seed research in universities and colleges;
• Governance of HEIs by high qualified independent boards having academic and administrative autonomy;
• “Light but tight” regulation by a single regulator for higher education;
• 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); and all infrastructure and learning materials accessible and available to learners with disabilities.

Optimal Learning Environments and Support for Students

Effective learning requires a comprehensive approach that involves appropriate curriculum, engaging pedagogy, continuous formative assessment, and adequate student support. The curriculum must be interesting and relevant, and updated regularly to align with the latest knowledge requirements and to meet specified learning outcomes. High-quality pedagogy is then necessary to successfully impart the curricular material to students; pedagogical practices determine the learning experiences that are provided to students, thus directly influencing learning outcomes. The assessment methods must be scientific, designed to continuously improve learning and test the application of knowledge. Last but not least, the development of capacities that promote student wellness such as fitness, good health, psycho-social well-being, and sound ethical grounding are also critical for high-quality learning.

Steps to be taken by all HEIs

• Mitigate opportunity costs and fees for pursuing higher education
• Provide more financial assistance and scholarships to socio-economically disadvantaged students
• Conduct outreach on higher education opportunities and scholarships
• Make admissions processes more inclusive
• Make curriculum more inclusive
• Increase employability potential of higher education programmes
• Develop more degree courses taught in Indian languages and bilingually
• Ensure all buildings and facilities are wheelchair-accessible and disabled-friendly
• Develop bridge courses for students that come from disadvantaged educational backgrounds
• Provide socio-emotional and academic support and mentoring for all such students through suitable counselling and mentoring programmes
• Ensure sensitization of faculty, counsellor, and students on gender-identity issue and its inclusion in all aspects of the HEI, including curricula
• Strictly enforce all no-discrimination and anti-harassment rules
• Develop Institutional Development Plans that contain specific plans for action on increasing participation from SEDGs, including but not limited to the above items.

Reimagining Vocational Education

The 12th Five-Year Plan (2012–2017) estimated that only a very small percentage of the Indian workforce in the age group of 19–24 (less than 5%) received formal vocational education Whereas in countries such as the USA the number is 52%, in Germany 75%, and South Korea it is as high as 96%. These numbers only underline the urgency of the need to hasten the spread of vocational education in India.

Technology Use and Integration

Use and integration of technology to improve multiple aspects of education will be supported and adopted, provided these interventions are rigorously and transparently evaluated in relevant contexts before they are scaled up. An autonomous body, the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), will be created to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration, and so on, both for school and higher education.

A rich variety of educational software, for all the above purposes, will be developed and made available for students and teachers at all levels. All such software will be available in all major Indian languages and will be accessible to a wide range of users including students in remote areas and Divyang students. Teaching-learning e-content will continue to be developed by all States in all regional languages, as well as by the NCERT, CIET, CBSE, NIOS, and other bodies/institutions, and will be uploaded onto the DIKSHA platform. This platform may also be utilized for Teacher ’s Professional Development through e-content. CIET will be strengthened to promote and expand DIKSHA as well as other education technology initiatives. Suitable equipment will be made available to teachers at schools so that teachers can suitably integrate e-contents into teaching-learning practices. Technology-based education platforms, such as DIKSHA/SWAYAM, will be better integrated across school and higher education, and will include ratings/reviews by users, so as to enable content developers create user friendly and qualitative content.

Particular attention will need to be paid to emerging disruptive technologies that will necessarily transform the education system. When the 1986/1992 National Policy on Education was formulated, it was difficult to predict the disruptive effect that the internet would have brought. Our present education system's inability to cope with these rapid and disruptive changes places us individually and nationally at a perilous disadvantage in an increasingly competitive world. For example, while computers have largely surpassed humans in leveraging factual and procedural knowledge, our education at all levels excessively burdens students with such knowledge at the expense of developing their higher-order competencies.

This policy has been formulated at a time when an unquestionably disruptive technology - Artificial Intelligence (AI) 3D/7D Virtual Reality - has emerged. As the cost of AI-based prediction falls, AI will be able to match or outperform and, therefore, be a valuable aid to even skilled professionals such as doctors in certain predictive tasks. AI's disruptive potential in the workplace is clear, and the education system must be poised to respond quickly. One of the permanent tasks of the NETF will be to categorize emergent technologies based on their potential and estimated timeframe for disruption, and to periodically present this analysis to MHRD. Based on these inputs, MHRD will formally identify those technologies whose emergence demands responses from the education system. In response to MHRD's formal recognition of a new disruptive technology, the National Research Foundation will initiate or expand research efforts in the technology. In the context of AI, NRF may consider a three-pronged approach: (a) advancing core AI research, (b) developing and deploying application-based research, and (c) advancing international research efforts to address global challenges in areas such as healthcare, agriculture, and climate change using AI.

Online and Digital Education: Ensuring Equitable Use of Technology

Given the emergence of digital technologies and the emerging importance of leveraging technology for teaching-learning at all levels from school to higher education, this Policy recommends the following key initiatives:

• Pilot studies for online education : Appropriate agencies, such as the NETF, CIET, NIOS, IGNOU, IITs, NITs, etc. will be identified to conduct a series of pilot studies, in parallel, to evaluate the benefits of integrating education with online education while mitigating the downsides and also to study related areas, such as, student device addiction, most preferred formats of e-content, etc. The results of these pilot studies will be publicly communicated and used for continuous improvement.

• Digital infrastructure : There is a need to invest in creation of open, interoperable, evolvable, public digital infrastructure in the education sector that can be used by multiple platforms and point solutions, to solve for India’s scale, diversity, complexity and device penetration. This will ensure that the technology-based solutions do not become outdated with the rapid advances in technology.

• Online teaching platform and tools : Appropriate existing e-learning platforms such as SWAYAM, DIKSHA, will be extended to provide teachers with a structured, user-friendly, rich set of assistive tools for monitoring progress of learners. Tools, such as, two-way video and twoway-audio interface for holding online classes are a real necessity as the present pandemic has shown.

• Content creation, digital repository, and dissemination : A digital repository of content including creation of coursework, Learning Games & Simulations, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality will be developed, with a clear public system for ratings by users on effectiveness and quality. For fun based learning student-appropriate tools like apps, gamification of Indian art and culture, in multiple languages, with clear operating instructions, will also be created. A reliable backup mechanism for disseminating e-content to students will be provided.

• Addressing the digital divide : Given the fact that there still persists a substantial section of the population whose digital access is highly limited, the existing mass media, such as television, radio, and community radio will be extensively used for telecast and broadcasts. Such educational programmes will be made available 24/7 in different languages to cater to the varying needs of the student population. A special focus on content in all Indian languages will be emphasized and required; digital content will need to reach the teachers and students in their medium of instruction as far as possible.

• Virtual Labs: : Existing e-learning platforms such as DIKSHA, SWAYAM and SWAYAMPRABHA will also be leveraged for creating virtual labs so that all students have equal access to quality practical and hands-on experiment-based learning experiences. The possibility of providing adequate access to SEDG students and teachers through suitable digital devices, such as tablets with pre-loaded content, will be considered and developed.

• Training and incentives for teachers: : Teachers will undergo rigorous training in learner-centric pedagogy and on how to become high-quality online content creators themselves using online teaching platforms and tools. There will be emphasis on the teacher’s role in facilitating active student engagement with the content and with each other.

• Online assessment and examinations: : Appropriate bodies, such as the proposed National Assessment Centre or PARAKH, School Boards, NTA, and other identified bodies will design and implement assessment frameworks encompassing design of competencies, portfolio, rubrics, standardized assessments, and assessment analytics. Studies will be undertaken to pilot new ways of assessment using education technologies focusing on 21st century skills.

• Blended models of learning: : While promoting digital learning and education, the importance of face-to-face in-person learning is fully recognized. Accordingly, different effective models of blended learning will be identified for appropriate replication for different subjects.

• Laying down standards: : As research on online/digital education emerges, NETF and other appropriate bodies shall set up standards of content, technology, and pedagogy for online/digital teaching-learning. These standards will help to formulate guidelines for e-learning by States, Boards, schools and school complexes, HEIs, etc.

( Courtesy: MHRD, GOI)

(Source: https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/NEP_Final_English_0.pdf )

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