Everything you need to know about the New Education Policy 2020

The new National Education Policy (NEP) approved by the Union Cabinet on July 29 is set to usher in a slew of changes, ranging from reduction in school curriculum to discontinuation of MPhil.

The draft of the NEP by a panel headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief Kasturirangan and submitted to the Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, when he took charge last year.

The policy overhaul came after three decades when the last changes in the Education Policy of India were made in 1986. Through the new policy, the government aims to bring two crore out-of-school children back into the mainstream.

Here are some key takeaways:

More focus on regional languages

Either the mother tongue or regional language will be the medium of instruction till class 5(preferably till class 8) for all schools.

Mainstreaming of Sanskrit

The policy aims to mainstream Sanskrit by including it as one of the language options in the three-language option formula in schools and for higher-education.

Not more than 30 students in a class

Classrooms will soon have less than 30 students each at every level.Areas with large numbers of socio-economically disadvantaged students, the pupil- teacher ration in schools will be 25:1.

Board exams in modular form

Board examinations will be based on knowledge and application to discourage rote learning.

10+2 structure of schooling to be changed

The current 10+2 structure will be replaced with 5+3+3+4. This includes 12 years of schooling and three of anganwadi or pre-school. This has been further categorised into- a foundational stage (ages 3 to 8), three years of pre-primary (ages 8-11), a preparatory stage (ages 11-14) and a secondary stage (ages 14-18).

No more running behind MPhil

The aim is to reduce the load on students; there will be no rigid separation between arts and science, between curricular and extracurricular activities and between vocational and academic streams. MPhil is discontinued.

From schools to undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD level, everything will be multidisciplinary.

Increased importance to be given to arts

To promote traditional arts, the policy also suggests hiring outstanding local artists, writers, craftsmen and other experts as master instructors into the curriculum, across humanities, sciences, arts, crafts and sports etc.

Change in assessment of students

Bringing about a crucial change in the examination pattern, school students will sit only for three exams- at classes 3,5,8 and not every year. Assessment in other years will shift to parameters like analytical skills, critical thinking and conceptual clarity. School reports not include exam marks but also an assessment of their skills.

Common regulatory body for the entire higher education system

Higher Education Commission of India(HECI) will be set up as the umbrella body for the entire higher education, excluding medical and legal education. University Grants Commission, All Indian Council of Technical Education and National Council for Teacher Education will be merged into one.

Inclusion of specially- abled children in the schooling process

A positive move where the children with disabilities will be enabled to fully participate in the regular schooling process from the foundational stage to higher education, with support of educators, accommodations, assistive devices and appropriate technology-based tools.

Internship and coding from class 6 onwards

Students of class 6 and onwards will be taught coding in schools. They will be encouraged to take up internships to groom their vocational skills.

Common entrance exams for university examinations

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will offer a common aptitude test, as well as a specialised common subject exams in the sciences, humanities, language, arts, vocational subject at least twice every year for university entrance exams.

Multiple entry and exit options in higher education

There will be multiple entry and exit options for those who wish to leave the course in the middle.

A multi-disciplinary bachelor’s degree will be awarded after completing four years of study. Students exiting after two years will get a diploma and those leaving after 12 months will have studied a vocational/professional course.

Right to Education extended

Right to education has been extended to cover all children between 3 and 18 years of age.

Concept of academic credit bank

Those who leave their education in the middle, their credits will be transferred to the Academic Bank of Credits. This will enable working professionals, to come back and pursue their education from where they left.