The need to change outdated methodologies and the overall academic structure has been indicated for the longest time. Therefore, the launch of the NEP 2020 campaign was a significant move towards transforming the Indian education system.
The policy focuses on high-quality education, ease of accessibility, and accountability in education. The policy has been designed to identify and solve core challenges such as unequal accessibility to education, inadequate teacher training, and low learning outcomes.
Furthermore, a comprehensive and holistic approach is central to the policy and encourages critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills. Hence, it is only fitting to look at how it impacts the education system.
Impact Of NEP 2020
1. Holistic Education
Division of streams and high favorability of science and commerce are the realities of senior higher secondary education. On the other hand, people refer to the arts or humanities as the last resort, associating them with being insignificant.
The policy introduced the 5+3+3+4 academic system, which led to a shift from the traditional 10+2 system to the following:
- Foundational Stage: The first five years cover the foundational stage, wherein core skills like literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional skills are areas of focus.
- Preparatory Stage: The next three years are crucial for preparing students and establishing a strong foundation in vital subjects. For instance, schools focus on subjects like mathematics, science, language, and the arts.
- Middle Stage: The middle stage of education is where students gain in-depth education in multiple subjects and disciplines.
- Secondary Stage: The secondary stage in the higher education system allows students to choose a particular stream or subject.
However, there is no hard separation between the streams, allowing students to choose a unique combination of subjects. Consequently, it helps them learn a wide variety of subjects and skills and undergo holistic development.
2. Emphasis On Arts And Humanities
STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is one of the most popular and primary academic modules. However, the sole emphasis of the module leads to intellectual and resource roadblocks.
Therefore, the incorporation of humanities subjects is a critical aspect of the policy. One of the fundamental reasons is that it will foster soft skills in students. For example, critical thinking, analysing, collaboration, good communication, resourcefulness, etc.
Besides, these skills are central to enhancing the overall capability of a person, making them ready to deal with varied situations. Also, they will become more adept at the workplace and succeed in identifying and solving issues.
Likewise, technology-based solutions are key to modern organisations and will continue to impact the future. Nevertheless, accurate implementation of these highly advanced solutions requires smart and ethical individuals.
That is where the humanities play a vital role by inculcating empathy, ethics, and moral values that enable people to make the right decisions.
3. Multilingual Education
The policy emphasises multilingual education by recommending the use of the mother tongue or native language as a medium of instruction. Furthermore, it indicates that the mother tongue will be the primary language of instruction until Grade 8 and beyond.
As a result, it will help students learn and grasp concepts better and enable them to understand the country’s diverse cultures and traditions. Also, they will gradually develop an inclusive and tolerant attitude towards other cultures and communities.
Furthermore, the policy highlights the importance of learning more than one language; therefore, multilingual education is a step towards that aim. It will improve their communication skills, enabling them to interact effectively with people from other cultures.
Besides, language acquisition skills are one of the in-demand competencies that employers look for in candidates. Hence, schools will also include foreign languages like Spanish, German, Latin, Japanese, etc.
4. Focus On Vocational Education
The learning and skill gap has been one of the contributing factors to unemployment in India, causing many young graduates to struggle. Hence, apart from incorporating outcome-based education, the National Education Policy stresses vocational education.
