Can NEP 2020 Tackle The Issue Of Accessibility Previous Policies Couldn’t?

Indian education policies post-independence have tried to make education accessible to a certain extent with NPE 1986, RTE 2009, etc. The new education policy in 2020 aims at restructuring the education system to change how and what students are taught. But will NEP 2020 be able to make education accessible to all?

Education policies shape up the education system for its smooth operation. These are important to create a framework within the system. And immensely helps to achieve the broad educational goals.

Since ancient times, governing bodies have promulgated education policies in India. But post-independence, education policies were introduced with a more standardised structure.

It is difficult to estimate the exact time when our Indian education system came into existence. However, from the age of the Gurukuls to the systems of philosophy, our Indian students were guided by the learned souls to accept a virtuous course of life. Before the standardised implementation of education policies, rulers in India played a major role in defining and reconstructing these systems.

In the post-independence era, our policymakers started making some systematic reforms and these structured education policies had clear aims and some useful recommendations.

National Policy On Education 1968

Independent India saw a series of educational reforms in the form of recommendations by committees and commissions. However, the need to reconstruct the education system was perfectly highlighted by the Kothari Commission.

On the recommendations of this commission, the first NPE (National Policy on Education) was formulated in 1968. This policy was aimed at educational reconstruction. Hence, it suggested compulsory education for children between 6 to 14 years of age. The vision behind this policy was the cultural and economic development of the nation.

NPE 1968 also suggested the promotion of the “three language formula”. However, it was also criticised for imposing the third language on students.

National Policy On Education 1986

The next big step for the Indian education system came in the year 1986. NPE 1986 aimed to promote national progress. Hence, it focused on improving educational opportunities for all sections of society. Most of its recommendations focused largely on adult and primary education.

Besides, there was also an emphasis on developing more schools and colleges. NPE 1986 came up with a legendary idea to popularise distance learning in India. This was when the Indira Gandhi National Open University was established in Delhi.

This policy was again reviewed in the year 1992 by eminent educationists. And a plan of action was designed to make modifications in the NPE 1986.

Universalisation Of Elementary Education

The 86th amendment act in the year 2002 made elementary school education a fundamental right (for the age groups between 6 to 14 years). However, it called for a collaborative effort by the state and the central governments.

Together both these governing bodies rolled out several schemes. The Sarva Shikha Abhiyan, Mid-day meal scheme, district primary education programs, etc., were introduced within the system. The main aim behind these initiatives was to increase the overall school enrollments.

The government made several attempts to bring all children into the mainstream education system with all these efforts. However, despite all these efforts, India could not achieve these desired results in terms of enrollments.

Unfortunately, most of these policies remained on paper and did not materialise perfectly on the ground level. Once again, the aim to include all children in the mainstream system called for a new reform. And this is when Article 21A (Right to Education) was inserted in the constitution (through the 86th amendment act in 2002). Later this act came into effect on 1 April, 2010.

Right To Education 2009

Commonly known as the RTE, this act made education for students between 6 to 14 years free and compulsory. It created a framework that aimed at removing all barriers to a child’s learning.

It was a visionary step wherein the government was made accountable for the completion of a student’s elementary education. Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) was a part of this mandate.

This act had the provision to admit children in age-appropriate classes. In addition, it also laid down norms for pupil-teacher ratio and other aspects of school education. Further, this act also focused on the recruitment of trained teachers. Besides, it also prohibited screening procedures for a child’s admission.

Despite the seemingly good structure of the RTE, it did not achieve the purpose of quality education. Some stakeholders believe that this act has brought down the standards of primary education as it was more about increasing enrollments rather than improving the overall quality of education.

National Education Policy 2020

The recent addition to the list of education policies in India is the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. It is aligned on the agenda reflected in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

NEP 2020 aims at creating a holistic framework of education at the school and college levels. It focuses on meeting the needs of the students of the 21st century.

For the first time in India, our education policy acknowledged the importance of experiential learning, high-order thinking, extra-curricular activities, etc. And its striking features include competency-based assessments for the learner’s holistic development.

All in all, NEP 2020 aims at making high-quality education accessible across all the levels of formal education in our country. In addition, it also takes into consideration issues such as school violence, harassment, discrimination and threats.

This recent policy focuses on hands-on learning. It suggests creating internship opportunities for students from grades 6 to 12. Innovative ideas like “bagless days” have also been introduced to enrich learning beyond textbooks. Other than this, it also streamlines teacher recruitment parameters to improve the hiring of teachers.

Has NEP 2020 Been A Success?

NEP 2020 is indeed a progressive move for the school and college-going age groups. However, other than the regular challenges of ground-level implementation, the pandemic has also added to the hardships. Therefore, the steps suggested in the policy are a massive challenge. And it is right to say that the implementation of these is more in the hands of the teachers and other stakeholders.

The most futuristic recommendation of NEP 2020 is its focus on improving the opportunities of online education. Besides, it also focuses on training the teachers on innovative teaching pedagogies (including online) for their professional development.

Online schooling can largely help in realising the goals of NEP 2020 because it will support our students in numerous ways. And will help us battle against the impact of the pandemic in this recovery stage.

Online teaching is again a perfect opportunity for teachers to tailor education to customise a child’s learning. And they can find credible solutions within the system for several challenges related to student engagement.

All in all, we can say that NEP 2020 has given us the right framework we always needed. But the pandemic has adversely impacted the speed of its implementation. Nevertheless, it is still possible to overcome these challenges and achieve the desired targets in the future.

How Have These Policies Helped Us?

In a developing country like India, these policies help reform school education as per the changing needs of the global village. Moreover, these policies are instrumental in improving the educational opportunities within our mainstream system.

In the past, these structured reforms have helped reach a 100% gross enrolment ratio at the primary level. And these have also helped in improving the overall accessibility of school education.

Education policies in India are a supportive pillar for our education system. We have come a long way since the first structured policy. Over the years, there has been a visible impact within our mainstream system. These policies have improved our education sector in terms of quality, accessibility and educational equity.

Additionally, it has also extended good opportunities to our disadvantaged students. To an extent, these reforms and initiatives have addressed complex issues like quality education in a diverse country like ours.

But there’s still a lot more to achieve in terms of implementing these policies at the ground level. In a vast country like India, we need a more resilient educational structure to serve our massive student population because our traditional schooling system has not succeeded to serve each student within the system.

Thankfully, the pandemic has brought the benefits of online education into the limelight. This alternative can address the challenges of accessibility and quality in the years to come. With 100% virtual schooling platforms now operational in India, students have better alternatives for school education.

And if only we succeed to bridge the digital divide, this new choice can help our less privileged students to access better quality education.

As per UNESCO, every additional year of education can raise the individual income by 10% (in developing countries like India). Our education policies have already added numerous positive aspects to our educational system. These are the foundation of a “New India” in this post-COVID world. And if only we succeed in implementing these well, our country can have a potential edge in the years to come.