All higher education institutes aim to be autonomous by 2035: Ramesh Pokhriyal

The new National Education Policy (NEP) will make India a knowledge superpower, said education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal in an email interview. It will take the sector on a path of structural reform, promote autonomy, assess the competencies of students, and reduce rigidity in the learning environment, Pokhriyal said. Schools will be pushed to focus more on helping students develop basic skills and competencies, and all higher educational institutions will “aim to become autonomous by 2035”. Edited excerpts:

What are the big changes that NEP has underlined and how will this impact the education sector?

The policy recommends transformational changes…India will surely emerge as a global knowledge super power. NEP 2020 emphasizes on the criticality of the early years to ensure quality early childhood care and education (ECCE) for all children between three and six years by 2025. Children in the age group of 3-5 will be catered to by the existing system of anganwadis and preschools, and 5-6 year olds will be included in the schooling system in a seamless integrated manner, with a playway-based curriculum to be prepared by the National Council of Educational Research and Training. The planning and implementation of early childhood education will be carried out jointly by the ministries of education, women and child development, health and family welfare, and tribal affairs.

The policy envisages broad-based multi-disciplinary holistic education at the undergraduate level for integrated and rigorous exposure to science, arts, humanities, mathematics, and professional fields, with imaginative and flexible curricular structures. The undergraduate degree will be of either three or four years, with multiple exit options…The four-year multidisciplinary Bachelor’s programme will be the preferred option as it allows the opportunity to experience the full range of holistic and multidisciplinary education and also envisages focus on major and minors according to the choice of the student.

How will NEP influence India’s education system, in 5-7 years, and 10-15 years?

The policy is certainly what the country needed to move onto the path of development and progress. It is true that the policy has advocated progressive structural reforms. Universal provisioning of quality early-childhood development, care and education must thus be achieved no later than 2030, to ensure that all students entering Grade 1 are school-ready. All state and Union territory governments will prepare an implementation plan for attaining universal foundational literacy and numeracy in all primary schools for all learners by Grade 3 to be achieved by 2025. Teacher education will gradually be moved to multidisciplinary colleges and universities by 2030. By 2030, the minimum degree qualification for teaching will be a 4-year integrated B.Ed. degree. By 2025, at least 50% of learners through the school and higher education system shall have exposure to vocational education.

By 2040, all higher education institutions (HEIs) shall aim to become multidisciplinary institutions, each of which will aim to have 3,000 or more students. By 2030, there shall be at least one large multidisciplinary HEI in, or near, every district. The board of governors of an institution will be empowered to govern the institution free of any external interference. It is envisaged that all HEIs will be incentivised and mentored during this process and shall aim to become autonomous and have such an empowered board of governors by 2035.

The NEP talks about reforming the examination process and making board examinations low stake. Does this mean that the importance of marks in board examinations will come down in higher education admission and also in employment selections?

While the board examinations for Class X and XII will be continued, the existing system of board and entrance examinations shall be reformed to eliminate the need for undertaking coaching classes. Board examinations will be redesigned to encourage holistic development. Students will be able to choose many subjects when they take board examinations, depending on their individual interests. Board examinations will also be made easier, in the sense that they will primarily test core competencies…To further eliminate the high stake aspect of board examinations, all students will be allowed to take board examinations for up to two occasions during any given school year, one main examination and one for improvement, if so desired.

You said NEP will not impose any language on students. How will the mother tongue and regional language rules be implemented. Can students and schools continue to learn and teach in English if they so wish?

The ministry of education has held rigorous consultation. France, China, and Japan all have instruction in their mother tongue. Most of the developed countries of the world have made an earnest effort to ensure that a child studies in the mother tongue…Young children learn and grasp concepts more quickly in their home language. Thereby, the NEP Para 4.11 states that, wherever possible, the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the home language, mother tongue, local language or regional language. There will be a major effort from both the central and state governments to invest in large numbers of language teachers. States may enter into bilateral agreements to hire teachers in large numbers from each other, to satisfy the three-language formula in their respective states.

The focus on competency learning is progressive. Will this lead to a more comprehensive and prescriptive examination system in both schools and the higher education sector?

The primary purpose of assessment will indeed be for learning…There will be a shift from summative assessment to regular and formative assessment, which is more competency-based, promotes learning and development, and tests higher-order skills, such as analysis, critical thinking and conceptual clarity.

Experts favour the comprehensive university system that NEP talks about. How fast will this shift in our university system take place?

Holistic and multidisciplinary education will help develop well-rounded individuals who possess critical 21st century capacities in fields across humanities, languages, sciences…technical and vocational fields. Such holistic education shall be, in the long term, the approach of all undergraduate programmes, including those in professional, technical, and vocational disciplines.

How soon can the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institutes of Management become multidisciplinary and comprehensive, so that more students can benefit from good quality education?

We have recently announced that the seats in our premier institutes will be increased so that students can stay and study in India. Funds will be made available under the higher education financing agency to create infrastructure.

From which year will the new education policy be implemented, the ongoing academic session (2020-21) or the next?

The implementation plan is laid out in QUEST and EQUIP documents for school and higher education. We have to talk to various states. As the reforms are revolutionary in nature, we have to take everyone on board.

NEP talks about a national research fund to promote research and development. Will both private and government institutions benefit from this fund?

The overarching goal of the NRF will be to enable a culture of research…in the country through suitable incentives and recognition of outstanding research and by undertaking major initiatives to seed and improve research at state universities and other public institutions, where research capability is limited at present.

How will you enable the private sector to invest more in both schools and the university system?

All institutions, public and private, shall be treated on a par…the regulatory regime shall encourage private philanthropic efforts in education. At the same time, it shall closely monitor and eliminate commercialization of education.