Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 cannot be implemented by just issuing a circular and notifying it.

“For its successful implementation, all the stakeholders will have to come together. The NEP will start a new era of discussion and dialogue among universities, colleges, school education boards and stakeholders,” said PM Modi.

While addressing a conclave on transformational reforms in higher education under the NEP, PM Modi said that till now the education system focused on ‘What To Think’; but the new policy emphasises on ‘How To Think’.

“The aim of the policy is to focus on (an) inquiry-based, discovery-based, discussion-based and analysis-based method (of) education, as it will increase the participation of students in the class,” said PM.

Students should be given the opportunity to follow their passion. They should be allowed to enrol themselves in a course of their choice, and later, if they do not wish to continue with the course, they should have the freedom to leave it, he added.

“In the last few years, no major reforms were announced in the education system. It resulted in encouraging herd mentality instead of curiosity and imagination,” said PM Modi.

On creating a new curriculum, he said, that changing times lead to a new global system; therefore, it was necessary for India to change its education system accordingly. Creating a 5+3+3+4 curriculum, while moving ahead from the school curriculum’s 10+2 structure, is a step in this direction.

NEP also recommends teaching in the mother tongue/regional language up to Class V. “There is no doubt that the learning efficiency of children improves if the language they speak at home is the same as the language in which they are taught in schools,” said PM Modi.

The conclave is being organised by the Ministry of Education and University Grants Commission.

Last week, the country got its new NEP, 2020 after a gap of 34 years. This policy aims to usher in transformational reforms in both school and higher education.

 

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