In the first part of the National Education Policy 2020 series, I had explained the crucial guidelines set by the Government of India to achieve the goal of quality education. Now, in this part, I will shed light on the strategies of Government to benefit the higher educational institutions & universities.
If you're an educator or faculty belonging to college or university, please make a note of these points for your reference.
Let’s get started…
1.Enhance GER to 50% by the Year 2035
The Gross Enrollment Ratio as of the year 2018 was 26.3 % NEP 2020 is planning to enhance the GER to 50% by the year 2035.
To make this plan a reality, around 3.5 crore seats or even more will be allocated to higher educational institutions.
2.Holistic & Multidisciplinary Education
To help students learn as per their will, the new policy has introduced a holistic & multidisciplinary undergraduate education approach.
It allows students with a flexibility to combine multi-disciplinary subjects along with integration of vocational courses.
UG programs can be of either 3 or 4 years.
The new element is that students will be given ‘multiple exit options’ & appropriate ‘certification’ will be given to them within their graduation tenure.
For instance, students will get certification after the completion of one year, advanced diploma after second year, Bachelors’ degree will be given after the successful completion of 3 years & a degree indicating research intelligence by the end of 4th year will be offered to students.
A credit bank of academic progress will also be formed to keep track of the credits earned during the entire educational journey of students.
The credits obtained in a year will be transferred to the next level after completion of successive academic years.
The Government is also taking steps towards establishment of Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERUs), with globalized educational standards just like the IIMs and IITs.
A National Research Foundation will also be created for fostering research & development activities.
3.Dismantling of the ‘UGC’ and ‘AICTE’
A new ruling body called ‘Higher Education Commission of India’ (HECI) will come into existence in order to ensure best practices in the educational sector excluding the medical & legal field.
HECI will have the right to penalize institutions who don’t adhere to quality education.
4.Financial Support to Assist Students
Government will make efforts to ensure that students belonging to ST, SC, OBC, and SEDGs get scholarships as per their merit.
The officials would encourage higher education institutions to offer scholarships to support talented students.
The role & activities of National Scholarship Portal will be broadened to keep tab on the performance of students who’ve received scholarships.
5.Encouragement to Use Indian Languages
To ensure the preservation & promotion of Indian languages, NEP has recommended to set up various bodies such as –
- National Institution for Pali, Prakit, and Persian
- Institution of Translation & Interpretation (IITI)
The HEIs are allowed to use mother tongue/regional/local language to help students grasp the concept better.
6.Technology in Education
The government will create an autonomous entity called as- the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), to ensure appropriate integration of technology in education. Institutions will be able to empower their faculty as well as students by streamlining classroom processes through ICT-enablement.
7.Rationalized Education Architecture
The core structure of universities will be formed in a new manner.
As per the vision & mission of educational institutions, various categories of universities such as teaching-intensive universities, research-intensive universities, and autonomous degree-granting colleges will come into existence.
College affiliation procedure will be phased out in 15 years step-by-step & institutions will be granted autonomy.
8.Distance Learning/Open Learning
Government will take several measures to ensure highest quality education by opening the doors of open learning facilities such as –
- Online courses introduction
- Digital repositories
- Funds for research work
- Credit based education
9.Digitalization of Teaching-Learning Process
No more traditional classrooms!
A dedicated team for the developing digital infrastructure including e-content, digital library, etc will be initiated to meet the needs of students & maximizing the learning outcomes.
10.Imparting Professional Education
Proactive steps to impart professional education will be taken.
Independent technical universities, agricultural universities, health science universities, and legal universities will head towards becoming multi-disciplinary institutions.
Let’s Take a Step towards Digitalization in Education
The Government of India has thoughtfully created the guidelines to ensure quality education.
As per renowned educational experts, the role of ICT in education is crucial.
They have acknowledged the fact that investing in latest education ERP tools such as online assessments, e-learning, choice based education systems will surely be a game changer for schools, HEIs & universities.
Being the oldest & largest edTech solution providers, MasterSoft Team is ensuring that every stakeholder understands how they can get benefited with NEP 2020.
If you’d like to hear the views of experienced educators & their take on the NEP policy 2020 in detail, watch at our YouTube Channel.