The new National Education Policy (NEP) was approved by the Union

Cabinet on Wednesday and it is the first such policy in the last 34 years.
The NEP is ambitious and futuristic but much of its success will depend on
how it is executed.
The NEP will introduce a large number of changes such as ensuring free
education for all till the age of 18 with more accessibility to reduce
dropouts because of various factors and scrapping the 10+2 structure for a
5+3+3+4 structure in school education.

Also, the Gross Enrolment Ratio sits at 26.3% as of 2018. So, this policy
focuses on making the GER from pre-school to secondary education 100%
by 2030, and the GER from schooling to Higher education to be 50% by
2030. This goal will boost the Indian economy and also the per capita
income.

There is a big move to streamline pre-school education until the age of 6

and carrying out education in regional languages till the 5th standard.

The NEP ambitiously proposes to implement a three-language formula.

Under this, it is proposed that two out of three languages i.e. mother
tongue/local language/regional language will be used as the medium of
instruction at least till Grade 5, but may be extended further till Grade 8
and beyond.

Moreover, strict division between various streams, or between curricular

and co-curricular activities, or vocational and non-vocational subjects will
cease. The govt. has laid more inclusion and focus on early childhood care
and education (ECCE) as it brings to light the importance of early learning,
since Early childhood care and education play a vital role in building a
foundation for lifelong learning and well-being for every child.

Education and assessment will both become more holistic with infrequent
exams only in classes 3, 5 and 8, and a change is expected in the near future
in the class 10 and class 12 board exam pattern as well.
All of this will boost multidisciplinary education which is more aligned with
the global education system, and the process will continue even in higher
education with all institutes set to become multidisciplinary and more
focussed on research.

There has been consistency shown by NEP by with respect to the

continuous reforms related to the higher education sphere in our country.
One of the main challenges with higher education in our country is low
GER. The Policy aims to tackle the same by making higher education
policies much more flexible in favour of the students and providing them
with more options to complete their higher education.

The major changes include implementing a four-year undergraduate

programme. This program will be multi-disciplinary in nature and will
allow the students with multiple entry and exit points with appropriate
certifications.

Additionally, a digital credit bank system has also been proposed to be

incorporated wherein, if a student happens to stop pursuing a particular
degree, but has attained a certain number of credits, he/she may transfer
the same to some other institution and can avoid starting at that institution
afresh.

For regulation of higher education, the Policy proposes to form a singular

umbrella body regulating higher education in India, called the “Higher
Education Commission of India” (HECI), however, excluding medicine and
legal education. A National Testing Agency will also be set up to conduct a
singular exam for higher education institutes.

Under the new Policy, High performing Indian universities will be

encouraged to set up campuses in other countries, and similarly, selected
universities e.g., those from among the top 100 universities in the world
will be facilitated to operate in India.
The govt is also promoting skill-based learning, i.e. more Emphasis will be
on critical thinking, creativity and stronger conceptual understanding
which will encourage students to become self-motivated learners. This is
much needed for students to acquire skills that will prepare them for the
unseen jobs of tomorrow.

The policy says that the centre and states shall work together to increase
public investment in education to 6 per cent of the gross domestic product,
from the current 4.43 per cent.

A common aptitude test is also to be introduced for undergraduate

admissions which will ease off the pressure from students to prepare for
multiple exams. The CAT will be designed in a way that most universities
can identify the student skill set for admissions from the same test.