National Education Policy 2020 Highlights

National Education Policy 2020 announced

The new policy aims to bring transformational reforms in school and higher education

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi 29.7.2020 approved the National Education Policy 2020. The new policy aims to pave way for transformational reforms in school and higher education systems in the country. This policy will replace the 34 your old National Policy on Education (NPE),1986.

Highlights 

School Education 

• New Policy aims for universalization of education from pre-school to secondary level with 100 % Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in school education by 2030. 
• NEP 2020 will bring 2 crore out of school children back into the main stream through open schooling system.
• The current 10+2 system to be replaced by a new 5+3+3+4 curricular structure corresponding to ages 3-8, 8-11, 11-14, and 14-18 years respectively. This will bring the hitherto uncovered age group of 3-6 years under school curriculum, which has been recognized globally as the crucial stage for development of mental faculties of a child. The new system will have 12 years of schooling with three years of Anganwadi/ pre schooling.
• Emphasis on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, no rigid separation between academic streams, extracurricular, vocational streams in schools ; Vocational Education to start  from Class 6 with Internships
• Teaching up to at least Grade 5 to be in mother tongue/ regional language. No language will be imposed on any student.
• Assessment reforms with 360 degree Holistic Progress Card, tracking Student Progress for achieving Learning Outcomes
• A new and comprehensive National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education, NCFTE 2021, will be formulated by the NCTE in consultation with NCERT.   By 2030, the minimum degree qualification for teaching will be a 4-year integrated B.Ed. degree .

• 
  

Higher Education

• Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education to be raised to 50 % by 2035 ;  3.5 crore seats to be added in higher education.
• The policy envisages broad based, multi-disciplinary, holistic Under Graduate  education with flexible curricula, creative combinations of subjects, integration of vocational education and  multiple entry and exit points with appropriate certification. UG education can be of 3 or 4 years with multiple exit options and appropriate certification within this period.
• Academic Bank of Credits to be established to facilitate  Transfer of Credits
• Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERUs), at par with IITs, IIMs, to  be set up as models  of best multidisciplinary education of global standards in the country.
• The National Research Foundation will be created as an apex body for fostering a strong research culture and building research capacity across higher education.
• Higher Education Commission of India(HECI) will be set up as a single overarching umbrella body the for entire higher education, excluding medical and legal education. HECI to have  four independent verticals  - National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC) for regulation, General Education Council (GEC ) for standard setting, Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC) for funding,  and National Accreditation Council( NAC) for accreditation. Public and private higher education institutions will be governed by the same set of norms for regulation, accreditation and academic standards.
• Affiliation of colleges is to be phased out in 15 years and a stage-wise mechanism is to be established for granting graded autonomy to colleges. Over a period of time, it is envisaged that every college would develop into either an Autonomous degree-granting College, or a constituent college of a university.

Important Points 

• An autonomous body, the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), will be created to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration.
• NEP 2020 emphasizes setting up of Gender Inclusion Fund, Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups
• New Policy promotes Multilingualism in both schools and higher education. National Institute for Pali, Persian and Prakrit , Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation to be set up
• The Centre and the States will work together to increase the public investment in Education sector to reach 6% of GDP at the earliest.

IAS Foundation Course in Mussoorie

Foundation Course

Foundation Course (15 Weeks)

This Course is for Officer Trainees of the All India Services viz the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Police Service & the Indian Forests Service; the Indian Foreign Service and various Central Services (Group-‘A’). Run once a year usually from September to December, it marks the commencement of training of candidates selected by the UPSC. At current levels of recruitment, some 650 plus candidates drawn from across the above Services undergo the FC each year at LBSNAA and Partner Institutions.  As the Officer Trainees are fresh entrants, the focus is on familiarizing them with the environment of political, economic, social and administrative issues through a well-defined syllabus. This equips them with requisite skills, knowledge and attitudes to shoulder the responsibilities of a public service officer. The Academy stands out as one of the very few institutions in the world with focus not only on Civil Service capacity building but also inter-services camaraderie and cooperation. The raison d’etre of a common FC is to instil a shared understanding of government and build camaraderie among the civil services for smoother conduct of the affairs of the Government.

 The Foundation Course is designed to serve the following objectives:

i. Orient Officer Trainees to the administrative, social, economic and political environment of the country.

ii. Generate awareness of the challenges and opportunities within the Civil Services,

iii. Promote overall development of personality traits of the Officer Trainees: intellectual, moral, physical and aesthetic,

iv. Foster greater coordination among the members of different Civil Services by building esprit de corps.

Curricular inputs are given in various subjects of social, economic and political importance like Political Science, Law, Management & Behavioural Science, Public Administration, Economics, History & Culture and ICT besides lectures by eminent persons from social, political, cultural and economic walks of life.

Teaching a language is an important component of the training at the Academy. With the exception of those  Officer Trainees  who  have  to compulsorily  learn  Hindi,  all  others  are required to  opt  for  one  of  the languages that are on offer. The All-India Service officers have to opt for the language of the State cadre they are allotted to (in case such allotment is made prior to the Foundation Course). Normally the languages offered include: Assamese, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Marathi, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada, Telugu, Manipuri, Oriya, Punjabi, French and English.

The FC encompasses a wide array of co-curricular activities that include:

i. Short weekend treks: in first four weeks

ii. High Altitude Trek: 1 week

iii. Village Visit: 1 week

iv. Fete

v. India Day

vi. Athletics meet

vii. AK Sinha Memorial One Act Play

viii. Homi Bhabha Science Debate

ix. Extra-Curricular Module

x. Activities by Clubs and Societies

xi. Literary Festival

Trek 

Literally, the trek is, the high point of the Foundation Course. It is a memorable and a joyful journey. During the trek, the Officer Trainees go out into the Himalaya. The Academy makes all the basic arrangements like transport, boarding, lodging besides helpers and guides who are trained Para-military force jawans. The teams are provided with lifesaving medicines, sleeping bag, rucksack, GPS/Compass equipment, VHF handsets and any other equipment of necessity. The concerned District administration also provides the necessary support through block level/tehsil level officials. The faculty and doctors also visit the teams at various locations to guide and assist the OfficerTrainees during the trek.

The trek attempts to foster a spirit of adventure and love for flora and fauna; promote esprit de corps and camaraderie among fellow Officer Trainees and improve self-esteem and understanding of each other making for lasting friendships.

Village Visit

The Village Visit Programme is an important component of the Foundation Course. Officer Trainees are taken to rural areas and exposed to the realities and complexities of rural life. The Officers are expected to gain a first-hand understanding of various programmes/schemes during the course of their stay in the villages. Simultaneously, the Officer Trainees look to learn from initiatives and best practices that have succeeded opportunities that have been utilized and interventions that have worked. The Trainees submit a report on villages visited by them covering various aspects like poverty, inequality of opportunities and lack of access of various facilities in rural areas.

The villages visit aims at achieving the following:

1. Assess the socio-economic-political dynamics that exist in a village;

2. Recognize the importance of the need to learn from the villagers in evolving people based solutions to local problems;

3. Evaluate the spatial and temporal changes that have occurred in the village in terms of quality of life resulting from Governmental and non-Governmental interventions .

4. Evaluate the working of various village level institutions, formal and informal, in terms of participation and effectiveness;

5. Organize a cleanliness drive under “Swachh Bharat Mission” with the help of villagers and the district administration.  

6. Understand and analyse the problems faced by the rural people especially the marginalized sections such as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, physically challenged old, poor, landless and women.

India Day 

The culture, customs, arts & crafts and cuisine of the diverse regions of the country are displayed through outdoor and indoor activities by the Officer Trainees during India Day. A virtual microcosm of India, it helps build pride in the country’s rich heritage besides sensitizing the OTs to the rich traditions of regions other than their own. (photo & article Source www.lbsnaa.gov.in)