Particularly surprising is the opposition to the National Education Policy by the Congress and its state governments.
In the realm of political power play, it’s commonplace for the Opposition to criticize any decisions or economic policies of the central government. However, it is highly inappropriate for certain state governments to flatly reject the proclaimed National Education Policy, especially after thorough and extensive deliberation, and justify their opposition solely on party lines and political gains. Such a stance disregards the comprehensive contemplation needed for shaping the future of India’s emerging generation. The constitution’s architects had designed provisions to grant a certain extent of authority to state governments over subjects like education, healthcare, and the legal framework. However, over the course of 75 years since independence, the benefits of policies and budgets formulated by the central governments have not reached the states as intended. Particularly surprising is the opposition to the education policy by the Congress party and its state governments. It is astonishing whether the purportedly knowledgeable leaders of the Congress Party, who are following Rahul Gandhi’s cues, lack the awareness that the Kothari Commission prepared the first National Education Policy within three years, and the Congress-led central government implemented it in July 1968. However, due to the lack of a solid implementation plan and sufficient financial management, it couldn’t be effectively enforced. Then, under Rajiv Gandhi’s Congress government, the National Education Policy was formulated in 1986, which remained in effect until now. However, its shortcomings were highlighted by the Ramamurthy Committee and the Prof. Yashpal Committee. Therefore, for the development of India’s future, the new National Education Policy 2020 was formulated under the chairmanship of Kasturirangan. Almost 34 years later, in 2020, significant and crucial changes were made to the old policies. As a result, the BJP-led states initiated efforts in the past two years to implement the new policy.
In the recent state Assembly elections, the newly formed Karnataka government has decided to cancel the National Education Policy (NEP) and prepare a new state education policy. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that after completing necessary preparations, the NEP will have to be cancelled, which couldn’t be done this year within the stipulated time.
The central Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan vehemently opposed this initiative by Karnataka. In their statements, they described it as detrimental to the future of Karnataka’s students. Endorsing the central government’s new education policy, they said that the Congress lacks information about the benefits of the NEP. Karnataka was the first state to implement NEP 2020, but by the end of 2023, Karnataka has decided to part ways with it. Alongside this, there are discussions about cancelling the 4-year undergraduate program under NEP and implementing a 3-year program instead.
In a similar manner, there is opposition to the new National Education Policy 2020 in Tamil Nadu. The provision of three languages in the Education Policy 2020 is cited as the main reason for the opposition. The Tamil Nadu government wants to adhere to a two-language policy (Tamil and English) in the state. Bihar’s Education Minister, Professor Chandra Shekhar, also expressed his dissent against the education policy, but he argued that there is currently an infrastructure deficiency and various issues in the state, so the new education policy cannot be implemented.
The central government approved the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) in the year 2020. During this time, the Ministry of Human Resource Development was renamed as the Ministry of Education. This policy aimed to establish a common regulatory body for all higher education institutions and to abolish the M.Phil. Additionally, a plan was formulated to establish a National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) to promote digital learning.
An interesting development is that the West Bengal government, led by Mamata Banerjee, the chief leader of the new alliance of opposition parties including the Congress, has decided to implement the four-year undergraduate program under the NEP 2020 in universities starting from the upcoming academic session in March. There are 20 government universities in West Bengal that offer general degrees. Within these 20 universities, there are 49 government and 433 government-aided degree colleges. Additionally, there are 11 private universities that offer degree programs.
The leaders of opposition parties do not pay attention to the fact that no party has formulated an education policy. After considering the opinions of nearly two and a half million people and extensive discussions with educators, the Modi government announced the education policy. The new policy gives utmost importance to mother tongues and Indian languages as the foundation for education and making education relevant from a livelihood perspective. Instead of solely relying on scores, the focus has shifted towards holistic development to shape the future of the new generation. Through knowledge of Sanskrit and Indian languages, the future generation can be connected to the true meanings of caste, religion, and regional identity, and uplifted beyond them for the progress of the entire human society. Learning English and other global languages, and sharing their benefits with the nation and the world, wouldn’t cause any objections.
Connecting with one’s mother tongue and Indian languages since childhood can strengthen the sense of national unity and self-reliance.
In the new education policy, it is also important to establish various mechanisms to prevent the commercialization of school and higher education. Transparent arrangements will be developed to determine the maximum fees of different institutions, ensuring that private institutions cannot act arbitrarily. For school education, a new and comprehensive national curriculum, the NCFSE and NCFET, will be prepared in consultation with all stakeholders, including state governments, ministries, central government, relevant departments, and other specialized bodies, based on the principles of the National Education Policy, the needs of the forefront curriculum, and made available in all regional languages. Within 5 to 10 years, a review and updating of this curriculum will also be conducted. Considering national and international requirements and challenges today, traditional knowledge and artificial intelligence, design thinking, holistic health, organic living, environmental education, global citizenship education, and digital education are essential dimensions through which students must be introduced. It is essential to shift the focus in India from caste-based, communal, or worn-out ideological slogans to the real issues of the present and future of the people. Nonetheless, under the “Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India” scheme, allocating a budget of around Rs 18,000 crore to develop 14,597 government schools into model government schools is a welcome step. This initiative could set a new direction in the next five years.
The writer is editorial director of ITV Network-India News and Dainik Aaj Samaj.