As far as school education is concerned,under National Education Policy-2020, the structure of 5+3+3+4 will be put in place aim at Universalization of Education from pre-school to secondary level with 100 % General Enrollment Ratio (GER) in school education by 2030 to be achieved by bringing 2 crore out-of-school children back into the mainstream as well as going for an inclusive and equitable education for children with special needs.
It has been stated the NEP-2020 is "built on the foundational pillars of 'Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability and Accountability', this policy is aligned to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and aims to transform India into a vibrant knowledge society and global knowledge superpower by making both school and college education more holistic, flexible, multidisciplinary, suited to 21st century needs and aimed at bringing out the unique capabilities of each student."
"NEP 2020 emphasizes on ensuring universal access to school education at all levels- pre school to secondary. Infrastructure support, innovative education centres to bring back dropouts into the mainstream, tracking of students and their learning levels, facilitating multiple pathways to learning involving both formal and non-formal education modes, association of counselors or well-trained social workers with schools, open learning for classes3,5 and 8 through NIOS and State Open Schools, secondary education programs equivalent to Grades 10 and 12, vocational courses, adult literacy and life-enrichment programs are some of the proposed ways for achieving this," adds the release.
Furthermore, NEP-2020, promises that the school curricula and pedagogy will aim for holistic development of learners by equipping them with the key 21st century skills, reduction in curricular content to enhance essential learning and critical thinking and greater focus on experiential learning. Students will have increased flexibility and choice of subjects. There will be no rigid separations between arts and sciences, between curricular and extra-curricular activities, between vocational and academic streams.
Also a system of regular and formative assessment will be put in place, "which is more competency-based, promotes learning and development, and tests higher-order skills, such as analysis, critical thinking, and conceptual clarity. All students will take school examinations in Grades 3, 5, and 8 which will be conducted by the appropriate authority. Board exams for Grades 10 and 12 will be continued, but redesigned with holistic development as the aim. A new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development), will be set up as a standard-setting body"
The release of Ministry of Education spells out the following salient feature the NEP-2020 .
New 5+3+3+4 school curriculum with 12 years of schooling and 3 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 upto at least Grade 5 to be in mother tongue/ regional language
Assessment reforms with 360 degree Holistic Progress Card, tracking Student Progress for achieving Learning Outcomes
Increased use of technology with equity; National Educational Technology Forum to be created
NEP 2020 emphasizes setting up of Gender Inclusion Fund, Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups
Multi-disciplinary streams and Multilingualism approaches will be encourages
Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE) with new Curricular and Pedagogical Structure to be the part of foundational stage of education for attaining foundational Literacy and Numeracy
Vocational education will start in schools from the 6th grade, and will include internships.
A new and comprehensive National Curricular Framework for School Education, NCFSE 2020-21, will be developed by the NCERT.
No language will be imposed on any student. Students to participate in a fun project/activity on ‘The Languages of India’, sometime in Grades 6-8, such as, under the ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat’ initiative. Several foreign languages will also be offered at the secondary level.
Indian Sign Language (ISL) will be standardized across the country, and National and State curriculum materials developed, for use by students with hearing impairment.
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