National Education Policy: The most lovable "Dream" : Part one

Finally, after 34 years, India got a new national education policy. The 484 pages long draft reduced to 66 pages long educational policy. It's always good to have a policy, have a vision regarding education. Let's hope that this vision will be reflected in fiscal policies and budgetary allocation. 

The National Education Policy 2020 does include the points discussed in the World Development Report 2018 (Learning to realize education’s promise 

https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2018 ). The students are attending the school but not "learning". The world development report blames the learning crisis for high inequality, poor outcomes, and political inefficiency. The report suggests school management, unkilled teacher, unprepared learners as well as school inputs are the reasons behind the learning crisis where key players like political players don't give attention to the students learning.  The WDR suggests that countries should work on three parts: Assess learning (to make it a serious goal through well-designed student assessments to gauge the health of education systems), Act on evidence (to make schools work for all learners) and Align actors (to make the whole system work for learning). 

The national policy does highlight the difference between schooling and learning and focuses more on learning without ignoring the schooling part (as we still have dropouts hence policy also aims to achieve 100% Gross Enrolment Ratio in preschool to secondary level by 2030). The national policy tries to work on the fronts suggested by the World Development Report (especially on the first two fronts).

For assessing learning:

4.40. To track progress throughout the school years, and not just at the end of Grades 10 and 12 - for the benefit of students, parents, teachers, principals, and the entire schooling system in planning improvements to schools and teaching-learning processes - all students will take school examinations in Grades 3, 5, and 8 which will be conducted by the appropriate authority.

For making schools work for all learner:

5.15. Teachers will be given continuous opportunities for self-improvement and to learn the latest innovations and advances in their professions.... (Continuous Professional Development (CPD), National Education Policy 2020)

5.2. To ensure that outstanding students enter the teaching profession - especially from rural areas - a large number of merit-based scholarships shall be instituted across the country for studying quality 4-year integrated B.Ed. programmes (Recruitment and Deployment)

7. Efficient Resourcing and Effective Governance through School Complexes/Clusters

Including these there many other efforts discussed in policies to increase the teacher's skill as well as assessing the learning outcomes. 

As far as the third front is concerned, the policy does discuss the community participation, and integrating the system for better learning, how states can act on the ground is not discussed exclusively. 

However, they are some serious issues that must be addressed. 

1) Early childhood education prepares young children for school: Preschool programs targeting children ages 3–6 can foster foundational skills and boost children’s ability to learn (World Development Report 2018). On the same line, NEP does recognize Early Childhood Care and Education as the foundation of learning.  The policy suggests changing the existing structure of 10+2 to 5+3+3+4 structure which covers 3-18 years. 3-8 age (pre-school to 2nd standard) is foundational, 8-11 age (3-5th class) is preparatory, 11-14 age (6-8 class) is middle and 14-18 (9-12 class) is secondary. While addressing these issues, policy tries to change the school structure which includes the teacher's overall behavior, school infrastructure, etc. It seems policy thinks that "school associate" i.e. teachers, school infrastructures are the main reasons behind the failure of early childhood schooling. But it's a systematic failure. The Anganwadi workers are struggling for a good return for many years. The government budgetary allocation ignores them (https://www.sabrangindia.in/article/will-anganwadi-workers-ever-get-their-due). The key players are ignored by the government for many years. Therefore making government representatives more attentive towards early childhood education should a priority (the 3rd part of the solution given by the World Development Report) but this is missing. The policy doesn't discuss the role of the representatives as well as the state explicitly. The failure of early childhood education is a failure of government. 

2) The NEP expresses concern over private coaching classes.
4.37. While the Board exams for Grades 10 and 12 will be continued, the existing system of Board and entrance examinations shall be reformed to eliminate the need for undertaking coaching classes (National Education Policy 2020).

But one should understand that private coaching classes will exist when there is an assessment of students. Even if one changes the form of the assessment, they will exist. If one really wants to eliminate them or minimize the role of private coaching classes, schools must attract the skilled teachers, should maintain a good teacher-student ratio, and provide good infrastructure so that with schooling, the attention can be given to other competitive exams. For that, one should focus on the good salary for teachers, reduction of external burden on the teacher. One should focus on attracting more teachers into the formal system of the school. But policy talks less about attracting the teacher into the formal education system, but more about "regulating" the teachers. The NEP suggests the assessment of grades 3, 5, and 8 standard students by the appropriate authority. And this may lead to an increase in the private classes since the 3rd standard. 

3) As far as medium of instruction is concerned, the policy says:

Wherever possible, the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the home language/mother tongue/local language/regional language.....

Private HEIs too will be encouraged and incentivized to use Indian languages as medium of instruction and/or offer bilingual programmes. Four-year B.Ed. dual degree programmes offered bilingually will also help, e.g. in training cadres of science and mathematics teachers to teach science bilingually at schools across the country.....

The languages should be treated as languages. Right now, the first language is a kind of cultural imposition by state,  English is now a skill requirement. And the third language is required to score good marks. The half class will get above 90 (out of 100) in Sanskrit in the 10th Board. But very few (actually no one) is able to speak in the Sanskrit language. This is a problem with languages. Making mother tongue as medium of instruction will not help the students at higher levels of education since our higher education system provides more importance to the English language. The point is how many research works, articles, books are translated into the regional languages? If yes are they easily accessible? The students at higher levels of education have to accept that English is the only way to move ahead. 

This move may create problems for the first learner or those students who are the first ones in the family learning English (https://livewire.thewire.in/campus/exclusion-of-english-casteism-and-classism-at-the-heart-of-nep/). They may not get a chance to develop an ability to communicate in English as no one in the family can speak in English where other students even though in school are speaking mother tongue they can develop the ability to communicate in English in the home. This may create further inequalities.

The first language is important very important but that language must be used in such a way that it will help for overall development as well as the employability of an individual. 

4) Again the steps like an internship at grades 6-8 may again create inequality. 

21. All students will participate in a 10-day bagless period sometime during Grades 6-8 where they intern with local vocational experts such as carpenters, gardeners, potters, artists, etc. Similar internship opportunities to learn vocational subjects may be made available to students throughout Grades 6-12, including holiday periods. Vocational courses through online mode will also be made available.

This internship sounds good on paper but are schools really able to provide such opportunities to every student? This again will depend on the background of the students i.e. if the family has a capacity to entertain or manage such an internship for their kids then they will make arrangements but what about others? This may lead to the Hereditary Education Policy as one is limited to the previous generations' professions (similar to Kula Kalvi Thittam policy by C. Rajaji in 1953, Madras). 

5) It seems that the NEP is formed by assuming that all institutions in the country have a capacity equal to the Indian Institute of Technology or other national important institutes. And therefore those institutions which have less capacity are somehow ignored (ignored meaning there is no much attention given to the question of why these institutions are not efficient instead policy gives more attention to the question of what is the best education system and how all institutions can work like the best education institutions). For example, for a bachelor's degree, the policy says:

11.9. The structure and lengths of degree programmes shall be adjusted accordingly. The undergraduate degree will be of either 3 or 4-year duration, with multiple exit options within this period, with appropriate certifications, e.g., a certificate after completing 1 year in a discipline or field including vocational and professional areas, or a diploma after 2 years of study, or a Bachelor s degree after a 3-year programme....

........ The 4-year programme may also lead to a degree ‘with Research’ if the student completes a rigorous research project in their major area(s) of study as specified by the HEI.

Now, this may possible for top institutions to provide education in such a way that after one year if the student exits a certificate can be awarded if the student exits after 2 years a diploma can be awarded. But what about the institutions or universities which are still struggling to the complete the course in three years and arrange the examination and announce the result on time? Will that "Certificate" or "Diploma" have a value if studied from these universities? That is the main problem regarding NEP as it wrongly makes an assumption that all institutions have equal capacity. 

Let's compare the state universities of the same state. There is a huge disparity among these universities. And if these disparities are ignored then more inequalities will be witnessed. The efforts should be taken for coordination among these universities so that one can get benefits from others.

The NEP sees unemployment as a failure of the student to absorb enough skill to make themselves the "employable". Hence employability is at a center of discussion. But unemployment is caused by many other factors like lack of ability of the market to absorb the workforce, failure of government policy which fails to generate employment, etc. 

Continued.