Briefing the media in New Delhi last evening, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said, the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given approval to a New Education Policy for the 21st century.
He said, it is important, as for 34 years there were no changes in the education policy.
Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said, New Education Policy 2020 will prove to be a milestone in the making of New India.
National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct one common entrance exam for admissions to all the universities and colleges for undergraduate degrees. This exam will not be compulsory though, and will be similar to the Standardised Aptitude Test or SAT of USA for admissions to universities.
The following policy was announced as part of the revised National Education Policy of 2020 on Wednesday. The policy also said that the various educational boards will continue to conduct 10th and 12th board exams but the stakes of these exams will be minimised.
Home language, mother tongue or regional language to be medium of instruction up to class 5. Ms Karwal said, school curriculum will be reduced to core concepts and there will be integration of vocational education from class 6.
In May 2016, a ‘Committee for Evolution of the New Education Policy’ under the chairmanship of TSR Subramanian, former cabinet secretary, submitted its report.
Based on this, the Ministry prepared a document called ‘Some Inputs for the Draft National Education Policy, 2016′.
Then, a panel led by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Kasturirangan had submitted the draft of the new NEP to Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ when he took charge last year.
The draft was then put in the public domain to seek feedback from various stakeholders and over two lakh suggestions were received by the HRD Ministry about the same.
