Focus: GS-II Social Justice
Introduction
The Union Cabinet approved a new National Education Policy 2020 – meant to provide an overarching vision and comprehensive framework for both school and higher education across the country.
Click here to read more about the key proposals
What is the timeline for implementation?
- The policy is meant to transform the education system by 2040.
- Some proposals will be implemented immediately, starting with the change in the name of the Ministry of Human Resource Development into the Ministry of Education.
- The National Testing Agency will introduce a pilot version of the common entrance test by 2020, which will be used for admission to all IoEs and central universities in 2021.
- The National Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Mission which is to be implemented by 2025 will be launched in 2020.
Where do the difficulties lie?
- The draft Higher Education Commission of India Bill has been languishing in the Ministry.
- The proposal for a Board of Governors for universities may also require amendments of the Central and State Universities Acts.
- A Cabinet note has already been moved to set up the National Research Foundation as a trust under the government, but in order to make it a fully autonomous body, an Act may be required.
- Centre will have to provide financial assistance as other changes require funding and times.
- The Ministry feels that an increase in government funding of education to 6% of GDP will be sufficient to cover the financial implications of the NEP, however, such an increase in funding has been proposed but not achieved for the last half-century.
-Source: The Hindu
