Draft National Education Policy Unveiled

• 01 Jun 2019

Committee led by Dr K. Kasturirangan presented New Draft of National Education Policy.

• The Draft Policy is built on foundational pillars of Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability & Accountability.

Key Recommendations

• Sanskrit at all levels of education: Sanskrit should be taught at all levels of school and higher education as one of the optional languages on par with all Schedule 8 languages.
  
  • Sanskrit textbooks at the Foundational and Middle school level may be rewritten in Simple Standard Sanskrit (SSS) in order to teach Sanskrit through Sanskrit (STS).
• Extension of the Right To Education (RTE) Act: RTE, which currently applies to classes I to VIII, will now be applicable to the entire school system from pre-school to class XII.
  
  • It will cover children of ages 3 to 18 (preschool to senior secondary level).
• Restructuring of school curriculum and 5+3+3+4 design: Under the proposed 5+3+3+4 design
  
  • The first five years of schooling of children in the age group of 3 to 8 years would be marked as Foundational Stage (it includes three years of pre-primary plus grade 1 and grade 2).
  • The next three years of schooling, to be marked as a Preparatory Stage for the children in the age group of 8 to 11 years (will include grades 3 to 5).
  • Middle Stage (grades 6 to 8) for the students in the age group of 11-14 years.
  • Secondary Stage (Grades 9-12) for students in the age group of 14-18 years.
• Schools will be re-organized into school complexes.
• System for flexible and multiple board examinations: Introduction of a semester system in school education for students of classes 10 to 12, with provisions for holding "flexible and modular board examinations".
  
  • Students will be able to take a board examination in a given subject in whichever semester they take the corresponding class in school,whenever they feel most ready.
  • They should be able to take any such subject board examination again if they feel they can study and do better.
• Restructuring of the higher education institutions: by placing them under three categories:
  
  • The first primarily being focussed on research.
  • Second providing high-quality teaching across disciplines with significant contribution to research.
  • Third providing quality teaching focussed on undergraduate education.
  • It also suggests the introduction of four-year undergraduate programmes in higher education institutions and restructuring of the current 3-year BA, Bsc, B Com and B Voc programmes with provisions to provide students with "multiple exit and entry options".
• Establishment of a Rashtriya Shiksha Aayog (National Education Commission): as a constitutional body through an Act of Parliament, with the Prime Minister being its Chairperson.
  
  • Rajya Shiksha Ayog/State Education Commissions may be constituted in each state.
• Establishment of one higher education regulator—National Higher Education Regulatory Authority (NHERA)— that will subsume all other bodies like UGC, AICTE and others into it.
• A national programme for the professional development of faculty members of the higher education institutions.