The demand for Science courses has definitely shot up after the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, said Govindan Rangarajan, Director, Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) on Tuesday.
He was talking during a programme to mark three years of the NEP, organised by various departments of the Government of India to list out the initiatives taken by educational institutions to implement the policy.
This came even as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the recent Budget said the NEP would be replaced with a new State Education Policy.
While stating that a multi-disciplinary approach is the key to more people taking up Science, he also said that higher education institutions are also increasing their capacities to accommodate more students.
“The demand (for Science) has definitely increased a lot. Institutions like the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Dharwad, the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) Surathkal are now expanding and even the IISc. is planning to expand our programmes,” Mr. Rangarajan said.
Directors of IIMB, NITK Surathkal, and IIT Dharwad also stressed on the need to make academic programmes multi-disciplinary. “The NEP has certainly set a new framework for the education system going forward,” said Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Director, IIMB.
“Our MBA programmes have always been multi-disciplinary and we are taking steps in increasing the exposure to languages, arts, culture, society, and public policy,” he said.
He also stated that IIMB offered courses like ‘Management Paradigms from the Bhagvad Gita and Introduction to Hindu philosophy’ on Indian culture that are holistic and multi-disciplinary.
Speaking about the implementation of the NEP at the school level, Dharmendra Patle, Deputy Commissioner, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), said that KV schools have been a laboratory to implement NEP in school education.
He listed out various programmes like Balavatika, Vidya Pravesh, and others which have been implemented to go with the policy.
Representatives of higher education institutions also spoke about collaborations, inclusive programmes, Indian Knowledge System, and many other schemes and programmes which have been enhanced by the NEP.
