Addressing the PHDCCI Education Summit, 2022, Singh said, NEP was the biggest path-breaking reform in India since independence as it is not only progressive and visionary but is also in keeping with emerging needs and requirements of 21st century India.
The minister said NEP 2020 gives due priorities to inherent talent, knowledge, skill and aptitude of students, rather than focusing only on degrees. He added that it also gives young scholars and students enough room to decide on their options depending upon their aptitude and their personal circumstances from time to time.
Dwelling on the merits of NEP-2020, Singh said, the provision of multiple entry/exit option is something to be cherished as this academic flexibility will have a positive impact on the students related to the availing of different career opportunities at different times, depending upon their intrinsic learning and inherent aptitude.
The minister said the feasibility or appropriateness of this entry/exit option can be in future contemplated for teachers as well, giving them career flexibility and upgradation opportunities as is done in some western countries and the US.
The minister said, the policy advocates creative and multidisciplinary curriculum that includes humanities, languages, culture, sports and fitness, health and well-being, arts and crafts, in addition to science and mathematics.
Around 40 million Indians are pursuing higher education, more than the figure for the US and the European Union combined and the ambitious new education policy seeks to double that number. He said it was a big goal, but achievable.
One of the most commendable opportunities that stem from the NEP is the chance for universities and colleges to incorporate entrepreneurship into their curriculum. If this is done in a meaningful manner, it has the potential to provide impetus to the nation’s economy in a fairly short period of time, Singh added.
He said the NEP was launched to transform India’s education system through a multidisciplinary approach. With the National Education Policy completing two years on 29 July 2022, 2,774 Innovative Councils in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in 28 states and six union territories (UTs) have been established, as per an internal progress report by the ministry of education.
As per the report, 2,000 institutions in higher education are set to begin as skill hubs and of this 700 have registered on the common portal of the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship.
