The recently released National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 marks a shift in how India has been looking at school education so far. It brings the focus back to the primary goal of education i.e. to ensure learning for all children. The provision of quality education is key to India’s success and leadership at the global stage in different ways. For India to reap the benefits of its youth, it is important that we prepare them to respond to challenges of the 21st century.
For this, India’s 25 crore school-going children will have to be equipped with skills like conceptual thinking, creativity, and critical thinking right from their early years. These skills will further help them to think logically and take right decisions as they grow. The NEP 2020 not only underlines the importance of these skills for children but shows a clear pathway to achieve some of these.
Focus on foundational stage will help improve learning outcomes
Early childhood education
Children must have a strong foundation in early years to excel in later years. The curricular system proposed by the NEP 2020 i.e. 5+3+3+4 underscores the importance of initial five years for children. Evidence suggests that most of the brain development among children happens by the age of eight years.
- The NEP 2020 proposes preparatory classes or Bal Vatika for all children before they enter a formal schooling system. Global studies point to the fact that children who receive meaningful Early Childhood Education (ECE) have better learning levels in primary grades.
As a part of the government’s plan, Prime Minister Modi pitched for universal access to quality ECE in both cities and villages. The delivery of quality ECE would require close coordination between Women and Child Development and Education Ministries. A cadre of teachers who are trained to deliver quality ECE will have to be developed.
Acquisition of foundational skills
Another key reform suggested in the new policy is the launch of the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) Mission. The policy describes FLN as a prerequisite to overall learning and development of children and estimates that nearly 5 crore children have not learnt these critical gateway skills. In simple words, FLN is described as children’s ability to read with meaning and solve basic math problems by grade - 3. The NEP 2020 calls that the “highest priority of the education system will be to achieve universal foundational literacy and numeracy in primary school by 2025.”
This ambitious yet achievable goal would require several reforms.
- Firstly, a common understanding of goals and targets of the mission will have to be built at the national level.
- Secondly, classrooms will need to be strengthened with required resources. For example, print-rich textbooks, workbooks and storybooks for children, and teacher handbooks will have to be made available. Capacity building of teachers to teach language and math will contribute towards achievement of FLN Mission goals.
These changes in the classroom will have to be supported by enabling conditions like increasing instructional time for language teaching in early years.
Independent assessment to empower parents
Third and one of the most important aspects will be student assessment. The proposal to conduct assessments at key stages of the schooling journey will go a long way in improving learning outcomes among children.
- The policy recommends that key stage assessments should be conducted in grades 3, 5 and 8. These assessments will help in tracking student performance at these important milestones of schooling journey and can be effectively used for course-correction
- The availability of information about performance of students’ in primary grades based on learning data will support parents in making an informed decision while choosing schools for admission of their children. Besides, NEP 2020 also proposes to set up PARAKH - an independent national level assessment center that will set norms and guidelines for conducting assessments
- It will play a central role in ensuring availability of quality data on performance of our education system and ranking states based on learning outcomes
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