National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 Higher Education

Salient Features of National Education
Policy 2020
(Higher Education)
Prof. Bhanudas S Kuchekar
School of Pharmacy, MIT World Peace University, Pune. Maharashtra
BS Kuchekar, School of Pharmacy, MIT WPU, Pune

A good educational Institution is one
where every student feels welcomed and cared for,
Where a safe and stimulating learning environment exists,
Where a wide range of learning experiences are offered and
Where good physical infrastructure with appropriate resources are available

History
• Since independence 1947
• The Indian government sponsored a variety of programmes to address the
problems of illiteracy in both rural and urban India
• Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, India's first Minister of Education, envisaged strong
central government control over education throughout the country, with a
uniform educational system.
• The Union government established
• University Education Commission (1948–1949),
• Secondary Education Commission (1952–1953),
• University Grants Commission and the Kothari Commission (1964–66) to
develop proposals to modernize India's education system.

• Nehru Govt. adopted the Scientific Policy and sponsored the development of
high-quality scientific education institutions such as the Indian Institutes of
Technology.
• In 1961, Establishment of National Council of Educational Research and
Training (NCERT), an autonomous organization
to advise both the Union and State Govts on formulating and implementing
education policies.

NPE 1968
• Based on the recommendations of the Kothari Commission (1964–1966), Indira
Gandhi Govt. announced the first NPE 1968
• Focus on
a. Equal educational opportunities
b. Compulsory education for all children up to the age of 14
c. “Three Language Formula" in secondary education
d. Teaching Sanskrit Language, an essential part of India's culture and heritage
e. Expenditure on education to increase to six percent of the national income

NPE 1986
Rajiv Gandhi Govt introduced a NPE 1986 with focus on
a. Removal of disparities and equalization of educational opportunity
b. Expanding scholarships, adult education, recruiting more teachers from the
SCs, incentives for poor families to send their children to school regularly
c. “Child- Centered Approach" in primary education, and launched "Operation
Blackboard" to improve primary schools nationwide.
d. Expanded the Open University System with the Indira Gandhi National Open
University, created in 1985.

e) Creation of the “Rural University" model, based on the philosophy of Mahatma
Gandhi, to promote economical and social development in rural India.
f) NPE 1986 expected to spent 6% of GDP on education
1992
• The 1986 NPE modified in 1992 by the Narasimha Rao Govt.
• Program of Action (PoA) 1992: Common Entrance Examination on all India basis
for admission to professional and technical programs across the country.

NEP 2020
• Previous policies were about the access and equality. Unfortunately failed to
achieve it.
• Implementation of these two policies with regards to quality remains largely
incomplete
• Unfinished agenda of NPE1986/92 is covered in NEP2020
• After a gap of 34 years, On 29 July 2020, Narendra Modi Govt. approved a new
National Education Policy

• The NEP was released under the Ministry of Human Resource Development
(MHRD) on 30 July 2020. With the motto of Educate, Encourage, Enlighten
• Aim : To prepare the children of India with 21st century skills.
• Foundation on the three pillars: Research, Innovation, and Quality,
• Objective : Developing India into a knowledge super power.

Major problems currently faced by the HE system
• Rigid separation of disciplines, with early specialization and streaming of
students into narrow areas of study;
• Limited access to Higher Education particularly in socio-economically
disadvantaged areas

• Limited teacher and institutional autonomy to innovate and excel
• Inadequate mechanisms for merit-based career management and progression of
faculty and institutional leaders;
• Less emphasis on research at most universities and colleges, and lack of
transparent and competitive peer reviewed research funding across disciplines

• Suboptimal governance and leadership of HEIs;
• Ineffective regulatory system, not able to close down fake colleges
• Large affiliating universities resulting in low standards of undergraduate
education

Principles
The Principles that will guide both the individual institutions and the education
system at large are:
• Flexibility
• No hard separations
• Multidisciplinary and a holistic education
• Emphasis on conceptual understanding
• Creativity and critical thinking

• Life skills
• Focus on regular formative assessment for learning rather than summative
• Full equity and inclusion
• Synergy in curriculum across all levels of education
• Teachers and faculty as the heart of the learning process

• “Light but tight” regulation by a single regulator for higher education including
professional education
• Outstanding research as a pre requisite for outstanding education and
development
• Continuous review of progress based on regular assessment by educational
experts
• Substantial investment in a strong, vibrant public education system

Salient Features of NEP 2020:
Higher Education

GER to reach at least 50% by 2035.
To increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education including vocational
education from 26.3% (2018) to 50% by 2035.
Present Data (School Education) GER-
Grade 6-8: 90.7% Grade 9-10: 79.3% Grade 11-12: 51.3%
A commitment to achieve 100% GER across all levels by 2030

Holistic Multidisciplinary Education
• More holistic and multidisciplinary education to develop all capacities of human
beings -intellectual, aesthetic, social, physical, emotional, and moral in an
integrated manner.
• Such a holistic education shall be the approach of all undergraduate
programs, including those in professional, technical, and vocational disciplines.

• Engineering students (IITs) will learn more arts and humanities.
• Students of arts and humanities will learn more science and all will learn
vocational subjects and soft skills.
• Curricula of all HEIs shall include community engagement and service,
environmental education, and value-based education.

• Multiple entry and exit options
• Undergraduate Degree Program: 3 or 4 years programs
Diploma in a discipline after completing 1 year
Advanced Diploma after completing 2 years
Bachelor Degree after completing 3 years ( B.A., B.Sc., B.Voc., and Professional)
BLA/BLE with the chosen Major and Minor after completing 4 years
• Both the programs may also lead to a degree ‘with Research’ if the student
completes a rigorous research project in their major area(s) of study

• Master Program-1 or 2 years
2 years with 3 years Bachelor degree
1 year with 4 years bachelor degree
• Ph. D. Program
Master’s degree or
4 years Bachelor’s degree with Research
• M. Phil program discontinued

• Establishment of Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) which would digitally store the
academic credits earned from various recognized HEIs
• Availability of professional, academic and career counselling as well as
counsellors to ensure physical, psychological and emotional well-being
• Model public universities for holistic and multidisciplinary education, at par with
IITs, IIMs, etc. MERUs (Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities)

• Focus on research and innovation by setting up
start-up incubation centers,
technology development centers,
centers in frontier areas of research,
greater industry academic linkages, and
interdisciplinary research including humanities and social sciences research.

Rationalized Institutional Restructuring
• By 2040, all HEIs will be transformed in to multidisciplinary universities, colleges
and HEI clusters/knowledge hubs , aiming to have 3,000 or more students.
• By 2030, there shall, be at least one large multidisciplinary HEI in or near every
district
• Three types HEIs: Research Intensive Universities, Teaching Intensive Universities,
Autonomous degree granting Colleges

• HEIs will support other HEIs in
a) their development, b) community engagement and service ,
c) contribution to various fields of practice, d) faculty development and
e) support to school education.
• Single-stream HEIs will be phased out over time, and will move towards vibrant
multidisciplinary institutions or parts of vibrant multidisciplinary HEI clusters.

• A stage-wise mechanism for granting graded autonomy to colleges, through a
transparent system of graded accreditation
• Over a period of time, every college would develop in to an Autonomous degree
granting college, or a constituent college of a university
• HEIs will have the option to run Open Distance Learning (ODL) and online
programs, provided they are accredited to do so.

• The system of ‘affiliated colleges’ will be gradually phased out over a period of
fifteen years through a system of graded accreditation.
• The present complex nomenclature of HEIs in the country such as ‘deemed to be
university’, ‘affiliating university’, ‘affiliating technical university', ‘unitary
university’ shall be replaced simply by 'university' on fulfilling the criteria as per
norms.

Reimaging Vocational Education
• Vocational education will be integrated into all schools and higher education
institutions in a phased manner over the next decade.
• By 2025, at least 50% of learners (school and HEI) shall have exposure to
vocational education
• HEIs will offer vocational education either on their own or in partnership with
industry and NGOs.

• The B. Voc. degrees introduced in 2013 will continue to exist
• Vocational courses will also be available to students of other Bachelor’s degree
programs
• ‘Lok Vidya’, i.e., important vocational knowledge developed in India, will be made
accessible to all students

• Possibility of offering vocational courses through ODL mode will also be explored.
• Constitution of National Committee for the Integration of Vocational Education
(NCIVE)
• Incubation centers will be set up in higher education institutions in partnership
with industries.

National Research Foundation(NRF)
• NRF, to catalyze and expand research and innovation across the country.
• Goal of NRF
To permeate a culture of research through universities.
To seed and grow research at universities and other HEIs where research
capability is limited
To fund research in all disciplines competitively
• Successful research will be recognized and implemented through linkages with
governmental agencies, industries and private/philanthropic organizations

• NRF will be governed by a rotating Board of Governors consisting of the very
renowned researchers and innovators across the fields
• Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman in the budget, 2021 earmarked
funds of Rs.50,000 crore over five years for National Research Foundation

Financial support for students:
• Incentives to students belonging to SC, ST, OBC, and other SEDGs on merit
• Private HEIs will be encouraged to offer larger numbers of freeships and
scholarships to their students.
• National Scholarship Portal will be expanded to support, foster and track the
progress of students receiving scholarships

Open and distance learning
• ODL will be expanded to increase the GRE to 50%
• Measures such as
• on line courses and digital repositories,
• funding for research,
• improved student services, and
• credit based recognition of MOOCs
are to be considered at par with the highest quality in- class programs

Internationalization
• Internationalization of education will be facilitated through
a. Institutional collaborations and
b. Student and faculty mobility
c. Entry of top world ranked Universities to open campuses in our country
• Meritorious Indian universities will be encouraged to set up campuses abroad
• International students office at each HEI to welcome and support students
• India will be promoted as a global study destination providing premier education
at affordable cost

Motivated, Energized, and Capable Faculty
• Success of HEIs depends on quality and engagement of its faculty
• Well defined, and transparent processes and criteria for merit-based recruitment
• Service conditions that are conducive to excellent teaching, research and service
• Proper teaching duties and Student-teacher ratio for
pleasant teaching activity,
interaction with students,
conducting research and
other university activities

• Freedom to faculty to design their own curricular and pedagogical approaches
within the approved framework.
• Excellence will be incentivized through appropriate rewards, promotions,
recognitions, and movement into institutional leadership.
• Performance assessment: i) Peer reviews, ii) student reviews, iii) innovations in
teaching and pedagogy, iv) quality and impact of research, v) professional
development activities and vi) services to the institution and society
• Faculty who do not deliver on basic norms will be held to account.

Equity and Inclusion in Higher Education
Special emphasis (Admissions to Placements) on Socially and Economically
Disadvantaged Groups(SEDGs) for higher GER, which include:
gender identities (particularly female and transgender individuals),
socio-cultural identities (such as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs, and
minorities),
 geographical identities (such as students from villages, small towns, and
aspirational districts),
disabilities (including learning disabilities), and
socio-economic conditions (such as migrant communities, low income
households etc.)

Effective Governance in HEIs
• Through a system of graded accreditation and graded autonomy, in a phased
manner over a period of 15 years, all HEIs will become independent self
governing institutions pursuing innovation and excellence
• Upon receiving the appropriate graded accreditations , and graded
autonomy,(academic, administrative and financial) a Board of Governors (BoG)
shall be established for that institution
• Equity considerations will also be taken care of while selecting the members.

• The BoG will be empowered to govern the institution free of any external
interference.
• The BoG shall be responsible and accountable to the stakeholders through
transparent self disclosures of all relevant records
• BoG will observe regulatory guidelines of HECI through the National Higher
Education Regulatory Council (NHERC).

Regulation
• Higher Education Commission of India (HECI), Common regulatory body for entire
higher education, excluding medical and legal education.
• HECI will have four verticals (independent and empowered bodies)
1) NHERC, National Higher Education Regulatory Council for regulation
2) NAC, National Accreditation Council for accreditation
3) HEGC, Higher Education Grants Council for funding
4) GEC, General Education Council for standard setting

• Functioning of all the verticals will be based on transparent public disclosure,
and use of technology to reduce human interface and to ensure efficiency
• The professional councils, such as the ICAR, VCI, NCTE, CoA, NCVET, PCI etc., will
act as Professional Standard Setting Bodies
• “Light but tight” regulatory framework
to ensure integrity, transparency and resource efficiency of HEIs
To encourage innovation through autonomy, good governance and
empowerment

National Testing Authority
NTA to offer a high quality aptitude test
NTA to offer specialized Common Entrance Examination, in Science, Humanities,
languages, arts and vocational subjects at least twice every year
NTA to offer CEE for professional courses

Teacher Education
• A new and comprehensive National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education
(NCFTE 21)will be formulated by NCTE in consultation with NCERT
• By 2030, the minimum qualification for School teachers will be 4-years integrated
B. Ed. Degree
• 4-years integrated B. Ed. Will be a dual-major liberal Bachelor’s degree in
education as well as in a specialized subject
• HEI offering 4-year integrated B. Ed, may also design a 2-year B.Ed. for
outstanding students having Bachelor’s degree in a specialized subject
• 1 year B. Ed. May be designed for outstanding students with a 4-year B.L.A/B.L.E.
• Stringent action will be taken against substandard and dysfunctional Teacher
Education Institutions (TEIs)

• CPD for teachers at Academic Staff Colleges, now Human Resource Development
Centers (HRDCs) which will be part of universities as per this policy
• Blended learning teacher training programs (MOOCs) for CPD of teachers and
school principals
• Excessive teacher transfers to be halted, leading to better continuity with
students
• Policy suggests promotion based on merit, rather than seniority

• All Ph. D. entrants will be required to take 8-credit courses in teaching/pedagogy
related to their chosen Ph.D. subject
• Exposure to pedagogic practices, designing curriculum, credible evaluation
system is given to Ph. D. scholars
• Ph. D. students will also have a minimum number of hours of actual teaching
experience
• Teaching assistant ship must be created as a part of all Ph. D. Programs

National Mission for Mentoring
National Mission for Mentoring shall be established,
• with a panel of outstanding senior/retired faculty having the ability to teach in
Indian languages and
• who would be willing to provide mentoring/professional support to
university/college teachers.

Professional Education
• Stand-alone technical universities, health science universities, legal and
agricultural universities, or institutions in these or other fields, will become
multi-disciplinary institutions
• Healthcare education needs to be re-envisioned .
MBBS graduate must posses a) Medical Skills, b) Diagnostic Skills
c) Surgical Skills, and d) Emergency Skills
• Integrative Healthcare education system

• Greater emphasis on preventive healthcare and community medicine in all forms
of healthcare education.
• Technical education will be within multidisciplinary HIEs/Universities with the
opportunities to engage deeply with other disciplines.
• Agricultural education with allied disciplines will be revived
• Legal education programs will be restructured to make it globally competitive,
adopting best practices for wider access to justice and timely delivery of justice.

• NEP 2020 aims to prepare professionals in cutting-edge areas, such as
AI, 3-D machining, big data analysis, and ML, in addition to genomic studies,
biotechnology, nanotechnology, and neuroscience,
with important applications to health, environment, and sustainable living
which will be taken into undergraduate education for enhancing employability

Curbing commercialization in education
• All education institutions will be held to similar standards of audit and disclosure
as a ‘not for profit’ entity. Surpluses, if any, will be reinvested in the educational
sector.
• Fees for private HEIs will be fixed with an upper limit. All fees will be fully
disclosed, and
• There will be no arbitrary increases during the period of enrolment of any
student.

Technology in Education
• Creation of National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), to provide a
platform to use the technology to enhance TL, assessment, planning,
administration and management.
• Appropriate integration of technology into all levels of education, to
improve classroom processes,
support teacher professional development,
enhance educational access for disadvantaged groups and
streamline educational planning, administration and management.

• Technology-based education platforms, such as DIKSHA/SWAYAM, will be better
integrated across school and higher education.
• HEIs will play an active role in conducting research
• on disruptive technologies and
• in creating instructional materials and courses including online courses in
cutting-edge domains.

Establishing an Apex Advisory Body for Indian Education
• Creation of a Rashtriya Shiksha Aayog (RSA)/National Education Commission
(NEC), as an apex advisory body replacing the Central Advisory Board on
Education (CABE)
• RSA shall be responsible for developing, articulating, evaluating and revising the
vision of education in the country
• RSA will be chaired by the Minister of Education and shall consist of 30 members,
2/3rd of whom shall be eminent educationists, researchers and leading
professionals from fields such as arts, science, business, health, agriculture, social
work etc. from India and from abroad.

• Other 1/3 members shall include
a) the relevant Union Ministers, in rotation (Health, Woman and Child
Development, Finance) and
b) Chief Ministers of states, in rotation
c) Vice Chairperson of Niti Aayog
d) Secretaries in the Ministry of Education and
e) Senior bureaucrats/ administrators
• RSA will have a Permanent Secretariat, headed by an Executive Director
• Similar to the RSA, a Rajya Shiksha Aayog (RjSA) /State Education Commission
may be constituted chaired by Education Minister

Ministry of Education:
To bring the focus back on education and learning, MHRD will be redisignated as
the Ministry of Education (MoE)

National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 Higher Education

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