Suggestions on draft education policy now till Aug 15

Suggestions on draft education policy now till Aug 15

Ramesh Pokhriyal

New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has extended, another two weeks, the period to submit comments and suggestions on the draft National Education Policy. The deadline, which was Wednesday (July 31), has been extended till August 15, due to demand from various stake-holders, sources said.

This is the second time that the ministry has extended the period for submitting suggestions and feedback on the draft policy. Initially, the last date to provide feedback was till June 30, which was extended for a month to July 31.

"Comments and suggestions are invited till 15th August, 2019 on [e-mail]," a message on the Ministry website said.

Around one lakh suggestions and feedback letters have been received on the draft policy, according to HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank'.

"Several parliamentarians had requested the minister to extend the deadline to submit feedback on education policy. The minister had also announced during the national conference on draft national education policy, organised by Prajapati Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwavidyalaya, that the deadline to provide feedback and suggestions will be further extended for two weeks," an official said.

The ministry is in the process of screening the suggestions received on the draft policy. Once the process is completed, the policy will be fine tuned accordingly.

The HRD Minister will also meet all the state Education Ministers to build a consensus on the draft policy.

Final changes will then be made to the policy before taking it to the cabinet for approval.

The draft policy was prepared by a panel headed by eminent space scientist K. Kasturirangan and was uploaded on the HRD Ministry's website on May 31 to elicit suggestions from all stake-holders including the public, civil society, educationists, state governments and other departments of the union government.

The University Grants Commission had issued a notification to the heads of all higher educational institutions calling for their contribution in the making of the country's education policy in 21st century by organising a series of discussions on draft National Education Policy.

The draft policy seeks to transform all levels of education from school to higher education. It seeks to increase the focus on early childhood care, reform the current exam system, strengthen teacher training, and restructure the education regulatory framework. It also seeks to set up a National Education Commission, increase public investment in education, strengthen the use of technology and increase focus on vocational and adult education, among others.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her maiden Budget speech, assured that the government will bring in a new National Education Policy to transform India's higher education system to one of the global best education systems.

However, the CPI-M had launched a scathing attack on the draft policy, saying it fails to identify and address the socio-economic challenges that have daunted India's educational progress.

"The draft National Education Policy in its present form will ensure the centralisation, commercialisation and communalisation of the Indian education system and structures. Instead of arriving at a balance between quantity, quality and equity in the education system, this draft is promoting more elitist and pro-corporate culture," party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury had said.

--IANS

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