New Education Policy to Finally See the Light of Day by 31 May

After five years of repeated delays, the incoming government is planning to release the NEP by the end of May.

Image used for representational purpose.

(Photo: PTI)

The National Education Policy (NEP), one of the biggest 2014 poll promises of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, might finally see the light of day in its second innings, according to The Print.

After five years of repeated delays and extensions, the incoming government is planning to release the NEP by the end of May.

The NEP will be handed over to the HRD Minister and will be then put up on the website by 31 May, a senior HRD official told The Print. The policy will finally be presented to the cabinet in July for approval after a round of public feedback.

This policy is one of the major initiatives of the new government, which is planned to be executed in the first 100 days of the new government.

The last NEP was released in 1986, with a revision in 1992.

While the details of the policy are still unclear, the focus is likely to be on improving the quality of education, curriculum and roping in new technology, the senior HRD official told The Print.

Fillip to Higher Education

Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme (EQUIP) is another ambitious policy the government has planned.

The Rs 1.5 lakh crore action plan is in the pipeline, with an aim to improve the quality and accessibility of higher education over the next five years, according to the HRD Ministry, The Hindu reported.

EQUIP is planned to be to higher education what the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan was to school education.

EQUIP was crafted by ten committees led by experts within the government such as NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, principal scientific advisor K Vijay Raghavan and former revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia, as well as some corporate chiefs, The Hindu report said.

Education under 10 different broad areas, including accessibility, accreditation, employment, research, teacher recruitment process for colleges and universities, are some of the areas the ministry plans to work on.

(With inputs from The Print and The Hindu)