Part 1: Do NEP Reforms Fix the Gaps in Current School Education?

As we drown under all the reforms proposed by the New Educational Policy 2020, the devil is in the detail.

Along with renaming the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) as the Ministry of Education, the Union government unveiled the New Education Policy 2020.

(Photo: The Quint)

Along with renaming the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) as the Ministry of Education, the Union government unveiled the New Education Policy 2020 recently.

The announcements are plenty – Mphil is scrapped, four year undergraduate programme is back, vocational training is mandated in schools, teaching in mother tongue or regional languages is advised at school levels, board exams played down, and more.

Almost 34 years after the National Education Policy was first formulated, in 1986, these are the first major reforms that it's going through. From an overall perspective, the new policy, announced by the Modi government on 29 July, aims to overhaul the Indian education system with an emphasis on access to education, attempt to move away from rote learning, reforms at all levels from school to higher education, and reducing the number of regulators of higher education.

But, as we drown under all the information of the myriad changes that are being suggested, the devil lies in the details. How is the New Education Policy being received? Does it address the gaps in the current education system?