HRD Ministry renamed as Education Ministry, new policy aims for universal adult literacy

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New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the new National Education Policy (NEP) and renamed the HRD Ministry as Education Ministry.

The cabinet also approved a plan to increase public spending on education to nearly 6 per cent of gross domestic product from around 4 per cent now, a top government official said, while also capping fees charged by educational institutions.

The new policy seeks to expand access to higher education for 50% of high school students by 2035, and achieve universal adult literacy before that date.

A panel led by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Kasturirangan had submitted the draft of the new NEP to Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' when he took charge last year.

HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal
HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal

The draft was then put in public domain to seek feedback from various stakeholders and over two lakh suggestions were received by the HRD Ministry about the same.

"The policy draft has been approved. The Ministry has been renamed as Education Ministry," a senior HRD Ministry official said.

Key features:

• Common entrance exams to be held for admission to universities and higher education institutions. A National Testing Agency will be formed for this purpose.

• MPhil courses to be discontinued under new National Education Policy. To do research, MPhil will not be allowed. All the courses at UG, PG and PhD level will be interdisciplinary.

• All higher education institutions, except legal and medical colleges, to be governed by single regulator.

• Board exams will be low stakes & test actual knowledge instead of rote learning.

• Mother tongue to be a medium of instruction till 5th grade.

• School curriculum will be reduced to core concepts. Vocational education will be integrated from 6th grade.

• Report cards will be a comprehensive report on skills and capabilities instead of just marks and statements.

• There are over 45,000 affiliated colleges in our country. Under graded autonomy, academic, administrative & financial autonomy will be given to colleges, on the basis of the status of their accreditation.

• E-courses will be developed in regional languages.

• School curriculum to be reduced to core concepts; integration of vocational education from class 6 under new National Education Policy.

• Common norms to be in place for private and public higher education institutions under Central govt's New Education Policy.

• Virtual labs will be developed and a National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) is being created.

• National Assessment Centre, 'PARAKH', has been created to assess the students.

• Following the new education policy and reforms, we will achieve 50% Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) by 2035, says Amit Khare Higher Education Secretary.

• Sanskrit will be mainstreamed with strong offerings in school - including as one of the language options in the three-language formula - as well as in higher education. Sanskrit Universities too will move towards becoming large multidisciplinary institutions of higher learning.

• A new national curriculum framework will be introduced for ECCE, school, teachers and adult education.

The existing NEP was framed in 1986 and revised in 1992. A new education policy was part of the Bharatiya Janata Party's manifesto ahead of the 2014 general election.

The drafting experts also took into account the report of a panel headed by former cabinet secretary T S R Subramanian and formed by the HRD Ministry when it was being headed by Union Minister Smriti Irani.

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