Mr. Modi addressed the nation on New National Education Policy (NEP) on 7th August’20. He very well-articulated to sum up NEP as not focusing on ‘What to Think’ but to focus on ‘How to Think’. With NEP, emphasis is on how can new generation think critically and get empowered to innovate.
School education would have exploration, discussion, discovery & analysis as modes of imparting education. With 10 bagless days, vocational education will start from Class VI, with Internships it would be more experiential. This will open up fresh perspective of the world surrounding kids to engage them in tasks that will groom their mind holistically, to be able to find breakthrough solutions to new age problems which adult rigid mind might not even imagine
Coding will also be initiated from the same class which is virtually the 4th language for India being the IT/Software hub of the world and hygiene factor in the age of AI, ML& robotics. Coding will help kids in critical thinking by learning to dissect steps to problem solving. Not only that, it helps children with instant gratification of being a creator. Who knows, it may germinate early age entrepreneurs!!
University education flexibility with multiple entry exit options will foster exploration & risk taking, it will free Students from getting casted in one type. While multi-disciplinary courses would open new horizons for Innovation. Think of graduation with Physics & music, mathematics & astrology, ancient Indian culture & modern Science, etc etc. The focus on equality and social awareness will discourage rat-race to classical streams of Engineering, Medical etc. For sure, these would pave the way for new age entrepreneurship in India which would look beyond, to solve unique Indian problems.
This is set to make foundation for 21st century for us, an era where an individual need not be stuck to single profession but he can seamlessly transition which would be enabled by education system through re-skill & up-skill. What could be better Impetus for innovation & entrepreneurship!!
On a different note, the skill-up India program need arose because of the enormous gap of the applied skill needed for students to be industry ready. Students are loaded with theoretical knowledge of stereotypical subjects thus are not productive from day one of the job.
This NEP transformation will change the persona of generations to come, who will be armed with relevant skills, it will encourage students to become passionate self- learners due to the flexibility of choice they will have. They would no more be “mile-wide & inch-deep”, but rather their own passion will build the depth to drive innovation. It would prepare them for newer tomorrow – “Atmanirbhar Bharat”.
The biggest accelerator in my view would be reducing the gap between research and education. The National Research Foundation will bring a ray of hope, it hopefully will catapult research grants from government as well as directly from Industry by establishing strong Academia-Industry relationship. However, the research ecosystem in India must go hand in hand entrepreneurship to be sustainable since India like US can’t afford to inject millions of rupees in research without returns sooner.
Draft policy on ‘National Innovation and Start-up’ of 2019 aims institutions to set up provisions like attendance waivers, academic credit, semester or year off for work on their budding businesses for student entrepreneurs. Minimum of one percent of the institution’s budget proposed to be allocated to nurturing businesses on-campus with facilities for the “incubation”. On the similar lines, MHRD’s Innovation Cell and AICTE launched an action-oriented and incubation-centric 2-year full-time program on Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Venture Development (IEV) on 7th Aug. 15 Institutions will offer MBA/PGDM in IEV for year 2020-21 with entrance examination on 28th Aug’20.
For sure NEP puts us abreast with model education systems of the world. However, the tire is yet to hit road, the success lies in rightful implementation. If done well, future moves like social security shall further bolster risk taking abilities to foster entrepreneurial grit. Time will show us where we land.
Disclaimer – This article is written in full personal capacity and free of charge. This has no conflict of interest with the organisation I work or the current role I perform in the organisation or the information I have access in the organisation. This write-up expresses personal views purely based on information easily and widely available in public domain. Rights to reproduce is protected with self.
Pravesh Soni
Guest Writer, Thought Leader and Non-Profit ‘Student Start-Up’ Mentor.
Reference
- https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.firstpost.com/india/aicte-cet-2020-registration-for-mba-in-innovation-entrepreneurship-begins-apply-at-aicte-india-org-8683851.html/amp
- https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/pm-modi-adresses-conclave-on-transformational-reforms-in-higher-education-under-national-education-policy-top-5-quotes-2275665
- https://m.timesofindia.com/home/education/news/will-national-education-policy-2020-transform-the-future-generation/articleshow/77347600.cms
- https://www.firstpost.com/india/hrd-ministry-releases-first-draft-of-policy-to-boost-student-entrepreneurship-all-you-need-to-know-about-new-scheme-7327031.html
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