The policy aims to universalize the pre-primary education by 2025 and provide foundational literacy/numeracy for all by 2025 through an ambitio starting with an approach paper released over two years ago followed by the T.S.R. Subramanian Committee report and the K. Kasturirangan Committee. The Ksturirangan committee is the one which prepare the draft policy which is now under debate.
There are many positive responses to the draft policy and equally there has been strong criticisms as well.
The policy aims to universalize the pre-primary education by 2025 and provide foundational literacy/numeracy for all by 2025 through an ambitious plan to achieve 100 per cent gross enrollment ratio for the schools and consolidate the existing 800 plus universities and around 40, 000 colleges into 15000 multidisciplinary institutions which wold act as independent degree granting institutions. In the Higher Education Arena the policy proposes three types of Institutions namely, Research Universities, Teaching Universities and Autonomous degree-granting colleges and full autonomy to the institutions for academic and administrative decisions.
By redsignating the Ministry of HRD to Ministry of Education, the policy proposes to set up a single agency called National Education Commission for regulating higher education and School Education commission for the school systems. Whether CBSE would remain or not is not clearly spelt out.
As to funding Draft NEP recommended doubling of public funding to 6% of the GDP and increasing overall public expenditure on education to 20% from the current 10%. This is desirable but does not appear to be feasible in the near future, given that most of the additional funding has to come from the States (India Today)
While the Constitution put Education on concurrent list, the new Education Policy seem to favour a centralised regulation of education robbing the states of their right to make their own education policies. Also the emphasis on mother tongue based education and the lurking fear that the national language would be imposed from above at the cost of English may once again rob the states that do not speak Hindi of opportunity besides, rendering the bulk of the students an opportunity to tap jobs and careers primarily based on English.
The Business Education has been dealt with cursorily and the draft policy seem to club its future with the rest of the Higher Education Institutions..
IAABS invites your views and suggestions on the NEP which is yet to be released .
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