By Antony Rithick, Asmita Singh and Sanga Putatunda

ABSTRACT:

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 aims to rebuild the existing India’s education system by emphasizing holistic development. This paper emphasizes on the nuances of – multilingualism, digital learning, cultural studies and agricultural education under the broader umbrella of NEP. Barriers to implementation includes infrastructure limitations, teacher shortages, and incompatibility between public and private organizations hindering the effective implementation process. As NEP 2020 seeks to balance tradition with modernity, this paper critically analyses the underlying loopholes and highlights the need for strategic policy execution, increased funding, and stakeholder collaboration to bridge the gap between policy design and practical outcomes.

INTRODUCTION:

The National Education Policy 2020 aims to address the many growing developmental imperatives of India. It proposes the revision and revamping of all aspects of the education structure of the nation. Development of the creative potential of each individual is expected through this policy. It is based on the principle that education must develop not only cognitive capacities but both the ‘foundational capacities of literacy and numeracy’ and ‘higher-order cognitive capacities’, such as critical thinking and problem solving but also social, ethical, and emotional capacities and dispositions.

EMPHASIS ON MULTILINGUALISM:

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 focuses on using the mother tongue or regional language for teaching. The debate on using local languages in education started during Lord Macaulay’s time and it was the Radhakrishnan Committee (1948-49) which suggested that Indian languages should replace English as the language of higher education. Later, reports like the Official Language Commission, Emotional Integration Committee, ΝΕΡ (1968), ΝΕΡ (1986/1992), and NEP (2020) also discussed this issue.

NEP pushes Indian languages to become stronger, widely used, and more respected. Private institutions are encouraged to teach in Indian languages or offer bilingual programs so that both government and private institutions follow the same standards. Teachers are encouraged to teach in both languages. The Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation (ITI) will be set up to translate and create study materials in different Indian languages. [Mandavkar,2023] Teaching in the mother tongue will help build an equal education system for everyone. The Ministry of Education will work to make sure that students’ personal or social backgrounds do not affect their education.

While Indian languages should be strengthened, students must also learn English because it is important in the 21st century. Yet, English should not replace Indian languages; instead, both should be balanced to give students the best education.

Barrier to its Implementation:

While NEP 2020 advocates for multilingualism through the implementation of a language formula, in response to demands from Non Hindi-speaking states of the south, such as Karnataka and mainly Tamil Nadu, yet Tamil Nadu never implemented a language formula. The language policy is not only an issue but also a barrier in education. (Nitika, 2024). Under NEP 2020, private school pupils are exposed to English at a much younger age, but, academic curriculum will be taught to government school students in their native regional tongues. (Thirupathi and Kumar, 2022). While this support for the mother tongue is good, it needs to be balanced so that students are not handicapped in a global job market in which proficiency in English and other international languages may be required. (Ahmed, 2020).

Introducing mother tongues for each subject in academic institutions is a challenge because of India’s troublesome teacher-to-student ratio. Finding qualified teachers can be difficult, and the inclusion of study materials in mother tongues presents a new obstacle. (Thirupathi and Kumar, 2022) Designing a new curriculum that strikes a balance between the old and the new, yet disseminating, is a gigantic task. To shift from rote learning to a more holistic assessment system, there has to be a sea change at the level of teachers, students, and parents. Ensuring equal quality education to the marginalized communities like economically backward classes students and differently-abled is still a far-fetched dream. Engaging all children can be difficult without cultural competency-focused professional development for teachers. (Ahmed, 2020)

ALLIGNMENT WITH CULTURAL STUDIES:

As NEP addresses the unique needs of rural students through its focus on multilingual education – prioritizing instruction in a child’s mother tongue or regional language until Grade 5, while recognizing the significance of cultural enrichment and national integration, seeking to “decolonize education” and foster a sense of pride in our languages, culture, and knowledge. Besides, students have the freedom to choose subjects across disciplines, including vocational subjects, making education more relevant to individual career paths, have access to Internships and Apprenticeships and integrated technologically sound learning. Thus, it stipulates how imperative cultural awareness and sensitization are to education. Some potential advantages of its integration into the curriculum include:

1. Deepens Understanding: It can deepen students’ knowledge of their cultural heritage and various cultures around them. This can foster a sense of identity and belonging, leading to social cohesion and harmony.
2. Develops Critical thinking and Analytical Skills: Going through the prolonged process of explanation with different perspectives makes students begin to adopt a critical stance towards cultural phenomena. This helps in nurturing basic independent, creative, and innovative thinking.
3. Engendering Empathy and Raises cultural awareness: Students will understand diversity more clearly and hence be more nurturing on learning different cultures and views. This would decrease prejudice and discrimination while promoting a mandate for society that is based upon diversity and equality.
4. Developing Global Citizens: In this fast, interconnected world, students need to gain a global perspective and know the cultural contexts in which global issues are debated. Being able to participate effectively in this increasingly globalized world means contributing toward global peace and development. This is very closely matched with the commitment of NEP 2020 to an inclusive and equitable education.

Therefore it aims not only at honoring our heritage but also strengthening our nation’s identity. (Ahmed, 2024)

Is it a balanced alignment?

As we discuss about the happenings and forthcomings, there lies a big gap between written documents and the actual implementation of policies. Even though, fostering cultural diversity is essential to creating an inclusive learning environment but there are a number of challenges:

1. Imbalance with Employment: Integrating arts education within the curriculum faces challenges such as resource allocation, curriculum development, and teacher training. NEP 2020 emphasizes holistic development through art Education and also provides skill courses through such programs as Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikash Yojna, but the issue is what percentage of people are getting employment through skill and art education? Only the implementation of skill courses, vocational courses, and art Education is not sufficient. (Nitika, 2024) This leads to the next challenge;
2. Fears of Excessive Privatization: The NEP has been criticized for its approval of the private-corporate dominance in the Indian education system. It sort of promotes private institutions by use of terms like ‘public-spirited private’ and ‘philanthropic private’. As the policy does not, in any way, distinguish between public-spirited private and profit-seeking private, it creates a very vague situation. It also proposes to minimize the differences in regulation of private and public institutions while giving more freedom to private. This leads to disparity in rural-urban, since in case of higher educational institutions, there are limited number of seats in the government colleges. Hence economically weaker sections aren’t able to afford higher education. (IPLeaders, 2021). This further creates a question: Are implementation of skill courses and integrated cultural studies enough for upholding the rich cultural heritage, when a notable amount of students are deprived of resources which can be only afforded by private institutions?

INCLUSION OF DIGITAL LEARNING:

NEP 2020 focuses on digital learning and modern technology in schools and colleges. The policy supports the use of digital tools like tablets, laptops, and internet connections so that both students and teachers can use advanced technology for better learning.

It also aims to make digital resources – E-learning systems, Digital textbooks and Interactive educational tools, available in places where students did not have access to computers and the internet before. Besides, it aims to prepare students for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (the rise of smart technology and automation.

Is India truly ready for Digitalised Education?

1. Digital Divide: Even though digital learning has many benefits, the challenges include technology issues, education concerns, and economic problems. In countries like India, the “digital divide” is a big concern, where not everyone has equal access to digital learning. The government must work with different groups to make sure digital learning is fair and sustainable for all.
2. Lack of Infrastructure: Many areas, especially in rural and remote regions, do not have good internet connections or enough digital devices. Many students and teachers find it difficult to use online learning. If some students have better technology than others, it can create unfair learning experiences.

ATTENTION TO AGRICULTURE EDUCATION:

In India, agricultural education through, state agricultural universities are mandated to cover teaching, research, and extension to promote new agricultural technologies and enhance farmers’ welfare. The NEP 2020 provides an opportunity to transform state horticultural and veterinary universities into multidisciplinary education and research universities (MERU). It also recommends that all SAUs to follow the approach of covering all disciplines with a focus on regional problems. This will help identify and solve regional problems with a holistic perspective.

However, there lies inherent problems:

1. Limited Focus on Social Sciences: Agricultural education in India has traditionally focused on technical aspects, neglecting social sciences. Therefore, to develop effective agricultural policies and address the challenges faced by farmers, social sciences need to be integrated into agricultural education.(Rani, 2022)
2. Limited Focus on Practical Skills: Agricultural education in India often focuses more on theoretical aspects, neglecting practical skills. This leaves graduates unprepared to tackle real-world challenges in agriculture. (Mohapatra and Agrawal, 2020) Agricultural universities make up about 9% of all universities in India, but surprisingly, less than 1% of all students enrolled in higher education are studying agriculture and related fields. This is a worrying trend, indicating a lack of interest among young people in pursuing careers in agriculture. (Reddy, 2023)
3. Limited Internationalization: Agricultural education in India has limited internationalization, with few opportunities for students to engage with global agricultural practices and research.(Mohapatra and Agrawal, 2020)

SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS:

NEP 2020 emphasizes big transforms and covers a wide range of areas but, the big challenge is how much the practical implementation is being done:

1. Funding: Major investment in education is going to be required if it is to be successful. India has an allocated Budget of 4.6% of its GDP which according to the UDISE+ reports should be a 6% in line with the recommendation of NEP 2020 itself. (Ahmed, 2020)
2. Localization: Local artists and crafts-persons can be hired as guest faculty to promote local music, art, languages, and handicraft, and to ensure that students are aware of the culture and local knowledge where they study. (Madhavkar, 2023)
3. Developing Infrastructure and Resources: We need to make better choices about the project we are investing in and ensure regular maintenance and monitoring. Encouraging private sector investment through public-private partnership is also important. Besides, there’s a need to regular assessment evaluations and prioritizing the infrastructure project, for digital learning to work well.
4. Capacity Building: Ensuring adequate funding for infrastructure, teacher training, and educational materials is a critical. This trend toward experiential and competency-based learning calls for new pedagogical approaches on the part of educators. This demands comprehensive and continuous teacher education programs at a scale that is quite challenging to achieve but can be initiated atleast. Utilizing existing technologies to combat the gaps is required. (Nitika, 2024)
5. Collaboration: To make education accessible to everyone, coordination among the ministers and vocational training is prioritized, but for it to be successful, the education, skills, and labor ministries must work more efficiently. (Thirupathi and Kumar, 2022). Collaboration between traditional farmers, researchers, and policymakers to develop context-specific solutions that honor cultural heritage while embracing innovation is important.(Bhowmick, 2024)
6. Encouraging Agro-Ecological Principles: Promote agro-ecological principles that prioritize sustainable agriculture practices, minimizing environmental degradation and preserving biodiversity.(Bhowmick, 2024)
7. Strengthening Feedback Mechanism: This can be achieved by promoting entrepreneurship and agri-startups, encouraging market-led extension strategies, and leveraging electronic media in educational programs.

CONCLUSION:

The NEP 2020 mainly aims for holistic development while emphasizes on a multidisciplinary approach. However, challenges exist – implementation difficulties, teacher training gaps, and resource constraints, especially in rural areas. Hence, although. NEΡ 2020 envisions an inclusive, modern education system, effective execution and infrastructure improvements are essential to achieving its goals. Thus, its success depends on policy clarity and execution.

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