‘This in Not India, this is भारत ‘-Vice Chancellor of Mangalore University Prof P S Yadapadithaya speaking during ‘New Education Policy'( NEP) programme, ‘Pragmatic Education Policy for Aspirational India’, held at University College hall on Monday, 31 August, while members of Dakshian Kannada National Student Union of India (NSUI) Staged Protest outside the college campus, opposing the NEP, and for inviting ONLY Akila Bharathya Vidyarethi Parishad (ABVP) members to the programme.
Mangaluru : The union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had approved the ‘National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 on 29 July 2020. The policy is based on the Draft National Education Policy 2019, which the Committee for Draft National Education Policy – chaired by Dr. K. Kasturirangan, former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation – submitted to the Ministry of Human Resource Development on December 15, 2018. The four-part National Education Policy covers school education (Part I); higher education (Part II); ‘Other Key Areas of Focus’ (Part III) such as adult education, promoting Indian languages and online education; and ‘Making it Happen’ (Part IV), which discusses the policy’s implementation. The policy says that the centre and states shall work together to increase public investment in education to 6 percent of the gross domestic product, from the current 4.43 per cent.
Public and private schools – except the schools that are managed, aided or controlled, by the central government – will be assessed and accredited on the same criteria, benchmarks, and processes. The government of India shall constitute a ‘Gender-Inclusion Fund’ to provide equitable and quality education to all girls and transgender students. States shall use this fund to implement the central government’s policies for assisting female and transgender students, such as provisions for toilets and sanitation, conditional cash transfers and bicycles. The fund will enable states to support ‘community-based’ interventions. The policy states that universal participation in schools shall be achieved by tracking students and their learning levels to ensure they are enrolled and attending school, and have suitable opportunities to re-join or catch up at school in case they have dropped out or fallen behind.
All education institutions shall be held to similar standards of audit and disclosure as a ‘not-for-profit’ entity, says this policy. If the institution generates a surplus, it shall be reinvested in the educational sector. The policy says that all ‘higher education institutions’ (HEIs) shall aim to be multidisciplinary by 2040. By 2030, there shall be at least one multidisciplinary HEI in or near every district. The policy aims for the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education to increase to 50 per cent by 2035 from 26.3 per cent in 2018. HEI’s shall have the flexibility to offer Master’s programmes of two years for those who have completed a three-year undergraduate programme, of one year for students who have completed a four-year undergraduate programme, or five-year integrated Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes. M.Phil. programmes shall be discontinued. The policy says that ‘high performing’ Indian universities shall be encouraged to set up campuses in other countries. Similarly, selected universities – such as those from among the top 100 universities in the world – shall be encouraged to operate in India.
Mangalore University, in association with University College, Mangaluru, Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP, Mangaluru, and Centre for Education & Social Studies, Bengaluru organized a programme on ‘New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 : Pragmatic Education Policy for Aspirational India’ on Monday, 31 August 2020 at University College Auditorium at 11 am. The welcome address was delivered by Dr Udaya Kumar MA-Principal of University College, Mangaluru, followed by inaugural speech by Prof P S Yadapadithaya, the Vice chancellor of Mangalore University, Konaje, Mangaluru, where he said, “We should try to know that this is not INDIA, this is भरत? This is a very good policy introduced by the government in the interest of the present generation of students. This is not the end, it’s only a beginning, and we’ll have to work hard to make this policy effective and materialized”
VC further said, “The policy seeks to restructure school curricula and pedagogy in a new ‘5+3+3+4’ design, so that school education can be made relevant to the needs and interests of learners at different developmental stages – a ‘Foundational Stage’ (five years), a ‘Preparatory Stage’ (three years), a ‘Middle Stage’ (three years) and the ‘High Stage’ (four years, covering grades nine, 10, 11 and 12). It aims to achieve ‘universal foundational literacy and numeracy’ in primary schools by 2025. For this, the Ministry of Human Resource Development shall set up a National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy”.
“The medium of expression until at least grade five – but preferably till grade eight or beyond – shall be the student’s mother tongue, or the local or regional language. The ‘three-language formula’ will continue to be implemented in schools, where two of the three languages shall be native to India. The policy seeks to standardise the school curriculum for Indian Sign Language across the country. The policy suggests establishing ‘school complexes’ consisting of a secondary school and other schools offering lower grades of education – including anganwadi centres – in a radius of 5 to 10 kilometers. Such a complex will have “greater resource efficiency and more effective functioning, coordination, leadership, governance, and management of schools in a cluster.” A National Research Foundation shall be established to facilitate “merit-based but equitable” peer-reviewed research funding” added Prof Yadapadithaya.
Prof T V Kattimani, the Vice Chancellor of Central Tribal University-Andhra Pradesh and Dr Manasa N -Member of Executive Council CESS, Bengaluru spoke to the delegates online, on the benefits of NEP. During the programme discussions were held on- 5+3+3+4 Curricular Structure; Opening up of Indian Higher Education to foreign universities; Merging up of the bUGC and the all India Council for Technical Education ( AICTE) and bringing up NETF and NTA; Introduction of a four-year multidisciplinary Undergraduate programme with Multiple Entry and Exit options; General Admission- Entrance-Exit- Certification; Curriculum changes- Multidisciplinary education by Multidisciplinary institutions; No-Walling of Arts, Science and Commerce, Academic Bank of Credits; Re-Categorization of HEI’s with Single Regulatory-Research Avenues; 4-year integrated B Ed degree; Implementation with spending 6% of GDP etc; Online teaching with updated ICT tools; and points relating to designing an action plan to implement NEP.
Vote of thanks was proposed by Keshav Bangera-Divisional head ABVP-Mangaluru Division, and the programme was compered by Dr Subhashini Srivatsa-Associate Prof Dept of Commerce; and Dr Bharathi Prakash-HoD of Microbiology, both at University College, Mangaluru. Prof P L Dharma- Registrar (Evaluation)- Mangalore University, and Ravi Mandya- member of State Working Co-ordinator of ABVP were also on the dais. While the programme was going on at the UC auditorium, members of Dakshina Kannada district National Student Union of India (NSUI) staged a protest outside the UC campus, raising their voices against Mangalore University and condemning the NEP policy/programme, and also for inviting only Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), and no other student organization.
Speaking during the protest, NSUI District General Secretary Sawad Sullia said, “This policy is nothing but politically motivated, and controlled by one political party. Prof Yadipadithaya, the Vice Chancellor of Mangalore University is acting like a chamcha of ABVP. The Central Govt over-night had formed this NEP, and not holding any discussions in the parliament, nor with the state government and student organisations. This is nothing but the conspiracy to saffronise education. We will fight against this policy, so that it won’t jeopardize the lives of students” NSUI members Farooq, Anvith Kateel, Savanak Rai, and Souhadh Goonadka were among others present during the protest.
It’s said that religion is the opiate of masses. Nothing can be further from the truth, than with life in India.
We Indians have fed ourselves an opiate called religion where we have sacrificed our future and reputation for the sake of donning an ancient identity that the modern world doesn’t care much about, and never really did.
There are absolutely no grounds to have confidence in the government at all. Civilian life has become absolutely sick.
On the ground, people are behaving in such a disappointing manner. Spitting, littering and breaking traffic rules is the order of life here. If people are going to behave in such a manner, they can find no acceptance in the modern world that abhors this way of life. The very reason that students are compelled to learn vernacular languages in so much depth for decades at the cost of other subjects goes to show that Indians are obsessed with their identity.
In fact, they seem to want to own public spaces that they have no ownership documents of. Except for Afghanistan, no where else in the world in recent times, has a place of worship called Babri Masjid been torn down and legalised with the able assistance of people in the government. This shows that our psyche hasn’t moved on from the medieval ages.
One thing is for sure, one can’t expect the world to come to one’s feet, more than expecting the Himalayas to come down to the level of the Deccan Plateau. Expecting the world to come to one’s feet is therefore a fool’s errand.
May I be proved wrong.