Issues with the NEP’s Structure

Source-This post on Issues with the NEP’s Structure has been created based on the article “Why NEP implementation has been a failure” published in “The Indian Express” on 17 June 2024. 

UPSC Syllabus-GS Paper-2– Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources. 

Context-The article highlights the issue with the implementation of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. 

Read more- National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. 

What are the issues in the implementation of NEP? 

1) Standardization and Mobility in Higher Education-It implements a credit-based eight-semester format aimed at creating a standardized and mobile higher education system. This format theoretically allows students to transfer credits across institutions, emphasizing interoperability. However, it neglects the organic development of content.  

2) Truncation of Syllabus-The syllabus has been reduced from five units per paper to three, and even prescribed chapters have been truncated. For ex- in a poem by Walt Whitman, “Passage to India,” earlier the entire 255-line poem was taught, but now only 68 lines across four sections are prescribed, despite the philosophical nature of the poem. 

 3) Dilution of Core Content- The NEP’s focus on a credit-based system dilutes core subjects. For ex- in Economics Honours at St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata, only one out of eight courses directly relate to the honours subject. The rest cover various areas such as human behavior and media studies. This raises concerns about whether students gain enough specialized knowledge to succeed in their careers. 

 4) Introduction of additional courses– Adding more courses, like skill enhancement and value-added studies, increases administrative work but doesn’t always improve educational results. This weakens higher education’s original goal of fostering critical thinking and expertise in specific fields 

5) Logistical Challenge– The NEP brings logistical challenges with frequent exams (7 to 8 per semester) and extensive internal assessments. This heavy focus on assessments, including attendance and continuous evaluation, burdens both students and educators with bureaucratic tasks. 

6) Mandatory Practical Exams in Arts Education-Unnecessary demands, such as mandatory practical exams for non-core arts subjects, waste resources and teaching time. These issues highlight a gap between policy goals and real-world application. 

7) Neglect of Educational Excellence-NEP focuses more on valuing bureaucracy over educational excellence. It suggests that by prioritizing standardization and superficial adaptability, the NEP diminishes universities’ traditional function of fostering critical thinking. 

Question for practice 

Highlight the issues with the implementation of NEP?