{"id":49887,"date":"2019-07-16T14:35:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-16T09:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/?page_id=49887"},"modified":"2019-07-16T14:35:00","modified_gmt":"2019-07-16T09:05:00","slug":"answered-the-draft-national-education-policy-nep-2019-recommends-a-restructuring-of-school-years-and-the-curriculum-in-a-wide-ranging-manner-but-it-lacks-the-critical-components-of-educa","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/answered-the-draft-national-education-policy-nep-2019-recommends-a-restructuring-of-school-years-and-the-curriculum-in-a-wide-ranging-manner-but-it-lacks-the-critical-components-of-educa\/","title":{"rendered":"[Answered] \u201cThe draft National Education Policy (NEP) 2019 recommends a restructuring of school years and the curriculum, in a wide-ranging manner but it lacks the critical components of education i.e. critical thinking and deeper understanding\u201d. Critically analyse.Give some measures to improve education system in India."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Demand of the question<\/strong>
Introduction.<\/strong>Contextual introduction.
Body. <\/strong>Discuss draft NEP and various issues in it.
Conclusion.<\/strong>Way forward and solutions for improving education system. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

The draft National Education Policy (NEP) 2019 recommends a restructuring of school years and the curriculum. If properly implemented, it may help in better education. These include flexibility and wider scope at the secondary level, space for moral reasoning, re-emphasis on the true spirit of the three language formula, a focus on the core concepts and key ideas in subjects, vocational courses, and also a focus of assessment on understanding. However, the draft NEP also recommends much that may have just the opposite effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salient features of draft National Education\nPolicy:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. The policy covers school education, higher\neducation and professional education<\/strong> which in turn include agricultural\neducation, legal education, medical education and technical education.It also\nlooks at the verticals of vocational education by including teacher education\nand the research and innovation.<\/li>
  2. The policy also tries to focus on certain\nfoundational skills<\/strong> that children should have in the proposed new structure\nof 5+3+3+4.The first stage of five years (for children of 3-8 years of age)\ni.e. foundational stage looks at discovery learning and learning by play. The\nfoundational literacy and numeracy skills is a mission mode approach under it\nthat includes National Tutors\u2019 Program, remedial instructional aid programmes\netc. It considers nutrition as very critical for strengthening the levels of\n3-8 years of children.<\/li>
  3. The next stage is Preparatory Stage for the\nchildren in the age group of 8 to 11 years (grades 3 to 5) followed by the\nMiddle Stage (grades 6 to 8) for the students in the age group of 11-14 years\nand the Secondary Stage (Grades 9-12) for students in the age group of 14-18\nyears.<\/li>
  4. For school education, governance level changes <\/strong>have\nalso been suggested. A State regulatory authority has been suggested for\nregulating education in the country. The body will decide the accreditation of\ndifferent schools. The government will continue to fund and operate education\nin the country.<\/li>
  5. Restructuring of the higher education system<\/strong> into Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3.Tier 1 includes\nresearch universities focusing equally on research and teaching, Tier 2\nincludes teaching universities focusing primarily on teaching; and Tier 3\nincludes colleges focusing only on teaching at undergraduate levels. All such\ninstitutions will gradually move towards full autonomy – academic,\nadministrative, and financial. The idea is to spread \u2018research culture\u2019<\/strong>\nat the undergraduate level.The policy also talks about National Scholarship\nFund to financially support students for higher education.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Issues\nin draft National Education Policy:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Misdiagnosis-<\/strong>It misdiagnoses the causes behind the severe\nlearning crisis, and fail to recognise the poor school and teacher\naccountability, with no mention of the chronic teacher absenteeism and low\nteacher effort as key problems.There is no fundamental reform proposed for\nrevamping the accountability structures for schools. Instead, the NEP provides\nthat school management committees (SMCs) \u2013 institutions without any powers\nshall hold schools and teachers accountable. SMCs already mandated under the\nRTE Act were ineffective.<\/li>
    2. Window for corruption-<\/strong>The danger for corruption exists while giving\npublic money to private schools in reimbursement for educating disadvantaged\nchildren under the RTE Act. In 2017, it was reported that Madhya Pradesh\nprivate schools siphoned off Rs 600 crore in RTE reimbursement fraud.A revised\nNEP can seriously consider giving public subsidy for the education of\ndisadvantaged children as DBT (giving the parent freedom to choose a school),\nrather than giving that money to private schools via leaky government\nstructures. <\/li>
    3. Unviable schools-<\/strong>While the NEP recognises the problem of unviable\nsmall public schools (28% of all public primary schools in the country have\nless than 30 students), it does not recognise the decreasing enrolment of\npublic schools which have led them both unviable. An analysis of data shows\nthat between 2010-11 and 2017-18, enrolment in public elementary schools fell\nby 2.4 crore students, while rising in the recognised private unaided schools\nby 2.1 crore students.<\/li>
    4. A confused statement-<\/strong>The draft NEP rightly criticises private\npre-schools for being a downward extension of primary school and of there being\nformal teaching in them. But it goes on to recommend preparing children for\nprimary by prescribing learning the alphabets of and reading in three languages\n(for 3-6-year olds). <\/li>
    5. Three languages issue-<\/strong>The draft policy mistakes \u201clanguage acquisition\nwhen children are immersed in more than one languages\u201d with a \u201clanguage\nteaching\u201d situation where immersion is impossible in three languages. It then\nextends it unjustifiably to a learning of three scripts. It prescribes teaching\nscript and reading in three languages to three-year-old children, but writing\nis supposed to be taught to six-year-old children. It also wants to introduce\n\u201csome textbooks\u201d only at age eight. One wonders why there is a three year gap\nbetween teaching reading and writing.<\/li>
    6. Burden of curriculum-<\/strong>The draft policy stipulates that the \u201cmandated\ncontents in the curriculum will be reduced to its core, focussing on key\nconcepts and essential ideas\u201d. This is to \u201cyield more space for discussion and\nnuanced understanding, analysis, and application of key concepts\u201d. But it goes\non to block more than the space vacated by prescribing six new subjects\/courses\nin addition to the existing eight. Some of these new courses such as \u201ccritical\nissues\u201d and \u201cmoral reasoning\u201d can be taught in a much better way in a revised\ncurriculum of social studies as the context for both is society. <\/li>
    7. No emphasis on social studies-<\/strong>Social studies seems to be missing entirely as it\nhas been mentioned once and then left out of the entire discussion on\ncurriculum.Social studies needs more space in the upper primary curriculum. The\nsubject has to be taught in such a manner that it connects with society and can\nbe a very good way of introducing critical issues and moral thinking. <\/li>
    8. Not in sync with country\u2019s ideals-<\/strong>The vision of the draft NEP rests on UNESCO\ndeclarations and reports rather than the Indian Constitution and development of\ndemocracy in this country; this in spite of wanting to make education\nIndia-centred. Thus, in the suggested curriculum changes, socio-political life\nis almost invisible.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      What do we need to change about the Indian\nEducation System?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n