The emphasis in NEP for universal & inclusive school education is to strengthen the fundamental knowledge of the students in the secondary stage

Prof. Debakanta Mishra

I was happy to find on my timeline on Facebook a notification by the government of Odisha to implement NEP 2020 in our state from the next academic session. Also, I could read a report by QS (Quacquaelli Symond), one of the leading analysis and solutions providers for the global higher education sector. Both the findings had a profound impact on my sensitive mindset and I could correlate both these findings to seek a fruitful solution befitting the education system in Odisha in particular and my beloved nation in general.

NEP 2020 introduces a 5+3+3+4 grade system, the first five years strengthening the foundation, the next 3 years for the preparatory stage, the next three years for the middle stage, and the last 4 years of the secondary stage so that by the age of 18 years a child completes his/her higher secondary education, wherein the vocational and skill education are properly integrated.

Onus on Teachers
The emphasis in NEP for universal and inclusive school education is to strengthen the fundamental knowledge of the students in the secondary stage. As these students reach higher grades with time, they have to self-motivatedly develop a curiosity for problem-solving and critical thinking about a subject of their interest. It is the responsibility of suitably qualified and well-trained teachers to see that these students not only gain proficiency in the subject they teach, but also they have to develop a thirst for acquiring knowledge, critical and analytical thinking, and problem-solving.

On the whole, school education has to be executed in such a manner that when a student joins any stream in higher education, he or she has already strengthened himself or herself in fundamental knowledge, simultaneously possessing the ability for critical thinking and involving himself or herself with innovative activities. Such well-qualified children are an absolute necessity for fruitfully entering into the domain of higher education. But I know from my own experience as a humble teacher and administrator that in our state both the physical and academic infrastructure in school education is in a miserable state.

During my tenure, leaving aside some government and private schools in urban areas, most schools in peripheral districts did not possess adequate physical and academic infrastructure worth the name, even in some schools there were only one or two teachers to take care of the whole workload and in a good number of schools there were no permanent Headmaster or Headmistress.

I understand that this miserable situation still more or less prevails in our state. But if NEP is introduced, then provisions are to be made to provide adequate physical and academic infrastructure to all schools, including the educational technologies meant to enhance the quality of teaching- particularly the digital technologies, such as computers. Schools are to be provided with suitably qualified and well-trained teachers, who will not only be proficient in teaching their subjects but act simultaneously as facilitators to see that students develop a self-urge for critical thinking and problem-solving and involve themselves in organizational activities to carry out a project of their interest.

Master’s Program
If only we can produce such Human Resources from our school system, then only they can meaningfully and effectively enable or adapt themselves to acquire knowledge in higher education. NEP 2020 proposes an undergraduate program with multiple exit systems, ranging from a certificate after completing one year in a discipline to a bachelor’s degree with research’ if the students complete a four-year degree program which includes a rigorous research project in a chosen area of study.

Likewise, the Master’s program is intended to be flexible in its duration, depending on the prior experience of the students. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) has a minimum requirement of a Master’s degree or a 4-year Bachelor’s degree with research. Such graduates produced by our higher educational institutions will act as socially useful products in our country.

It is found that not only in India but also in many developing countries foreign firms who develop industries in their countries only employ non-skilled workers as employees in their factories. Employers bring people from their own country or from outside to employ them in responsible productive or managerial posts. But implementing NEP 2020 in our state and all states of our country, we can produce such talented Human Resources that they can be utilized by foreign employers in suitable product-oriented or managerial posts.

Such people will get an opportunity to not only get themselves acquainted with the prevailing modern technology, but also with time they will certainly be self-motivated to update themselves henceforward about the emerging advanced technologies in their field of work, to enable themselves to be usefully employed throughout their working lives.

That is, if our capable social products can be motivated to adopt education and training as life-long endeavors, then only one can expect our country to establish profitable industries to produce all necessary products in various productive sectors of our country. This effective action will certainly remove all the shortcomings mentioned in the QS report.

NEP satisfies all our needs to avoid jobless growth and simultaneously enrich our national economy. It is very clear from the above statement that school education plays the most vital role in this process. I am particularly happy that under the leadership and supervision of our new dynamic and progressive chief minister, Mohan Charan Majhi, Government of Odisha has decided to implement a New Education Policy in our state and we expect that government authorities will act as facilitators to provide the necessary physical and academic infrastructure to all the schools so that after a few years Odisha can provide suitable Human Resources who can effectively complete higher education to become socially useful products for our state/ country.

Viksit Bharat
For example, if industrial firms of Singapore establish industries in our state to produce semiconductors or green hydrogen, then they will not hesitate to employ our suitably qualified young men and women in responsible higher posts. If in India all the states implement NEP 2020 in true letter and spirit, then they will certainly enrich the Indian economy through their active participation in all modern productive sectors and if this becomes a reality, India can certainly become a developed nation (Viksit Bharat) by 2047 and jobless growth will no more raise its head as a crucial national problem in our country.

The desired success of the implementation of NEP depends on two factors: one, the state government and the central government must release an adequate amount of funds from their budgets for creating the required infrastructures. So far India is behind many South- Asian nations like South Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam in granting funds for education and research, leaving aside China and developed nations in the West. Two, the government will limit its action in framing rules and regulations and providing funds for building infrastructures and should not interfere in the academic affairs of the institutes of higher learning in our country.

(The writer is a noted educationist and popular science writer. Views expressed are personal.)

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