Narendra Modi Govt May Clear New Education Policy This Month

New Delhi: The Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) has finalised the final draft of the ‘national policy on education’ and is set to place it before the Union Cabinet soon for consideration.

According to a report in the Hindustan Times, the Ministry is believed to have accepted most of the recommendations of the K Kasturirangan committee which had prepared the new policy.

“We have included most of the suggestions like the Bachelor of Liberal Arts (BLA) course or the suggestion on creating a Rasjtriya Shiksha Aayog,” the news report quoted a source in the Ministry as saying.

The committee had also proposed to rename the MHRD as the Education Ministry.

The Ministry had last month held an exhaustive consultation with the state education ministers and other stakeholders about the draft proposals at the Central Advisory Board of Education meet.

While supporting the recommendations, the state education ministers had raised concerns over the financial implications of adopting the policy. While the drafting committee remained silent on this aspect, it remains to be seen if the Centre would announce a package or incentivise the states to implement the ambitious programme.

The ministers were of the view that while the draft policy is good in its intent, it lacked a financial plan of action for implementation.

Key recommendations of the draft policy:

• Right to Education Act should be extended to all children between 3-6 years.
• 100 per cent gross enrolment ratio from pre-school to secondary levels by 2030.
• Integrated flexible school curriculum.
• No separation between academic and vocational education.
• New 5+3+3+4 developmentally appropriate curriculum and pedagogical structure for school education.
• National Research Foundation to promote research and innovation.
• Professional education should be an integral part of higher education.
• Flexible curriculum in the higher education sector, creative combination of study and multiple exit points.
• Broad-based liberal arts undergraduate education.