National Education Policy 2020 (NEP-2020)


Why in News?
In a bid to strengthen the research ecosystem in India, the Union government has proposed the formation of a ‘National Research Foundation‘ (NRF) which will foster a culture of research and innovation in India’s universities, colleges, research institutions, and laboratories.
An estimated outlay of Rs. 50,000 crore has been allotted to the NRF for the next five years (2023-28)
Context:
⦁ An eight-member committee was formed in 2017 to draft a national education policy with Kasturirangan, as chairman.
⦁ The committee’s recommendations were published as National Education Policy 2020 (NEP-2020).
⦁ The report highlighted the lacunae in the higher education system, the most prominent being the rigid boundaries of disciplines and fields, thousands of stand-alone institutions, absence of research at most universities and colleges, and the lack of a transparent and competitive peer-reviewed research funding system.
⦁ One of the major recommendations of NEP-2020 was the establishment of a National Research Foundation (NRF)
All you need to know about NRF:
1. Prime Minister chairs the governing board of NRF.
2. The first task of NRF administration should be to implement a time-bound, ICT-based system for managing the projects and disbursing a grant of Rs 3,000 crore in the launch year of NRF, 2023-24 and should manage to garner Rs 36,000 crore from non-government sources.
3. Its main objective was to manage a competitive grant system for R&D in universities and institutes involved with higher education.
4. The Central government has finally given clearance to the establishment of NRF and a budget of Rs 50,000 crore for research has been envisaged for the next five years.
5. The contribution of the Central government has been pegged at Rs 14,000 crore while the remaining 36,000 crore will be garnered from public sector enterprises, industry, foundations, and international research organisations.
6. It has been proposed to convert the Science Engineering Research Board (SERB) attached to DST into NRF.
7. NRF will “seed, grow and promote research and development (R&D) and foster a culture of innovation throughout Indian universities, colleges, institutions, and R&D laboratories”, and “will bring focus on need-based research and help support research in the fields of natural sciences, engineering and technology, environmental and earth sciences and social sciences” .

What is the need for NRF?
⦁  Currently, government funding for R&D is being spent in two modes — core grants and extramural grants. Most of the expenditure is through core grants.
⦁  In the financial year 2016-17 — for which complete information is available from “Research and Development Statistics 2019-20 by DST” — Rs 42,074 crore was spent by the Central government on R&D.
⦁  But the three major recipients of the funding — are DRDO (31.8 per cent), DoS (19.1 per cent), and DAE (11.3 per cent) .
⦁  In 2016-17, around Rs 2,454 crore (5.8 per cent of the total expenditure on R&D) was spent on extramural grants to fund around 4,711 projects.
⦁  This small amount served the R&D aspirations of the central universities, state universities including agricultural universities, colleges, deemed universities, institutions of national importance like IISc and IITs, and even the national laboratories.
⦁  The extramural grants from DST-SERB and DBT have been the lifeline for R&D in the universities and institutions of higher learning in the country.
⦁  That’s why India needs a strong competitive grant system as has been proposed by NEP-2020. The number of institutes/universities/medical schools has increased significantly. However, the overall funding under extramural grants has remained static. This has led to poor doctoral-level training which has very grim consequences for the country.
⦁  A competitive grant system provides the necessary leeway to accelerate research in new and emerging areas where inter disciplinarity is critical and can be used for collaborative work among institutions, between institutions and industry, and collaborations across the countries.

Comparison with our Peer Nations:
1.  Almost all the developed countries and newly emerged economies of East Asia have a very strong competitive grant system.
2.  We are spending too little on R&D — only 0.65 per cent of our GDP (0.41 per cent by the public and 0.24 per cent by private funding).
3.  These investments are much lower than those being made by the developed and newly emerged economies of East Asia (more than 2 per cent of the GDP).
4.  There should be a discussion on the procedural changes that will make the NRF-run competitive grant system a grand success.

Scenario of Education in India:
⦁  According to National Statistical Office (NSO) data, As of the Year, 2021 India’s average literacy rate is 77.70%. The male literacy at the India level in 2021 stands at 84.70% & female literacy stands at 70.30%.
⦁  The 2015 Report on National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship had estimated that only 4.7% of the total workforce in India had undergone formal skill training compared with 52% in the US, 80% in Japan, and 96% in South Korea.
Scenario of Innovation in India:
⦁  India was ranked 40th position out of 132 in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2022 rankings released by World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
⦁  India was ranked 46th position in 2021, and 81st rank in 2015.

Constitutional Backing:
1.  Part IV of Indian Constitution, Article 45 and Article 39 (f) of Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP), has a provision for state-funded as well as equitable and accessible education.
2.  The 42nd Amendment to the Constitution in 1976 moved education from the State to the Concurrent List.
3.  The 86th Amendment in 2002 made education an enforceable right under Article 21-A.

Legislative Backing:
⦁  Right To Education (RTE) Act, 2009 aims to provide primary education to all children aged 6 to 14 years and enforces education as a Fundamental Right.
⦁  It also mandates 25% reservation for disadvantaged sections of the society where disadvantaged groups
Government Initiatives:
⦁  Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Mid Day Meal Scheme, Navodaya Vidyalayas (NVS schools), Kendriya Vidyalayas (KV schools) and use of IT in education are a result of the NEP of 1986.
School Education:
⦁  Universalization of education from preschool to secondary level with 100% Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in school education by 2030.
⦁  To bring 2 crore out of school children back into the mainstream through an open schooling system.
⦁  The current 10+2 system to be replaced by a new 5+3+3+4 curricular structure corresponding to ages 3-8, 8-11, 11-14, and 14-18 years respectively.
⦁  It will bring the uncovered age group of 3-6 years under school curriculum, which has been recognized globally as the crucial stage for development of mental faculties of a child.
⦁  It will also have 12 years of schooling with three years of Anganwadi/ pre schooling.
⦁  Class 10 and 12 board examinations to be made easier, to test core competencies rather than memorised facts, with all students allowed to take the exam twice.
⦁  School governance is set to change, with a new accreditation framework and an independent authority to regulate both public and private schools.
⦁  Emphasis on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, no rigid separation between academic streams, extracurricular, vocational streams in schools.
⦁  Vocational Education to start from Class 6 with Internships.
⦁  Teaching up to at least Grade 5 to be in mother tongue/regional language. No language will be imposed on any student.
⦁  Assessment reforms with 360 degree Holistic Progress Card, tracking Student Progress for achieving Learning Outcomes
⦁  A new and comprehensive National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE) 2021, will be formulated by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) in consultation with National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
⦁  By 2030, the minimum degree qualification for teaching will be a 4-year integrated B.Ed. degree.
Higher Education:
⦁  Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education to be raised to 50% by 2035. Also, 3.5 crore seats to be added in higher education.
⦁  The current Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education is 26.3%.
⦁  Holistic Undergraduate education with a flexible curriculum can be of 3 or 4 years with multiple exit options and appropriate certification within this period.
⦁  M.Phil courses will be discontinued and all the courses at undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD level will now be interdisciplinary.
⦁  Academic Bank of Credits to be established to facilitate Transfer of Credits.
⦁  Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERUs), at par with IITs, IIMs, to be set up as models of best multidisciplinary education of global standards in the country.
⦁  The National Research Foundation will be created as an apex body for fostering a strong research culture and building research capacity across higher education.
⦁  Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) will be set up as a single umbrella body for the entire higher education, excluding medical and legal education. Public and private higher education institutions will be governed by the same set of norms for regulation, accreditation and academic standards. Also, HECI will be having four independent verticals namely,
⦁  National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC) for regulation,
⦁  General Education Council (GEC) for standard setting,
⦁  Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC) for funding,
⦁  National Accreditation Council (NAC) for accreditation.
⦁  Affiliation of colleges is to be phased out in 15 years and a stage-wise mechanism to be established for granting graded autonomy to colleges.
⦁  Over a period of time, every college is expected to develop into either an autonomous degree-granting College, or a constituent college of a university.

Other Changes:
1.  An autonomous body, the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), will be created to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration.
2.  National Assessment Centre- 'PARAKH' has been created to assess the students.
3.  It also paves the way for foreign universities to set up campuses in India.
4.  It emphasizes setting up of Gender Inclusion Fund, Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups.
5.  National Institute for Pali, Persian and Prakrit, Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation to be set up.
6.  It also aims to increase the public investment in the Education sector to reach 6% of GDP at the earliest.
7.  Currently, India spends around 4.6 % of its total GDP on education.

Mains Question:
Q: NRF can bring transformative change in field of research and development in country- Analyse.

{{LTX CLASSES}}

Our Popular Courses