National Education Policy — Resuscitating a dying system or hyper-ventilating on a mirage?
India’s National Education Policy or the NEP introduced after three decades of redundancy has been welcomed by almost all quarters of society for the sheer novelty of it, to add to the fact that the country’s long neglected Education System has finally found a mention in our public discourse.
While the work-ability of this over — ambitious system is yet to be seen much like the rest of the current dispensation’s lofty thoughts, one must realize at the outset that the strength of any theory rests on it’s practicality and feasibility apart from meaningful attitudinal changes.
The Revised Structure with the 5+3+3+4 seems to be a fair alternative to the current system. And that’s where as a teacher the high point ends for me. To begin with, the qualification of Anganwadi workers is a minimum of 12th pass. The NEP talks of a robust preparatory for a child whose life has only just begun. However, the stark reality beckons… According to a 2017 assessment of the anganwadis in Amritsar, it was observed that:
Out of 400 anganwadis, only 24% of anganwadis had their own allotted building. Only 42% anganwadis had functional Salter weighing machine with them. Weighing machine for adults and children in working condition was available in only 38.2% anganwadis. Nearly half of the anganwadis (50.8%) do not have electricity connection. Water supply was found to be available in 53% anganwadis only. 77.5% anganwadis got regular supply of ration. But utensils for distributing ration were present with only 65.2% anganwadis and 69.3% anganwadis had helper to assist anganwadi worker.
The country’s capital Delhi echoes the plight of children in similar abysmal conditions with no teacher, and sometimes no anganwadi at all. In fact, in a story covered by The Wire, it was noted that despite the promise of filling existing vacancies even half a year later the core problem of under-staffing persisted. It is far more distressing to note, that since they could not find suitable candidates this role was played by Secondary School Students from a nearby industrial zone. And this is only the beginning of our issues.
In Delhi, for example it is the prime responsibility of the anganwadi workers (not the government) to procure a space for the set- up with an upper cap of Rs. 3000/- for rent and in a cosmopolitan Delhi as in any other major city of the country with paltry allowances, the quest for a well — maintained safe and affordable environment not only poses a challenge but also puts a question mark on the government’s willingness to actually grant young children an enriching pre- school environ. And even if we incorporate the anganwadi into a school set- up are we ready without the requisite faculty strength? The call for 6% of the GDP to be dedicated to Education is an ignus fatuus of successive governments post-Independence, but the number still stands at a picayune 3%.
When we look at the primary school set — up the introduction of Regional languages and/ or Hindi has been strongly recommended for the medium of instruction. Now, in the existing State Board pattern apart from the Central boards, the 3 language pattern of English-Hindi and Mother tongue/ State language had been employed. This was introduced at the middle school levels and had a sizable impact. Now, if we switch to regional languages as medium of instruction, this will put young parents in a fix because in the case of those with transferable jobs, hypothetically if the transfer is sudden, now one must think twice because if a Northerner with Hindi as Medium of instruction is suddenly transferred to a school in Tamil Nadu, it gives the pupil no respite with the multiplicity of languages. Exposure, yes but at the cost of a child’s basic understanding? I think, not. Yes, the propagators of this policy will say, But this is not mandatory. The counter- argument here is that, if the government intends to centralize all systems and disallow State interference, this leaves schools with little choice but to fall in line and continue with Regional languages as a medium of instruction. A far more effective method would have been to retain English+ the State/Regional language as a close second with the language and literature textbooks enhanced to give students the best of both worlds. The transition from primary to middle and senior schooling is the albatross of a system that boasts to create world-class quality students.
One look at the higher secondary and college education reminds us further that the Government has not taken into account various factors. The inclusion of vocational training and courses is very welcome, but what about the reformation of mindset especially when for decades our traditionally rigid culture has had parents promote the Golden 3- Medicine, Engineering and Law to the exclusion of most other subjects? Are we including a parent — counselling session for free in this case?
Inter — disciplinary studies while being welcomed also posit an extra issue, that of traditional job seeking. The list of jobs that would permit a Biology Major with a Politics and French Minor would have any rational mind perplexed. The Prime Minister’s call for creating a generation of innovators would be welcome if he would spruce up his thoughts a little and tell us how he intends to empower these future innovators. Are we now mastering the art of creating a Jack of all trades and master of none? The entire idea of keeping Major and minor subjects from a single discipline is to maintain holistic learning. With multiple fields and streams and the novelty of the idea of pursuing different subjects, one needs to ask, Are our children ready for this change? Or are we creating a generation of young people with the tagline, “What is my future?” at the end of this academic journey.
The Prime Minister vociferously argued that now a child can pursue Music and Mathematics together. Will the head of our country also help both teachers and parents realize, who will bear the extra financial burden that these otherwise expensive pursuits bring with them? Will every school be equipped with the necessary equipment, faculty, arrangements and primary set- up?
As far as research is concerned, while I have no problem with the numbers being doled out to SC/ST and other OBC categories, why are the Research grants (both National and International) for General category few and far between? Is the government assuming that all General Category students hail from affluent backgrounds thereby encouraging a discrimination of a new kind?
The entire idea of introducing Coding from Class 6 is again one that rides on the assumption that all students would prefer it. What if the student does not have the bandwidth or even the basic interest for the subject?
Not much has been discussed on a major component of this new framework: The Fee Structure and Pattern. Evidently, with the inclusion of multiple and highly stylized content and courses, investments have to be made by the school which is ultimately recovered from parents. Will parents who are already falling and failing under the burden of the imminent financial crisis during and after this COVID era, be able to incur such costs? Uniform syllabus patterns for both government and private schools may seem gracious at the outset, but what about students transitioning from the old to the new pattern by the time they reach middle school? What are the Phase-wise changes that the complete overhaul of this education system requires? What are the add- on costs? With English taking a backseat, in their formative years for most children, can we truly call them world class at the end of it all?
What about the mental health of young children at different stages of this entire system? Are the existing counselors enough? It is an open secret that many schools do not have in-house psychologists despite the growing need for them. What about this oft — neglected factor?
Last but not the least, the changes for the students comes with a humongous change in the Bachelor of Education, a pre-requisite for teachers aspiring to teach middle and secondary schools. It has been stated by the government that teaching is the left-over profession for those who have failed to make the cut in the field of their choice. The premise itself is wrong. Two quick questions here: In the new system, there are multiple entry and exit points for a program. Would this applicable for the B.Ed degree and if yes, then would we still produce the class of teachers we really require? If the answer is No, then we could rank ourselves as somewhat safe.
Also, let’s not forget college teachers in all of this too. One look at Maharashtra’s dismal record in 2019 for the SET exams needs no further explanation: As per the notification, a total of 79,879 candidates had appeared for the SET Exam in 2019. Only 5,415 candidates were selected after qualifying the State Eligibility Test. The overall pass percentage of Maharashtra SET 2019 is 6.87 per cent. Another stat reads, As per NTA, 10,34,872 candidates registered for the exam out of which 7,93,813 appeared for the computer-based exam. Out of those who appeared for the exam, 60,147 have qualified for ‘ eligibility for Assistant Professor only’, and 5,092 have qualified for JRF and are eligible for Assistant Professorship.
The first question to be asked here is, Where are we going wrong in the current working that such a measly number actually makes it to the profession? Has the committee asked these crucial questions? Teachers are at the center of this entire framework. Have the pay structures been given a thought? Have the current issues of teachers been taken into account?
What we need is not just a revision in structural changes of the new NEP but a careful and thorough check into the type of curriculum, focus on experiential learning and setting realistic targets.
The NEP until then is a mirage that looks amazingly wonderful from a distance only to disappoint on arrival.
