Ministry of Education directs State/UT to align their age of admission for Grade-I to 6+ years

States/UTs also requested to initiate process of designing and running a two years Diploma in Preschool Education (DPSE) course

22 FEB 2023

The National Education Policy 2020 recommends strengthening of learning of children at the ‘foundational stage’ as a national priority for the country. The foundational stage consists of 5 years of learning opportunities for all children (between 3 to 8 years) that includes 3 years of pre-school education and 2 years of early primary Grade-I and Grade-II. The policy thus promotes seamless learning and development of children from pre-school to Grade- II. This can only be done by ensuring accessibility to three years of quality preschool education for all children studying in Anganwadis or Government/ Government-aided, private and NGO run preschool centers. Besides, the most important factor at the foundational stage is the availability of qualified teachers who are specially trained in the age and developmentally appropriate curriculum and pedagogy. The National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF-FS) has also been launched recently on 20.10.2022.

To fulfill this vision, the Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education through D.O. letter 22-7/2021-EE.19/IS.13 dated 09.02.2023, has reiterated directions to all the State Governments and UT administrations to align their age to admission with the policy and provide admission to Grade-I at the age of 6+ years.

The States have also been advised to initiate the process of designing and running a two years Diploma in Preschool Education (DPSE) course in their State and UT. The course is expected to be designed by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) and run/ implemented through District Institute of Education & Training (DIETs) under supervision and hold of SCERTs.

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Steps taken by the Government to boost skill based education under NEP

25 JUL 2022

The Government of India has initiated various convergence efforts across the skill ecosystem under “Skill India Mission (SIM)”. Under the Mission, more than 20 Central Ministries/Departments are implementing Skill Development Schemes/Programmes to enhance skill levels of millions of people including School Children on pan India basis to create skilled workforce as per the needs of the Industry.

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has given special emphasis on vocational education through integration and mainstreaming of vocational education with general education which will help students in acquiring various skills to meet the needs of the industries and to improve the quality of education.

The department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL) is implementing the scheme of Vocationalisation of School Education under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme – Samagra Shiksha by aligning it with the aims of the Skill India Mission.

The scheme aims at integrating Vocational Education with general academic education in all Secondary/Senior Secondary schools; enhancing the employability and entrepreneurial abilities of the students, providing exposure to work environment; and generating awareness amongst students about various career options so as to enable them to make a choice in accordance with their aptitude, competence and aspirations. The scheme covers Government and Government aided schools.

Under the Scheme, NSQF compliant vocational courses are offered to the students from class 9th to 12th in the schools covered under the scheme. At the Secondary level i.e. Class IX and X, vocational modules are offered to the students as an additional subject. At Sr. Secondary level, i.e. Class XI and XII, vocational courses are offered as a compulsory (elective) subject. Vocational Courses are selected on the basis of notional hours, age & educational qualification prescribed and suitability for school students. The State Governments have been advised that Vocational courses are to be treated at par with other academic subjects and accorded a similar status in the scheme of subjects.

Under the Scheme, Employability Skill module has been made a mandatory part of the vocational Courses. It consists of Communication Skills, Self-Management Skills, Information and Communication Technology Skills, Entrepreneurship Skills and Green Skills.

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in association with the Ministry of Education (MoE) is implementing the ‘Skill Hub Initiative’ scheme under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 3.0 (PMKVY 3.0). Skill Hubs are nodal skill centres identified to provide skill development and vocational training opportunities to target school dropouts and out-of-education Student. As a step towards implementing integrated skilling through Skill Hubs, a pilot has been launched from January 1, 2022.

The information was given by the Minister of State for Education, Smt. Annpurna Devi in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

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NEP 2020 strives to guarantee that no child is denied the chance to study and achieve regardless of their birth circumstances or background. National Education Policy 2020 by the Union Minister of Education reply in the Lok Sabha.

Ministry of Education
National Education Policy, 2020

06 DEC 2021

The National Education Policy, 2020 (NEP 2020) has been finalised after detailed consultation process with all stakeholders including State/UT Governments, followed by the approval of Union Cabinet. Implementation of the spirit and intent of the Policy is the most critical matter. Comprehensiveness in implementation will be key; as this Policy is interconnected and holistic, which ensure that the desired objectives are achieved. Since education is a concurrent subject, it needs careful planning, joint monitoring, and collaborative implementation between the Centre and States. Accordingly, Ministry has written to all its implementing agencies, regulatory bodies, State/UT Governments, other stakeholder Ministries/Departments, etc for taking steps for implementation of NEP 2020.

National Education Policy 2020 proposes various measures to improve Gross Enrollment Ratio at all levels of education such as providing universal access and opportunity to all children, effective and sufficient infrastructure, safe conveyances and hostels, especially for the girl children, children who are dropping out of school are brought back into mainstream education, enhancing access by establishing more high-quality HEIs in aspirational districts, integration of vocational Education with School and Higher Education, Scholarship / Fellowships for SEDGs/Girls/Divyangs, etc. In the Policy, targets have been set to achieve 100% Gross Enrolment Ratio in preschool to secondary level by 2030 and 50% in higher education by 2035.

Improving the quality of education across all levels from primary to university level is a continuous and ongoing process. The policy provides different timelines as well as principles and methodology for its implementation. A series of workshops/VCs have been held with States/UTs to discuss innovative ideas for NEP implementation. States/UT Governments have also started taking initiatives towards implementation of NEP 2020.

Roles of Government of India and State / UT Governments have been clearly indicated in the NEP 2020 such as overall monitoring and policymaking for continual improvement of the public education system; educational operations and service provision for the public schooling system; effective quality self-regulation or accreditation system for all stages of education; setting up of State School Standards Authority (SSSA); transparent public self-disclosure of all the basic regulatory information; setting up of large, multidisciplinary universities and colleges, with at least one in or near every district; faculty and institutional autonomy; establishment of National Research Foundation; governance of HEIs by high qualified independent boards; “light but tight” regulation by a single regulator for higher education; scholarships to disadvantaged and underprivileged students; online education, and Open Distance Learning (ODL); and infrastructure and learning materials, etc. NEP 2020 proposes to have multiple mechanisms with checks and balances for different aspects of education sector. The policy unequivocally endorses and envisions a substantial increase in public investment in education by both the Central government and all State Governments. The Centre and the States will work together to increase the public investment in Education sector to reach 6% of GDP at the earliest.

NEP 2020 aims to ensure that no child loses any opportunity to learn and excel because of the circumstances of birth or background. It proposes special emphasis to be given on Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs). Details of equitable and inclusive education are given in Chapters 6 and 14 of NEP 2020.

The information was given by the Union Minister of Education, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

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Union Education Minister reviews implementation of National Education Policy 2020

13 JAN 2021

Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ reviewed implementation of New Education Policy 2020 with the senior officials of the ministry.

During the meeting the Minister has recommended the constitution of a Task Force for coordinating of NEP implementation between higher education and school education departments of the Ministry of Education to facilitate the smooth transition of students from school education to higher education. The Minister suggested that a Review Committee and an Implementation Committee headed by Secretary, Higher Education be formed to ensure speedy implementation of NEP.

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Shri Pokhriyal emphasised the need for shifting the focus from package culture to patent culture. The National Education Technology Forum (NETF) and National Research Foundation (NRF) are critical for the success of policy so they should be established in the year 2021-2022. He called upon the stakeholders to ensure synergy between implementation of NEP and existing policies of the government. He also stressed on enabling linkages between the industry and academia for better results.

A total of 181 tasks have been identified for implementation in Higher Education and a dashboard for monitoring the progress of these identified 181 tasks of NEP with clear timelines and targets may be prepared. A monthly and weekly calendar should be drawn up for implementation of the tasks so that every stake holder is updated about its implementation.

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