President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday (September 19) said that the New Education Policy (NEP) will bring flexibility in the education system and will allow students to take courses as per their vocational, professional or intellectual requirements. He said that it will also allow them suitable exit and re-entry points.
Highlighting the benefits of the policy, President said that the effective implementation of the NEP 2020 is likely to restore India’s glory as a great centre of learning. He stressed that Universities and institutes of higher education should be centres of innovation and they should aim at providing innovative solutions to national and local problems.
He said that for making India self-dependent, community participation and use of local resources should be encouraged for providing solutions to local problems.
Lauding NEP, President said, ”One of the most important features of the National Education Policy is its focus on equity and inclusion. In this context, I am glad to note that according to All India Survey of Higher Education for 2018-19, GER for females is slightly higher than that for males.”
Ensuring that the New Education Policy will be beneficial for India’s education system, he said, ”I am sure that the National Education Policy will be implemented in letter and spirit. It will be a milestone in the history of our country. It will not only strengthen the future of our youth but also set our country on course to becoming ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.”
Speaking on concern for gender justice in the field of education, the President highlighted that the higher education ecosystem should reflect concern for gender justice in terms of enrolment and contribution, specially in technical institutions.
Education facilities based on ICT are to be expanded to meet the challenges in providing quality education for all, said President Kovind.
In a series of Tweets he said, ”India was a globally respected education hub in ancient times. Universities at Takshashila and Nalanda had iconic status. But today, India’s higher education institutions do not get high positions in global rankings.” He added, ”The NEP 2020 document mentions nearly 20 great scientists, saint-scholars and thinkers from ancient India. I request you all to develop study material on them and other such great ancient scholars. Their work should be rewritten in modern terminology.”
He said that the NEP 2020 targets to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio or GER in higher education to 50 percent by 2035.