Significance of educational reforms is of utmost importance for a holistic vision on transforming learning. Asserting that National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has brought together the best of country’s ancient heritage and the best of modern learning, the President of India Sh. Ram Nath Kovind has said that NEP2020 is a well- planned and decisive step towards recovering India’s legacy of rich education system. “Prior to the British rule, India has had a rich system of education which Mahatma Gandhi described as a beautiful tree and one that was cut down by what the British rulers called reforms,” said the President in his address at the 16th convocation of Thiravalluvar University.
The President asserted that we are yet to fully recover from those drastic changes and recover our legacy. National Education Policy has a holistic vision of transforming the way children and youth will be educated to make learning a part of personal development while also serving the needs of society. The NEP brings together the best of our country’s ancient heritage and the best of modern learning. “It gives emphasis on moral education and awareness of Indian culture. A student coming out of such a system will have a higher degree of self-confidence and will also be better equipped to meet the challenges of the future,” the President added.
“The New Education Policy also takes into account what is needed to build a prosperous and self-reliant nation. For this, the higher education system must enable equity, expertise and empowerment. The National Education Policy seeks to achieve these objectives. As Noble Laurate C.V. Raman had put it, higher education institutions should lead the nation towards knowledge expansion and economic growth. That precisely is the thrust of the new policy.” The President said. He expressed great satisfaction that India’s higher system of education has expanded to reach out to serve the rural and marginalised sections and that India has become the third largest education system in the world.
In the context of what has been stated above, it may be added that in our enthusiasm to churn our world class professionals who, it is assumed, would pave the way for a ‘shining India’ or the ‘IT SUPERPOWER’, one need to keep in mind, to produce and nurture resources, namely the teachers, who contribute to nation building, as much as, anybody else. In spite of various reforms measures and initiatives the image, competence and commitment of a typical teacher in India need to be ensured, since we fail to attract the best and the brightest into the teaching profession. We know about teachers who have left indelible impression on the lives of their taught. In times of rapid change, as of now, old notions and concepts are redefined /recast. So is the role of a teacher.
‘Wings of Fire’, Dr. A. P. J Abdul Kalam’s autobiography, gives a vivid account of the influence his teachers had on his life right from his school days. Teachers, thus, motivate students to dream the seemingly impossible and encourage them to believe that nothing is impossible. While implementing the National Education Policy 2020, the experience from the countries, which have supplemented their investment with measures to attract, recruit, train and retain teachers forming the cream of their graduating class, need to be utilized. Let us remember that as nation builder neither the quality nor the quantity of teachers can be compromised upon.