The NEP 2020 is a milestone in the educational ecosystem in India. It is being perceived as a holistic, comprehensive and transformative policy response to the problems that have prevailed in the pattern of education in India. The policy provides for graded academic, administrative and financial autonomy to institutions and a single regulator for all institutions of higher education, working under a self-disclosure based transparent system for approvals in place of numerous ‘inspections’.

Announcing the policy, Higher Education Secretary Amit Khare said, “There are over 45,000 affiliated colleges in our country. Under graded autonomy, academic, administrative and financial autonomy will be given to colleges on the basis of the status of their accreditation. E-courses will be developed in regional languages. Virtual labs will be developed and a National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) is being created.” He said formulating the policy had involved extensive consultation with governments, departments, academia and even Gram Panchayats.

Upasana of BW Education collates the views of many stakeholders in the education ecosystem on NEP 2020.

AMIT BANSAL FOUNDER & CEO, WIZKLUB 

“The new policy is progressive and addresses the changing needs of the future workplace. The focus on building Higher Order Thinking Skills such as logical thinking, critical thinking and problem-solving skills in early years is a step in the right direction. These skills are going to be the most important skills for success in professional life in the coming decade. 

“Also, since these skills are best developed by the age of 14 years, the NEP vision to include these skills in foundational and preparatory years is a great decision. However, the transition from the current Rote Memorisation to building Higher Order Thinking Skills is not an easy one ... However, skill-building does require an experiential environment where each student participates actively and receives feedback ...”

MALABIKA SARKAR, VICE CHANCELLOR, ASHOKA UNIVERSITY 

“The much-awaited NEP 2020 is a step in the right direction and will help achieve the mission of Literate India soon. A GER of 50 per cent is an important target and all universities must contribute to it. The initiatives announced under NEP 2020 should help achieve this target. 

“Government-recognised multiple entry and exit options at the undergraduate level will give more options to the youth. This, supported by an Academic Bank of Credit to digitally store academic credits, will go a long way in providing a favourable environment to students to plan their education. Ashoka has a unique one-year multidisciplinary Young India Fellowship programme that is crafted to offer students a rich postgraduate experience in one year.”

BRIJ MOHAN GUPTA, CO-FOUNDER, VIDYAMANDIR CLASSES 

“We really appreciate the imperative move that has been taken by our current government to bring in systematic changes in the age-old education system and make it more flexible. We thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for highlighting the various important facets of the Nation Education Policy. The government has emphasised on the current needs and aspirations of 21st-century youth and has ensured that the new policy is as an age of learning, research and innovation. 

“The New National Education Policy reflects the vision of ensuring job creation and making India a hub of entrepreneurs in the next few years. By focusing on interdisciplinary study, the government has focussed on the holistic growth of a student which is the need of the contemporary world. We also appreciate the concept of Academy Bank which is going to lessen the unnecessary burden on students. Furthermore, the emphasis on local languages is a clear-cut vision.”

SANJAY PADODE, CHAIRMAN, IFIM BUSINESS SCHOOL 

“Whilst everyone is quite enthralled about the liberal framework, I am highly impressed with the recommendation of conducting the foundation years in the mother tongue. This will surely help our students learn the basic concepts quickly without having to deal with an alien language. This policy, if implemented in spirit and word, will not only revive and propagate the Indian tradition and values globally, it will also embed essential skills in our students and transform them into professionals, entrepreneurs and leaders of tomorrow and beyond. In my view, this is a transformative policy.”

SHISHIR JAIPURIA, CHAIRMAN, SETH ANANDRAM JAIPURIA EDUCATION SOCIETY 

“National Education Policy 2020 offers a number of well-reasoned and bold reformative steps in the right direction.”

NIRANJAN HIRANANDANI, PROVOST, HSNC UNIVERSITY 

“All of us at HSNC University thank the forward-looking vision of Hon’ble Narendra Modiji in the National Education Policy and for taking it to a universal level. He rightly emphasised on the need of the hour and its relevance of inclusion in the policy as a reflection of the aspirants. 

“We are more than glad to go hand in hand for a better future by providing interdisciplinary studies, flexible entry and exit in courses, opportunities for global compatibility and room for all kinds of improvement the 21st-century generation requires in having the nation recognised as a global education hub.”

DIVYA LAL, MANAGING DIRECTOR, FLIPLEARN 

“The New Education Policy is a refreshing shift and a bold corrective action in our approach to education in India and we welcome it whole-heartedly. Technology will now play a much bigger role not just in planning and administration, but pedagogy, content, tutelage and assessment; which is both futuristic and transformative, to say the least. The increased focus on technology, digital empowerment of schools, will encourage institutions to upgrade their technology.”

ROSHAN LAL RAINA, VICE CHANCELLOR, JK LAKSHMIPAT UNIVERSITY 

“The New National Education policy is a momentous decision taken by the government and we welcome the integrated approach which forms the core of the key reforms. 

“The new policy will act as a melting pot for the phase-wise and end-to-end roadmap for coherent continuity of education in the country. It was a much-needed reform to keep the earlier NEP in sync with the challenges and requirements of the multi-discipline driven digital world. This will benefit Next Generation students and graduates who are going to lead our country in times to come .”

MOHAMMED ZEESHAN, CO-FOUNDER & CEO, MYCAPTAIN 

“With interdisciplinary studies and a more liberal approach with respect to student choices we will be noticing a considerable change in career decisions and career trends. The students will be able to make more informed career decisions, and with vocational studies and internships even get practical hands-on experience with hard-skills. There has already been a significant mindset shift around careers as JEE aspirants and enrolments in engineering colleges have seen a constant decline. The concern, however, remains that focus on topics like coding and AI being introduced earlier in the curriculum, points towards how there is still a bias towards STEM fields. 

“We believe the provision for (allowing students to) exit after the 1st, 2nd and 3rd year is a brilliant move and will further boost innovation, startups, patents, research work and give students more opportunity, encouragement and freedom to take what was earlier considered a ‘bold’ career decision.”

DISHAN KAMDAR, VICE CHANCELLOR, FLAME UNIVERSITY 

“I would like to congratulate the Ministry for announcing the National Education Policy 2020. This is going to be a game-changer for the future of the education system in India. Multidisciplinary colleges in every district by 2030 will encourage liberal arts education to a great extent. India will have the largest percentage of young population in the world by 2030. The renewed focus on arts, humanities, the importance of research, mandating all institutions to offer a multi-disciplinary form of education will ensure that we will skill our young people for life and prepare them for diverse careers in the future.”