Insights into Editorial: Has Kerala changed its stance on the NEP? – INSIGHTSIAS

 

Introduction:

The introduction of the National Education Policy, 2020 (NEP), Kerala has viewed the policy document with serious disagreements.

However, two years down the line, the State has begun to warm up to some of the provisions, albeit with considerable hesitance.

 

What prompted the State’s initial apathy to NEP, 2020?

1. Entrusted by the State Government to study the impacts of NEP, 2020, the Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) had constituted a committee chaired by noted economist Prabhat Patnaik which concluded that the policy is retrograde and presented an exclusionary vision of education.
2. It also raised concerns over the possible challenges that the scheme posed for access, equity, social justice and the reservation system.
3. The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) also felt NEP, 2020 sought to align the country’s education policy with the needs of private investment and techno-capitalism, while ignoring democratic principles and the federal system.
4. Some provisions, including the move to permit multiple entry and exit in academic programmes, were feared to legitimize dropouts.
5. The government also claimed the proposed National Research Foundation and the Board of Governance of Higher Education Institutions would “kill the democratic spirit of universities and their autonomy”.

 

How has the State altered its position?

1. In 2021, the government felt an urgent need to overhaul the higher education sector that appeared to have stagnated in contrast to school education in the State which has constantly topped national rankings.
2. That it emerged victorious on the poll plank of transitioning Kerala into a knowledge-based economy and arresting brain drain from the State led the government to embark on a series of reforms including relaxing its approach on academic autonomy and privatization.
   1. Example: The kerala State conference approved the ‘Nava Keralam’ vision document presented by CM of kerala which mooted private investments in higher education.
3. The seeds of change were sown, Government had, in 2020, constituted a committee to explore the possibility of establishing an ‘Education City’ in Kerala to offer courses in collaboration with foreign universities.
4. Notably, the panel included an official of one of the largest private universities in the country.

 

How has the government’s perception about the policy changed?

1. Of late, the government has begun to feel an urge to address the systemic rigidity that hindered multidisciplinary research and inter-university collaborations.
2. Besides, there has been a growing clamor to liberate universities from the clutches of political machinations and free colleges from the overbearing influence of universities.
3. A section of the academic community also called for relieving universities of their affiliation management chores and enabling them to focus on research.
4. In order to address such lacunae, the LDF Government has constituted three commissions to reform the higher education sector, the examination system and the statutory laws that govern universities.

 

What hinders its implementation?

Despite having adopted a pragmatic stance towards NEP, 2020, the government is yet to frame guidelines on implementing its provisions in the State.

It hoped to customize the reforms to suit its ideals of affirmative action and social justice.

Various logistical issues such as creating new posts that would burden the State exchequer amid the fiscal crunch have also put a spanner in the works.

 

Reforms required areas:

Multi-modal education:

Online, open and multi-modal learning have been promoted vigorously by both schools and higher education institutions.

This initiative has helped in reducing the learning loss due to the Covid-19 pandemic and will contribute greatly to achieving education in remote and inaccessible parts of the country.

SWAYAM, DIKSHA, SWAYAM PRABHA, Virtual Labs and other online resource portals have all seen a sharp rise in student registrations.

In addition to the above, UGC has notified Open and Distance Learning (ODL) and Online Programmes Regulations under which 59 Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) are offering 351 full-fledged Online programmes and 86 HEIs are offering 1081 ODL programmes.

The permissible limit of online content in a programme has also been raised to 40%.

Innovation and start-ups:

To encourage an ecosystem of start-up and innovation, 2,774 Institution Innovation Councils have been set up in HEIs in 28 States and six UTs.

Promotion of Indian languages:

Stress is being paid to multilingualism in education and testing to ensure that lack of knowledge of English does not impede the educational attainment of any student.

With this objective in mind, states are publishing bilingual/ trilingual textbooks at the foundational level and content on the DIKSHA platform has been made available in 33 Indian languages.

NIOS has introduced Indian Sign Language (ISL) as a language subject at the Secondary Level.

However, on a large scale, today remarked that NEP-2020 has created a suitable platform in universities and other educational institutions for translation of research, ideas and innovations into actions for betterment of society.

 

Conclusion:

While the Union Government has maintained that the NEP, 2020 is advisory in nature, many educationists feel that the State would do well to be mindful of the carrot-and-stick approach of the University Grants Commission.

The universities could be arm-twisted into implementing the provisions to avail themselves of various benefits in the future.

The 2020 NEP is built on ground pillars including access, equity, quality, affordability, and accountability. Its amendments aim to look realistic and towards the fast-pacing future.