NEP draft ‘wishful’ document, has no roadmap for implementation: Manish Sisodia

The draft for the Centre’s National Education Policy (NEP) is a “good wishful” document but there is no roadmap for how the changes will be implemented, according to Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

Sisodia, who is also Delhi’s Education minister, said sans a step-wise implementation plan, the NEP may end up in a “disaster” like the no-detention policy.

“Broadly, it is a good draft except a few small things here and there the concepts they have talked about are good. They have set targets that one has to reach rooftop but policy does not talk about step one that how will they reach there,” he told PTI in an interview.

“That is what the disaster happened in no detention policy, right to education was made a fundamental right and no-detention policy was implemented without any preparatory measures. They could have said that in one year B.Ed programmes will be changed, next year books will be replaced, in the third year examination pattern will be revamped and then no-detention policy will be implemented.

“Teachers did not know what to do and how. They just knew that they were not supposed to fail children. Similar thing can happen here, NEP implementation may end up like the no-detention policy,” he added.

A panel headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Kasturirangan had submitted the draft of the new National Education Policy (NEP) to Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ when he took charge.

The draft was then put in public domain to seek feedback from various stakeholders and over two lakh suggestions were received by the HRD Ministry about the same.

“They have defined some good concepts like introduction of learning outcomes. But how? Their B.Ed programmes are running on rot learning and so are teacher training programmes. Has the government asked the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) to work on a draft B.Ed. programme in accordance with NEP?,” he said.

“Unless there is roadmap for implementation it is a good wishful draft. They must fix the linkages and there should be an year-wise timeline for implementation,” Sisodia added.

The existing NEP was framed in 1986 and revised in 1992. A new education policy was part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s manifesto ahead of the 2014 general election.

The drafting experts also took into account the report of a panel headed by former cabinet secretary T S R Subramanian and formed by the HRD Ministry when it was being headed by Smriti Irani.

Incorporating Indian knowledge systems in the curriculum, constituting National Education Commission, renaming MHRD as Ministry of Education and curbing arbitrary fees hikes by private schools are among the recommendations

The NEP draft suggests that students be allowed to take a board examination in a given subject in whichever semester they take the corresponding class in school, that is whenever they feel most ready.

It also called for a policy to allow students to repeat subjects in the board examination if they feel they can study and do better.-PTI news