NEP 2020 new approach to Indian education system: Rishikesh

Associate director of school education and professor at Azim Premji University B S Rishikesh said, "The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is a new approach to the Indian education system and for the first time, it encompasses both primary and higher education in the same policy document."

He was addressing principals of educational institutions, mainly CBSE Schools, during the Deccan Herald (DH) Prajavani (PV) Exam Mastermind seminar on ‘Dynamics of Education’, held in association with Mysuru Sahodaya School Complex, in Mysuru on Tuesday. The seminar focused on NEP 2020 – Shaping the Future of School Education in India.

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“NEP 2020 has a broader view of 'reading'. Reading is not just decoding letters and words, which is a form of basic literacy. Reading, as a concept, is to read, understand and apply one’s mind. It should become a habit. It should be a continuous process. Thus, DH-Prajavani Exam Mastermind is an excellent concept. The students get printed material on a regular basis, for five days a week. It inculcates a habit of reading regularly, because reading can come only by habit,” he said.

Rishikesh said, “DH-Prajavani Exam Mastermind can make a student sit and read for a minimum of 30 minutes. It can help the students to withdraw from gadgets and internet or virtual world. It will help students to focus on reading in a world where instant and shorter-form contents have become a norm. For all, including students, normal newspapers like Deccan Herald and Prajavani play a major role in popularising the habit of reading.”

He said that NEP 2020 cannot be implemented immediately, but the transition would be spread over the next 15 years.

“However, NEP 2020 would drastically change the curriculum, pedagogy and assessment of students aptitude and attitude. Thus, materials and approach will change. The National Curriculum Framework (NCF) committee and National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) are working on the NCF. It is expected to be ready in a couple of months,” Rishikesh said.

He said that ethics will be introduced at an early age and the students will be prepared to question and look for answers from a wide range of sources.

The participants, principals of various schools, played word and number puzzles, facilitated by senior advisor, project management, Hoyt Games, Sanjay Arbatti.

Mastermind news editor Imtiaz Ahmad Sharieff, head of Sahodaya and Principal of Excel Public School K G Mathew, general manager M V Suresh, DH-Prajavani circulation general manager Oliver Lesley Veletinger, assistant general manager Jagganath Jois, Prajavani bureau chief K Narasimha Murthy, Deccan Herald bureau chief T R Sathish Kumar, circulation manager S Prakasha and advertisement manager K N Skandan Rao were present.