MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
(SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)
(a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 9 FOR REPLY ON 25.04.2016 ASKED BY SHRI C. MAHENDRAN AND SHRI BHAIRON PRASAD MISHRA REGARDING “NEW EDUCATION POLICY”
(a) to (e): The National Education Policy was framed in 1986 and modified in 1992. More than two decades have passed since then and during this period significant changes have taken place in our country, society economy, and the world at large. New technologies have transformed the way in which we live, work, and communicate with each other with easy flow of information and knowledge, within the country and across the world. Nations and economies are more connected now. So also, the corpus of knowledge has vastly expanded and research has become multi-disciplinary, and far more collaborative. Skilled manpower is in demand globally. Innovation is at the core of global leadership. It is in this context that the education sector needs to gear itself towards the challenges and demands of the 21st Century and meet the current needs of the people and the country. Quality, innovation and research are the foundations on which our country can become a knowledge super power. All this calls for a New Education Policy.
The Government is in the process of framing a New Education Policy (NEP), which is aimed at meeting the changing dynamics of the population’s requirement with regard to quality education, innovation and research, aiming to make India a knowledge superpower by equipping its students with the necessary skills and knowledge and to eliminate the shortage of manpower in science, technology, academics and industry; for which it carried out nearly a year-long consultation process. The 33 identified themes across both the sectors on which inputs and suggestions were invited cover a spectrum of varied issues and challenges in education relating to access, quality of teaching and teachers, improving learning outcomes, making education relevant to changing socio-economic needs, linking education to language and culture, inclusion, skill development, technology enabled learning, employability, research and innovation, issues of autonomy and accountability, quality assurance, etc.
For a deliberation on the consultation process, meetings were organized by the Ministry with the Government of India Ministries as well as with the State Education Ministers, Education Secretaries and other senior officials of the State Governments explaining the grassroots consultation process and inviting their suggestions. The consultation process was also one of the agenda points in the meeting of Central Advisory Board on Education (CABE) held in August 2015.
After taking into account all suggestions, an unprecedented collaborative, multi-stakeholder and multi-pronged consultation process, through online, grassroots and offline deliberations was undertaken. The online consultations on www.MyGov.in portal were held from 26th January, 2015 to 31st October, 2015 and over 29,000 suggestions have been received. An extensive, time-bound, participative, bottom-up consultative process across nearly all Gram Panchayats, Blocks, Urban Local Bodies and districts of all 36 States/Union Territories was undertaken between May to October, 2015. Thematic consultations were driven both by the Ministry and also by the institutions like University Grants Commission, All India Council for Technical Education, National Council for Teacher Education, National Council for Educational Research and Training and several centrally funded universities and institutions, autonomous bodies, attached offices on the individual themes inviting all relevant stakeholders including experts, academics, industry representatives, civil society etc. in July-October, 2015. Six Zonal meetings were held by the Minister of Human Resource Development in Eastern, Central, North-Eastern, Western, Southern and Northern Zones covering all States and UTs in September-October 2015.
Six online talks with leading subject experts, field practitioners engagement through the UN Solutions Exchange platform , online survey by CBSE with over 15000 responses, youth survey and focus group discussions covering 6017 youth by Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Education for Peace and Sustainable Development, UNESCO Category-I Institute in Asia Pacific were conducted as part of the public engagement. In addition, several organizations and individuals have sent in their views, suggestions, inputs through post and emails.
Minister for Human Resource Development wrote to all Hon’ble Members of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha in July 2015 inviting their suggestions and considered views on the New Education Policy.
The Government of India has constituted a Committee for Evolution of the New Education Policy, which consists of Shri T.S.R. Subramanian, Former Cabinet Secretary as the Chairman and Smt. Shailaja Chandra, former Chief Secretary, NCT of Delhi, Shri Sevaram Sharma, former Home Secretary, NCT of Delhi, Shri Sudhir Mankad, former Chief Secretary, Gujarat & Prof. J.S. Rajput, former Director, NCERT as the members. All the suggestions received from multiple stakeholders have been forwarded to the Committee. The Committee is mandated to examine the outcome documents, recommendations and suggestions received and formulate a draft National Education Policy as well as a Framework for Action (FFA).
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