Maharashtra's 144 autonomous institutions to start NEP implementation this academic year: Minister

MUMBAI: At least 144 autonomous educational institutions in Maharashtra will start implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) from the current academic year, state minister Chandrakant Patil said on Friday. Addressing a news conference here, the higher education minister said the NEP 2020 will be implemented in phases. In the first phase, 87 general and 57 professional autonomous educational institutes in the state will implement the policy in this academic year, Patil said.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has given approval to 36 educational institutes to operate as autonomous bodies, he said.

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"These (autonomous) institutes should start the courses according to the new National Education Policy using their autonomy," Patil said. The move will provide at least 3,500 colleges in the state a framework or model for implementation of the new policy, he said.

The minister said by September 30, all universities will have to declare a plan for the implementation of the NEP, and then finalise it by December 31.

"From January 1, 2024, six months before (the start of the academic year), the implementation plan can be announced," Patil said. The NEP implementation will be 100 per cent in the academic year 2024-25, according to a statement. The NEP replaces the 34-year-old National Policy on Education framed in 1986 and is aimed at paving the way for transformational reforms in school and higher education systems to make India a global knowledge superpower.

Choice between 3 or 4-year undergraduate courses, multiple entry and exit options in degree courses, adding 3.5 crore seats in higher education institutions, discontinuation of MPhil programmes and fixation of fees are among the higher education reforms outlined in the new policy.