National Education Policy is the foundation stone for building a great India: Amit Shah on two years of NEP

NEW DELHI: The new National Education Policy (NEP) is the foundation stone for building a great India, said Union Home Minister Amit Shah on two years of NEP 2020 today in the presence of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and education officials. During the event, Shah launched several new initiatives such as school innovation policy, Vidya Amrit Portal, 200 virtual labs, skill-india partnership with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) for a three-year degree programme etc.

While addressing the event, Shah said that despite COVID-19 pandemic in India since the last two years, a buzz has been created around NEP 2020 which contains seeds of its success. The minister said that he can visualize the Superpower India in the buzz.

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Talking about the inclusions in NEP 2020, Shah mentioned that regional languages have been given significant importance in the new education policy. “Unfortunately, our country and languages were seen in direct proportion to intellect which is not correct,” he said and added that the tri-language formula has been introduced in NEP.

Emphasizing on the importance of regional languages, Shah said that if we have to make our country a hub of Research and Development (R&D), the very process has to be carried out in the child's own language. Knowledge creation and research have also been given significance in NEP. “R&D is very less in India, NEP will give thrust to it which will help enliven our economy,” the minister said.

Objectives of NEP 2020

Enlightening on the aims and objectives of NEP 2020 in the coming years, the Home Minister stated that it aims to make 50% students in school and higher education employed by the year 2025. NEP aims to provide a platform to every kind of talent students possess, he added.

Shah went on to say that the launch of the proposed multidisciplinary education and research university (MERU) in the NEP will play an important role and will make india a global-study destination. The aim is to have a multi-disciplinary institution in each district by the year 2030, he said.

Referring to state education officials present during the occasion, Shah said that without the support of states, NEP will not be successful. He urged education officials of states to prepare a roadmap for the implementation of NEP in states.

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In primary education, several initiatives have been launched and the drop-out rate has decreased to 1.3% which was 4.2% earlier, remarked Shah. Stressing on introduction and importance of regional languages in higher education in NEP, the minister mentioned that exams such as Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET), Central University Entrance Test (CUET) were conducted in regional languages.

Further Amit Shah said, “NEP is a medium to make children ‘big’ citizens and all rounders” and congratulated everyone on two years of NEP 2020.