National education policy to be implemented in Jammu and Kashmir from April

JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Thursday said the National Education Policy, 2020 will be implemented in the Union territory from April. A high-level meeting was chaired by Advisor to the LG Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, School Education and Literacy Department Secretary Anita Karwal and Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta to discuss the functioning of the School Education Department to resolve the operational issues being faced in implementation of the education policy and other schemes.

"The National Education Policy is being implemented in Jammu and Kashmir from April 1," a senior official said. Under the policy, the School Education Department was asked to immediately rollout Vidya Pravesh, a preschool preparation programme for Class 1 students, officials said. The programme consists of a three-month play module and the Indian Sign language as a subject at secondary level, they added.

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The department will soon receive Rs 259 crore from the Finance Department for Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, besides Rs 28.1 crore as the UT's share, enabling it to submit the utilisation certificate of entire fund of Rs 464 crore to Government of India within one week, they said. The department was asked to prioritise early resolution of other financial issues towards effective implementation of the scheme, they said.

To suitably train teachers to impart quality education, the department was asked to ensure 100 per cent participation in the Integrated Teacher Training Program NISHTHA 2.0 by the NCERT (National Council of Education Research and Training), they said.

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It was also asked to activate all its block and cluster resource centres, the officials said. It was informed that to promote cognitive development in children between 3 to 8 years, the Centre has launched a National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat), they said.

The initiative will ensure that every child in the country attains foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) by the end of Class 3 by 2026-27. The department was asked to implement the initiative throughout primary schools, they said. It was also decided to open 10 model schools in every district, they said.