Salient Features of NEP2020: Higher Education

• Recognizing, identifying, and fostering the unique capabilities of each student, by sensitizing teachers as well as parents to promote each student’s holistic development in both academic and non-academic spheres.
• According the highest priority to achieving Foundational Literacy and Numeracy by all students by Grade 3.
• Flexibility, so that learners have the ability to choose their learning trajectories and programmes, and thereby choose their own paths in life according to their talents and interests;
• No hard separations between arts and sciences, between curricular and extra-curricular activities, between vocational and academic streams, etc. in order to eliminate harmful hierarchies among, and silos between different areas of learning.
• Multidisciplinary and a holistic education across the sciences, social sciences, arts, humanities, and sports for a multidisciplinary world in order to ensure the unity and integrity of all knowledge;
• Emphasis on conceptual understanding rather than rote learning and learning-for-exams.;
• Creativity and critical thinking to encourage logical decision-making and innovation;
• Ethics and human & Constitutional values like empathy, respect for others, cleanliness, courtesy, democratic spirit, spirit of service, respect for public property, scientific temper, liberty, responsibility, pluralism, equality, and justice;
• Promoting multilingualism and the power of language in teaching and learning;
• Life skills such as communication, cooperation, teamwork, and resilience;
• Focus on regular formative assessment for learning rather than the summative assessment that encourages today’s ‘coaching culture’;
• Extensive use of technology in teaching and learning, removing language barriers, increasing access for Divyang students, and educational planning and management;
• Respect for diversity and respect for the local context in all curriculum, pedagogy, and policy, always keeping in mind that education is a concurrent subject;
• Full equity and inclusion as the cornerstone of all educational decisions to ensure that all students are able to thrive in the education system;
• Synergy in curriculum across all levels of education from early childhood care and education to school education to higher education;
• Teachers and faculty as the heart of the learning process – their recruitment, continuous professional development, positive working environments and service conditions;
• A ‘light but tight’ regulatory framework to ensure integrity, transparency, and resource efficiency of the educational system through audit and public disclosure while encouraging innovation and out-of-the-box ideas through autonomy, good governance, and empowerment;
• Outstanding research as a corequisite for outstanding education and development;
• Continuous review of progress based on sustained research and regular assessment by educational experts;
• A rootedness and pride in India, and its rich, diverse, ancient and modern culture and knowledge systems and traditions.
• Education is a public service; access to quality education must be considered a basic right of every child;
• Substantial investment in a strong, vibrant public education system as well as the encouragement and facilitation of true philanthropic private and community participation.