New Education Policy 2020: Less focus on ‘board exams’, common university entrance test for college admissions, more emphasis on regional languages

The New National Educational Policy (NEP), approved by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday focuses on complete systematic reforming of the education system in India and includes the revision of school syllabus, changes in the structure of board examinations to test core competencies, revising the structuring of school years and even the introduction of university entrance examinations for college admissions. We are listing down some of the most revolutionary changes in pipeline which will impact the overall education system of India, under the New Education Policy 2020. It should be noted that the last changes in the education policy of India were done in the year 1986, nearly 30 years ago.

The new education policy states that “ where ever possible, the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the home language/ mother-tongue/ local language/ regional language. Thereafter, the home/local language shall continue to be taught as a language wherever possible. This will be followed by both public and private schools.”

The old structure of the 10+2 school education system will be revised as the 5+3+3+4 system, wherein the first 5 years (including three years of pre-school education and class 1 and 2) will be the foundation stage education, followed by three years of pre-primary education (classes 3 to 5), three years of preparatory education (classes 6 to 8) and fours years of secondary education (9 to 12).

Students will be able to study the subjects and courses they are interested in, as schools will not have any rigid formation of the three streams. All the subjects will be offered at two levels of proficiency.

Under the new education policy, the much-hyped 10th and 12th-grade board exams, which are known to be immensely stressful for students, will be revamped as well. The focus will now be shifted to test core competencies (concepts) of students and not rote learning. It is aimed to promote the quest for knowledge in children and help in their holistic development. As per the NEP, all students will be allowed to take Board Exams on up to two occasions during any given school year, one main examination and one for improvement, if desired.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct a common entrance examination for university admission, which will include an aptitude test and specialised common subject examination for all the three streams. The entrance examination will be conducted twice every year for university admissions.

The undergraduate degree, which is usually of three/four years will now come with multiple exit options during the length of the course. Those who leave the course after completing one year will be given a certificate in discipline and those who drop out after 2 or 3 years of completion will be given a diploma and Bachelor’s degree respectively. Overall, the 4-year multidisciplinary Bachelor’s program will be the preferred choice for the students as they will be awarded a degree with research if they complete a project alongside their degree.

The new education policy aims to include Sanskrit as one of the main languages in the three languages formula. The policy also proposes Sanskrit to be offered at all levels of school and higher education.

The NEP 2020 calls for a dedicated unit to take care of the digital and online education system of India at both school and higher education level.

100 top-ranked foreign universities will be allowed to set up campuses in India. As per the policy document, “such (foreign) universities will be given special dispensation regarding regulatory, governance, and content norms on par with other autonomous institutions of India.”

The new policy also proposes school students to have at least 10 bag-less days in a year to promote vocational skills of the students' choice in the form of arts, quizzes, internships with vocational experts etc.