Context

• India has made remarkable strides in recent years in attaining near-universal enrollment in elementary education through initiatives such as the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (now the Samagra Shiksha) and the Right to Education Act.
• However, the data for higher grades indicate some serious issues in retaining children in the schooling system. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for Grades 6-8 was 90.9%, while for grades 11-12 it was only 56.5%, which indicates that a significant proportion of enrolled students drop out after Grade 8.
• In this context, the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is attempting to reduce the dropout rate and achieve a 100% GER from preschool to secondary levels by 2030.

New Education Policy 2020 

• NEP focuses on reforming and revamping all aspects of the education structure, including its regulation and governance, to create a new system that is aligned with the aspirational goals of 21st-century education. It is also envisaged to strengthen and expand high-quality institutions.
• As per the NEP, in addition to cognitive development, the students also need to be equipped with critical 21st-century skills. Experiential learning methods proposed under the NEP will increasingly be adopted, including hands-on learning, arts-integrated and sports-integrated education, story-telling-based pedagogy, and include explorations of relations among different subjects.
• To close the gap in the achievement of learning outcomes, classroom transactions will shift towards competency-based learning and education. Every student would be able to sample a hands-on experience of important vocational crafts, such as carpentry, electric work, metalwork, gardening, pottery making, etc.,– decided by States and local communities and as mapped by local skilling needs.
• A total of 750 virtual labs in science and mathematics and 75 skilling e-labs are planned to be set up for simulated learning  environments.
• Similarly, to maintain the high quality of education, a National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development)– as a standard-setting body under Ministry of Education that fulfills the basic objectives of setting norms, standards, and guidelines for student assessment and evaluation for all recognised school boards of India, guiding the State Achievement Survey (SAS) has also been proposed in NEP.
• Apart from the above, NEP aims to establish school complexes/clusters, and the sharing of resources across complexes will have a number of other benefits as a consequence, such as improved support for children with disabilities, more topic-centred clubs, and academic/sports clubs.
• It is proposed to develop a National Digital Education Architecture (NDEAR) to support teaching and learning activities including educational planning, governance, and administrative activities of the Centre and the States/Union Territories.
• Apart from this, enhancing teachers’ training and introduction of indigenous toy-based learning also need to be prioritised.
• Further, it is also proposed to expand and strengthen open schools for meeting the learning needs of the youth of India who are not able to attend a physical school.

Key Schemes to achieve objectives of NEP

• Exemplar: The Scheme of Exemplar aims to prepare more than 15000 schools of excellence which will help showcase the implementation of the NEP 2020 and emerge as exemplars and schools of excellence over a period of time. They will provide leadership in their respective regions in providing high-quality education in an equitable, inclusive, and joyful school environment that takes care of the diverse background, multilingual needs, and different academic abilities of children and makes them active participants in their own learning process as per the vision of NEP 2020.
• New India Literacy Programme (NILP): It is a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Adult Education for Financial Years 2022-27. The objective of the scheme is to impart not only foundational literacy and numeracy but also to cover other components which are necessary for a citizen of 21st century such as critical life skills, vocational skills development, basic education and continuing education. The scheme will cover non-literates of the age of 15 years and above in all state/UTs in the country.
• Operation Digital Board (ODB): The Scheme of ODB provides class-centric digital intervention for teaching and learning and is proposed to be implemented for class IX to XII in all the government and aided schools in the country.  
• Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN): PM POSHAN is one of the foremost rights-based Centrally Sponsored Schemes under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA). The main objectives of the Scheme (earlier known as Mid-Day Meal Scheme) are to address two of the pressing problems for the majority of children in India, viz. hunger and education by improving the nutritional status of eligible children in Government and Government-aided schools as well as encouraging poor children, belonging to disadvantaged sections, to attend school more regularly and help them concentrate on classroom activities.
• Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme (DHRUV): This Scheme is an initiative to  provide guidance from renowned/prominent persons in their field to select talented students.
• Samagra Shiksha: The erstwhile Schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), and Strengthening of Teacher Training Institutions have been merged to form the Scheme of Samagra Shiksha. The merger intends to give a holistic and integrated approach to School Education in line with NEP 2020.
• Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS): The STARS project seeks to support the States in developing, implementing, evaluating, and improving interventions with direct linkages to improved  education outcomes and school to work transition strategies for improved labour market outcomes.
• ASPIRE (Accelerating State Education Program to Improve Results): ASPIRE is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme supported by Asian Development Bank. ASPIRE will assist the central government in implementing Samagra Shiksha, to improve education outcomes in Assam, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, and Uttarakhand.

Way Forward  

• Public spending on education has been in the range of 2-3.5% of GDP. The reforms envisaged through NEP would require a substantial increase in public expenditure on education.
• A coherent model of synchronisation of funds for the education sector should be developed. The Central Budget may examine the State Governments’ budget provisions on education before making budget allocations for the education sector.
• This convergence of State and Central Government funds and educational schemes would be useful in many ways to achieve the objectives of NEP 2020.