Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, while speaking at an event to mark the second anniversary of National Education Policy 2020 on July 29 in New Delhi said that the National Education Policy 2020 is an antidote to the Macaulay’s system of education which was designed to colonise our minds.
The National Education Policy 2020 is now India’s present and India’s future and is representative of Indian way of thought, he further added. Speaking about importance of education, he said that education can enable India to reach the pinnacle of success and the society is looking upto us with expectations and hope to make it happen. Our educational aspiration is not only for earning degrees and certificates but also to achieve global good, he further added.
Union Home & Cooperation Minister, Amit Shah who was the chief guest of the event launched a slew of new initiatives related to education and skill development. Speaking about role of NEP, he said that the National Education Policy will lay the foundation of self-reliant, strong, prosperous and secure India and this education policy is a means of reaching every child and shaping their future.
He said that the National Education Policy 2020 is not just a policy document but a reflection of the aspirations of all the learners, academicians and citizens working in the education sector of India. Speaking about role of mother tongue and Indian languages, he said that whether it is technical education, medical education or law education, when we do not teach all these in Indian languages, then we are able to use only 5% by limiting the capabilities of the country, but when we teach in these subjects in Indian languages we are able to utilize the 100% capacity of the country. There is a close relationship between research and the education system in the Mother tongue, one who thinks in his own language can do well in research because his original thinking ability is developed in his own language, he further added.
Along with incorporating India’s culture and knowledge tradition in NEP 2020, the way has also been opened to incorporate innovations, thinking and modernity from all over the world and there is no place for narrow thinking in it, he further added.
Amit Shah also said that the main objective of this policy is to groom such students who have a sense of national pride as well as world welfare and have the potential to become a global citizen in the true sense. He also spoke about the 5 main pillars of this policy- Enhancement of Capacity, Accessibility, Quality, Fairness and Accountability. He said that the benefit of India’s knowledge and research should not be limited to India only, but the whole world should receive it.
Speaking about skill development, he said that In this education policy, a target has been set to provide vocational education to at least 50% of the students in the school and higher education system by 2025 which is a very important step.
