“Education is the key that unlocks the golden door to freedom.” —George Washington Carver. Of the latest 2021 survey conducted by the World Population Review, India stands at the 32nd position on education quality. Over the years, education has been the backbone of a strong economy. Years before, it began with a “guru” teaching a child under a tree to a well-developed infrastructural class and much more in years to come.
There are many Indian examinations like UPSC, IIT-JEE, CA, NEET, GATE, ETC. However, most of these are after completion of primary education now with the new education policy changes at the basic education level. The New National Education Policy 2023 is a watershed event in the educational system of India. On July 29, 2020, the Ministry of Education, formerly known as the Ministry of Human Resource Development, made substantial revisions to education policy after 34 years of following the same rules. The Indian government just passed the New Education Policy for the year 2023.
The fundamental goal of the National Education Policy is to increase the standard of education in India to a worldwide level, allowing the country to emerge due to the National Education Policy’s universalization of education.
The most noticeable change in the New Education Policy 2023 is replacing the 10+2 framework with the 5+3+3+4 structure. For a long time, the 10+2 has been employed in our educational system. As a result, a complete change in that framework may perplex the youth.
Under the Pedagogical and Circular Structure, the government has separated student instruction into four divisions. The four categories are secondary, middle, preparatory, and fundamental. These four levels of education will be essential to students’ educational progress throughout their school years. The Foundation Stage is the initial phase in a child’s education.
This program will train students for 5 years. This five year will include the pre-primary. The preparation stage will be the second stage. This educational stage will likewise last three years. The intermediate and secondary phases will be laid out in the third, fourth, and fifth grades. Middle school will be the third stage of schooling.
This is for 6th and 8th-grade pupils. These three years will prepare students for secondary school’s last stage of their education. The secondary stage will be the final phase of students’ educational lives; instead of two years, students will have four years to finish their secondary education from class 9 to class 12.The primary objectives of the new policy can be stated as:
- Determine and cultivate the potential of each kid
- Improve children’s reading and math skills.
- Providing chances for flexible learning
- Invest in public education.
- Improve the quality of education
- Introduce Indian culture to youngsters.
- Conduct outstanding research, educate good governance, and empower youngsters.
- Education policy transparency
- Emphasise the use of technology and assess
- Teach a variety of languages
- Enhance your child’s creativity and logical reasoning
The Ministry of Education replaced the previous education policy with the new education policy. The Ministry of Human Resources has been renamed the Ministry of Education. Except for medical and legal courses, the national education policy will henceforth make education universal. The division of science, commerce, and arts streams in the education system will be irrelevant from now onwards. Importance will be given to analytical and logical rather than the old-fashioned long paraphrased answers. There will be a role of digital learning with major computer languages. Board examinations will be held only twice a year. The M. Phil (a requirement to hold a doctorate degree) will be passed out.
Now, a child can skip a specific division of science, arts, or humanities. A child with good art likes mathematics, so the child can carry on with subjects of his liking. Under the new education policy, many such combinations can be taken according to the field of interest. Also, previously, a three-year study was required to get a minimum degree certificate, due to which many students had been dropouts as many lost interest or financial crisis. The new policy gives an edge. Anyone can pursue a subject, and if he or she lacks interest, he or she can try something else without a year’s loss, as he or she will be rewarded with a certificate. There are many popular and important international examinations like The Test of English as a Foreign Language, the International English Language Testing System, the Graduate Record Examination, the Graduate Management Admission Test, the Scholastic Aptitude Test, and many others. Different universities require different scores; however, an average score of 6.0 to 7.0 is accepted for IELTS. Each university has different requirements according to which students have to appear for exams, IELTS being the most common where English is a native language. The National Institutional Ranking Framework is a mechanism used by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, to rate higher education institutions in India. It is an essential key that is taken into consideration for admission to a prestigious institution. As of the latest update in 2023, IIT Madras has the highest NIRF ranking with a score of 90.04, followed by IISc Bangalore with 83.90, and finally, IIT Delhi with 82.16. With such policies and achievements, the country as a whole is taking steps towards progression. As every famously said, “education is the key to success”- Solomon Ortiz.