The year 2020 has been a year of intense turmoil for everyone all around the globe. The coronavirus pandemic apart from causing heavy loss of life also presented us with many challenges in every field, none greater than perhaps the questions which were asked of the education sector.
With schools and college campuses shut down, locking millions of students and teachers out of the classroom across the entire nation, online teaching apps and e-learning have become the growing face of education in India. The year 2020 will also be remembered for the prospective changes in the education system recommended by the government in its New Education Policy (NEP 2020).
The recommendations bear some similarity to the Kothari Commission Report, which was published in 1968 and was largely adopted as the first National Education Policy. At the same time, it also focuses on the need for the development of 21st-century skills and methods in teaching, learning, and methods of imparting education.
Having come at a time when almost all institutions have pivoted towards platforms to teach online, it also puts special focus on the development of online teaching infrastructure and training teachers for proficiency in online teaching.
Among the notable focus areas of the policy is the focus on the empowerment of teachers. Like the Kothari commission report which deemed quality, competence, and character of a teacher to be the most critical factor in uplifting the quality of education in the nation, NEP 2020 too states that our teachers truly shape the future of our children and therefore shape the future of our country.
The policy aims to improve teacher training conditions in the country, streamlining their recruitment process and improve their service conditions as these factors play an important part in raising teacher quality and motivation.
NEP 2020 has chalked out areas for implementation of systematic reforms which will facilitate the emergence of teaching as a lucrative career option thereby attracting young and bright minds towards the profession.
Several reforms with the aim to make teaching a profession of high status and respect are proposed in the NEP as it will eventually help in recruiting and deploying the best minds of our nation in the teaching profession.
Some of the key reforms are the promotion of the practice of pre-service teacher training and drafting of the National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE 2021) which will provide guidance in all matters related to training of teachers, both pre-service and in-service, as well as academic teachers, teachers for vocational education and likewise.
Moreover, the 4-year integrated B.Ed. degree, which is the minimum qualification required to become a schoolteacher as of now, is intended to be converted into an integrated, multi-disciplinary, and dual-major bachelor’s degree in education along with the subject of specialization. This will be a welcome change as it will open up more avenues for teachers and also improve their quality, knowledge, and qualification.
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National Testing Agency (NTA) shall conduct the assessment test for admission in this course by testing candidates on multiple parameters including the subject of choice as well as an aptitude test. To this end, all universities which offer multidisciplinary courses have received directions to set up a department of education and offer B.Ed. programs in combination with other disciplines like sociology, psychology, arts, philosophy, history, music, physical education, neuroscience, literature, mathematics, science, and many more.
Universities shall also provide an environment conducive to education research in different aspects of the field of education in an attempt to augment the quality of their B.Ed. program.
Apart from this, various brief certification courses post-B.Ed. shall also be offered for teachers aiming for more specialized roles in the field of education or into management and leadership areas in the education system or teachers who wish to upgrade their eligibility for teaching level between primary, secondary, or senior secondary.
These were some notable reforms proposed in the education system for teachers. There are various other provisions in the NEP 2020 focused on empowering the teachers which will help in making the teaching profession a preferred choice among the best minds of the nation. Although it needs to be ensured that the provisions in the policy are implemented as proposed, it unequivocally instills hope of a much better future of education in India.
