ISSN-0971-8400

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February 2022 a development monthly ` 22

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Focus
Assessment Reforms
Manoj Ahuja
Aanchal Chomal

speCIal artICle
reinventing teacher education
Santosh Sarangi

Skilling Youth for Future

Santosh Yadav

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Development Roadmap
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Reform and Perform

NEAT 3.0
National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT) 3.0, a single platform to provide the
best-developed ed-tech solutions and courses to students of the country, has been launched recently. NEAT is
an initiative to provide the use of best-developed technological solutions in the education sector to enhance
the employability of the youth on a single platform for learners’ convenience. These solutions use Artificial
Intelligence (AI) for a personalised and customised learning experience, for better learning outcomes and
skill development in the niche areas.
NEAT will be a game-changer in bridging the digital divide, especially among the economically
disadvantaged students and also in fulfilling the knowledge-based requirement of India and the world.
Around 58 global and Indian startup ed-tech companies are onboard NEAT and are offering 100 courses &
e-resources for bettering learning outcomes, developing employable skills, and overcoming learning loss.
More than 12 lakh socially and economically disadvantaged students have received free ed-tech course
coupons worth over 253 crore under NEAT 3.0.
In today’s time, e-content & resources and Digital frameworks like NEAT are a step in the right direction
in minimising learning loss. Integrating NEAT with Skill India, to tap the opportunities in emerging areas of
skill, will boost employability and prepare our youth for the future. All India Council for Technical Education
(AICTE), MoE is acting as the facilitator in the process while ensuring that the solutions are freely available
to a large number of socially and economically backward students.
AICTE-prescribed technical books in regional languages were also launched during the event. Learning
in regional languages can help develop the critical thinking capacity and enable youth to become global
citizens. Diverse regional languages are the country’s strength and harnessing them is the key to building an
innovative society.
Source: PIB

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 TricksterIAS
February 2022
Editor
Volume-66
No. 02

Let noble thoughts come to us from all sides.

YOJANA Since 1957 By TricksterIAS

Shuchita chaturvedi
PANKHURI AWASTHI
Rig Veda

Production Officer
D K C Hrudhainath In This Issue
Cover Design
Bindu Verma Lead Article
Our Representatives NEP-2020: Vision and
Ahmedabad: Janhavi Patel, Bengaluru: BK Kiranmai,
Bhubaneswar: Itishree Singh Rathaur, Chennai: Sanjay Pathways
Ghosh, Guwahati: Ramanikant Sharma, Hyderabad: dr Avinash Kumar Singh...................... 9
Krishna Vandana P, Jalandhar: Gagandeep Kaur
Devgan, Kolkata: Rama Mandal, Mumbai: Umesh
Ujgare: Thiruvananthapuram: Roy Chacko.

Yojana (English): Room No. 647, Soochna Bhawan, Quality Education For All
CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110 003.
E-mail (Editorial): [email protected]
Maneesh Garg.................................. 25

YOJANA, a development monthly published since

Equitable and Inclusive
1957, is a theme-based journal providing in-depth Education
analyses and views on socio-economic issues in Dr Anupam Ahuja, Zoya Chadha. .......... 31
the broader framework of government policies.
Although published by the Ministry of Information NIPUN Bharat Mission
and Broadcasting, YOJANA is not restricted to
expressing the official point of view. Rashi Sharma..................................... 37
Focus
DISCLAIMER Bridging Education and
l The views expressed in various articles are Assessment Reforms Communities
those of the authors and they do not necessarily Manoj Ahuja, Aanchal Chomal..........13
reflect the views of the Government or the Dr M K Sridhar,
organisation/s they work for. Dr Manasa Nagabhushanam................ 43
l Maps/flags used in the articles are only
indicative and they do not reflect the political Recruitment, Training, and
map or legal representation of the flag of India/ Assessment of Teachers
any other country.
Ranjitsinh Disale................................. 47
l The infographics/figures are provided by the
authors through their reliable sources and Teach them Young
YOJANA claims no responsibility for the same.
Shankar Maruwada. ........................... 51
l Images, graphics and illustrations, wherever
used, are mostly sourced from government
channels and are indicative in nature.
Music and its Significance
l YOJANA does not own responsibility
Dr Kasturi Paigude Rane. .................... 57
regarding the contents of the advertisements.
The readers are requested to verify the claims Special ARTICLEs
made in the advertisements regarding courses,
career-guidance books or institutions. Reinventing Teacher
l YOJANA doesn't endorse or promote any brands Education
or private entities presented as case studies in any Santosh Sarangi. .............................17
of the articles.
SUBSCRIPTION/GRIEVANCES Skilling Youth for Future
Email: [email protected] Santosh Yadav. ................................21
Phone: 011-24367453
(Monday-Friday, 9:30 am- 6:00 pm)
Postal Address: Abhishek Chaturvedi, Editor, Regulars
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Inbox
[email protected]

– G.V. Srivatsava Raju

Hyderabad

Atmanirbhar Bharat true way to nurture and flourish India’s innovations and
to make India a Global Leading country in all terms.
There is a very famous proverb that ‘need is the
mother of invention’. Atmanirbhar Bharat is need of the – Nita Mishra
hour for Indian economy as well as for all Indians during Asansol, West Bengal
Covid-19. Atmanirbhar Bharat is not only a term but it is
a vision of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi to enable
India to overcome from this difficult time. It is actually Recognising India’s Efforts
the vision to make India and Indians self reliant by I would like to express what the monthly magazine
starting production of all mandatory items locally. Vocal ‘Yojana’ means to me and quite possibly, to others like
for Local is also integral of Atmanirbhar Bharat me. Reading Yojana is like taking a journey through
Abhiyaan. Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan has promoted the heartland of India. Its comprehensive coverage
various innovations and new product development in of multiple dimensions of an issue provides us with a
India. By this, import of India will decrease and export greater understanding of how India is moving forward. It
will increase, thus in the long run our trade deficit will is an emotional ride, from recognising an issue, reading
reduce. Export promotion will help us save and earn more about many efforts to solve it, followed by exhilaration at
foreign currency. Atmanirbhar Bharat package will help realising positive outcomes as fruits of labour. It makes
in growing Indian small and medium enterprises and the us appreciate the silent machinery of bureaucracy, often
manufacturing sector will flourish. Thus, this vision is a misunderstood and undervalued, working day and night

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 TricksterIAS

to support and strengthen India’s growth. It also helps us about water, we came to know how water is so important
recognise the resilience of our heartland, fighting all odds for us as government is trying to provide clean water to
to emerge better and stronger. Thank you for helping us all the rural and urban areas. I hope we all might know
connect with our country at such great level. that how women stand in the queue for collecting the
– Anjali Singh water. In starting pages, you wrote about “GI-Tagging
Delhi of Rural Products”. It is explained well and the way
of presenting in the form of photos and diagrams is
interactive and valuable. I feel so glad that I am reading
Useful for All this magazine since 2017 and I really want to continue
reading it. Thank you so much!
People who read Yojana, are really thankful to its
makers. Really useful for the aspirants who are preparing – Rinku Ram
for UPSC, as knowing new things really makes one Chamba, Himachal Pradesh
bright. Many aspirants suggest Yojana to new aspirants.
Firstly, I wondered why, then I understood the reason
when I finished my reading. My response was that this Builds Perspective
magazine is really useful for all. Thank you to the entire Firstly, I would like to thank Yojana team for this
team of Yojana. long awaited issue on Atmanirbhar Bharat (December
– Deepika Manipatruni  2021). The articles written by respective experts give
Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh us in-depth understanding of the issue. Building our
own opinion on the issues is an indispensable part
in CSE preparation for which Yojana helps us. Also
Covers Multiple Dimensions I would like to suggest topics like Climate Change,
United Nation etc.
I am one of the recent readers of Yojana. The book is
easy to read and understand. And it also covers all topics – Rutik Mohite
regarding updated content. The recent published topic Solapur, Maharashtra
‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ in  December 2021  was superb.  It
visualises all dimensions. The book is excellent to crack
civil services. Thank you to the entire team of Yojana.  Powerhouse of Knowledge
– Mamilla Ganesh  I am an architect and an interior designer, and I'm
Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh  following Yojana Magazine from past 5 years. Yojana
gives me a better understanding of socio-economic
problems the country and its people are facing today, and
Interactive and Valuable it makes me think of out-of-the-box solutions, not only in
terms of my background like how Swachh Bharat scheme
Dear Yojana team, all I want to say is that, your work
can be further improved, ramps of public buildings can
for collecting information about the current topics and
be made better, but other aspects as well. To conclude,
the way you represent all are amazing. I must say that
Yojana serves as a powerhouse of knowledge, without
it’s not just coverage of topics for competitive exams, it’s
any fake news or propaganda.
also a great platform to know the government schemes
and remain up-to-date with the nation’s information. As – Saikrishna Kumbham
you wrote in December about ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and Hyderabad, Telangana

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Editorial YOJANA
Transforming Learning
W ith the arrival of National Education Policy (NEP)
2020, there has been a vital shift in the Indian education
system aligned with the aspirational goals of the 21st century.
The policy envisages a complete overhaul of teaching-learning
process from the traditional teacher-centred to learner-centric
approach; to ensure the holistic development of students by
accentuating their creative potential. The policy stresses on
the core principles that education must develop not only the
cognitive skills– both ‘foundational skills’ of literacy and
numeracy, and ‘higher-order’ skills such as critical thinking
and problem solving, but also social and emotional skills–
also referred to as ‘soft skills’, including cultural awareness
and empathy, perseverance and grit, teamwork, leadership,
communication, etc.
NEP 2020 emphasises on universalisation of school
education and maximising enrolment. There is a special focus
on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE). Foundational learning accounts for children’s
ability to read and meaningfully comprehend, as well as use basic mathematical operations in real
life. With this aim, NIPUN Bharat Mission has been launched to create an enabling environment for
every child, to achieve the desired learning competencies in reading, writing, and numeracy at the
end of Grade III in the next five years.
Visualising assessments as an ongoing process that is instrumental in understanding how students
think and learn, NEP 2020 has put in place certain fundamental reforms in the purpose, design, and
implementation of students’ assessment. It also suggests redesigning of Board examinations to make
them more valid, reduce academic stress and pressure, and de-emphasise coaching culture.
There is significant impetus on capacity building of students, teachers, and institutions. Being
multidisciplinary, institutions will restructure the pedagogy, permitting the scope for choices of
subjects to students. It is also expected that affiliated colleges will gradually phase out, giving
ways to multidisciplinary universities and colleges by 2035. Certainly, everyone recognises the
key role teachers play. NEP recommends that teachers be given continuous opportunities for self-
improvement and to learn the latest innovations and advances in their profession. Accordingly,
scope of teacher education has also been revamped in line with the current trends, including its
structure, regulation, and governance.
Ensuring equitable and inclusive quality education for all, the policy reaffirms the commitment
of bridging up the social category gaps in access, participation, and learning outcomes at all levels
of education. The policy considers equity as an inclusive notion focusing on Socio-Economically
Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs) and areas.
The policy is both global and local in its outlook and intent. It makes a significant headway from
earlier policies by putting quality education as the topmost agenda, strengthening the foundations of
education, catering to the educational needs of the most disadvantaged, and making India a global
leader in education. This issue of Yojana intends to be a part of the comprehensive discussion about
vision and purpose of NEP, and its increased relevance in the post-pandemic world. We hope the
insights from subject experts and stakeholders will broaden the understanding of our readers about
the transformative scope of NEP 2020. 

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REFORMING EDUCATION
lead ARTICLE

NEP-2020: Vision and Pathways

Dr Avinash Kumar Singh

After thirty-four years since the launch of the National Policy on Education in 1986, a new
National Education Policy-2020 has been announced and is currently under implementation.
The National Education Policy envisions to have an education system that is second to none
with equitable access to the highest quality education for all learners regardless of social or
economic background. The vision of NEP-2020 is in sync with Goal 4 of the UN Sustainable
Development Goal (SDG4), which seeks `to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education
and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’.

T
he New Education Policy, aligned with India’s policy would exit with having gone through the new policy
aspirational goals of 21st century, proclaims processes. The distinctive thrusts of the new education
to transform India into a global knowledge policy are as follows:
superpower. Besides being global in its Universalisation of Education
outlook, the policy is also India-centric, as it intends ‘to
instill among the learners a deep rooted pride in being The New Education Policy aims at universalising
Indian, not only in thought, but also in spirit, intellect, school education (achieving 100% GER i.e. Gross
and deeds, as well as to develop knowledge, skills, values, Enrolment Ratio in preschool to secondary level) by
and dispositions that support responsible commitment to 20302 and higher education (increasing the GER in higher
human rights, sustainable development and living, and education to 50 %) by 20353. The universalisation of goals
global wellbeing, thereby reflecting a truly global citizen.’1 and targets need to be seen in terms of areas and groups, as
Based on the vision, NEP-2020 has set 2040 as the deadline the states and groups within a State are at different levels of
to fulfill the goals, targets, and pathways so that the child educational attainment. It is expected that universalisation
who gets entry into the education system under the new of school education will provide scope for maximising

The author is Professor and Head, Department of Educational Policy, NIEPA, New Delhi. Email:  [email protected]

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National Education Policy-2020: Principles
• recognising, identifying, and fostering the unique • respect for diversity and respect for the local
capabilities of each student; context;
• according the highest priority to achieving • full equity and inclusion as the cornerstone of all
Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) by educational decisions;
all students by Grade 3; • synergy in curriculum across all levels of education
• flexibility in their own paths in life according to from early childhood care and education to school
their talents and interests; education to higher education;
• no hard separations between arts and sciences, • teachers and faculty as the heart of the learning
between curricular and extra-curricular activities, process;
between vocational and academic streams, etc.; • a ‘light but tight regulatory framework’ to ensure
• multidisciplinarity and a holistic education across integrity, transparency, and resource efficiency of
the sciences, social sciences, arts, humanities, and the educational system;
sports for a multidisciplinary world; • outstanding research as a requisite for outstanding
• emphasis on conceptual understanding rather education and development;
than rote learning and learning-for-exams; • continuous review of progress based on sustained
• creativity and critical thinking to encourage research;
logical decision-making and innovation; • a rootedness and pride in India, and its rich,
• ethics and human & Constitutional values;  diverse, ancient, and modern culture and knowledge
• promoting multilingualism and the power of systems and traditions;
language in teaching and learning; • education is a public service; access to quality
• life skills such as communication, cooperation, education must be considered a basic right of every
teamwork, and resilience; child;
• focus on regular formative assessment for learning; • substantial investment on public education system
as well as the encouragement and facilitation of true
• extensive use of technology  in teaching and
philanthropic private and community participation;
learning, removing language barriers, increasing
access for Divyang students; (Source: NEP-2020, p. 5-6)

enrolment in higher education. Besides providing universal student should attain foundational literacy and numeracy
access and enrolment, the policy also suggests to undertake (FLN) by grade 3. The curricular and pedagogical structure
measures to bring back drop-out children to schools and to of school education should match with developmental
prevent this from occurring further. needs and interests of learners at different stages of their
Curricular and Pedagogical Restructuring development corresponding to the age ranges/grades4.
Following Liberal Education approach, NEP-2020 The main thrust of structural reforms in higher
envisages restructuring of the existing curriculum and education is transforming higher education institutions
pedagogy in both school and higher education, to realise into large multidisciplinary universities, colleges, and
the vision and fulfill the policy’s goals and targets. It knowledge hubs. Multidisciplinary education based on
recommends modifying the existing 10+2 pedagogical liberal education is an academic and pedagogical approach
structure in the form of a new structure of to develop multiple capacities in the
5+3+3+4, having a strong base of Early The curricular and pedagogical students by integrating formal and
Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) structure of school informal learning opportunities such
from the age of 3 years. The policy as teaching, research, and community
recommends universal provisioning
education should match with engagements and promoting
of quality early childhood care and developmental needs and interdisciplinary perspective academic
education based on strong pedagogical interests of learners at different practice.5 Being multidisciplinary,
components to be achieved by 2030. stages of their development institutions will restructure the
NEP considers the 3-8 years age as the corresponding to the age pedagogy, permitting the scope for
foundational stage of a child critical ranges/grades. choices of subjects to students and
for his/her overall development. Every it is also expected that affiliated

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colleges will gradually phase out
TricksterIAS complexes/clusters, b) setting up of
giving ways to multidisciplinary NEP-2020 advocates for school standards and authority, and
universities and colleges by 2035. c) reforming school examination
The policy also recommends building
greater internationalisation in boards. The governance reforms in
world class multidisciplinary Higher education by creating avenues higher education include setting up a
Education Institutions (HEIs) called for having larger number single regulator on Higher Education
Multidisciplinary Educational Research of international students Commission of India (HECI) with
University (MERU). studying in India and providing four verticals for regulation, namely
Equity and Inclusion in Education opportunities to students National Higher Education Resource
Centre  (NHERC) accreditation,
NEP 2020 envisages achieving interested in studying abroad. National Assessment and Accreditation
Equitable and Inclusive quality Council (NAAC), funding  Higher
education for all. It reaffirms the commitment of bridging Education Grants Council  (HEGC), and academic setting
up the social category gaps in access, participation, and of General Education Council (GEC). The idea behind
learning outcomes at all levels of education. The policy creating a single regulator is to initiate the problems of
considers equity as an inclusive notion focusing on over-regulation in higher and professional education.8
Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs)
and areas.6 Recognising the large intra-state variations, Standard Setting and Accreditation for School and
the policy recommends declaring the regions with large Higher Education
populations from the disadvantaged groups as Special As far as Standard Setting and Accreditation for
Education Zones (SEZs), where all the schemes and School and Higher Education is concerned regarding
policies can be implemented more effectively. The policy school education, the NEP-2020 advocates for the
suggests implementing suitable strategies to address the institutionalisation of effective quality assurance and
problems of access, participation, and learning outcomes accreditation system by establishing State School
for the SEDGs and to eliminate different types of disparities Standards Authority (SSSA) as an independent state wide
(both group and area specific) in both school and higher body; in higher education the policy envisages to set up
education. Promoting equity in learning outcomes from NAC as one of the verticals of HECI. It is expected that
early childhood care and education through higher the new governance will make the system more transparent
education is one of the major goals of NEP-2020.7 and accountable.
Reforms for Effective Governance Vocational Education
Following the ‘light but tight approach’, the policy NEP envisages strengthening the skills component
sets up transformative agenda in governance for achieving in general education and raise the status of vocational
the goals and targets in education. In school education, education by integrating it into the mainstream formal
some of the major reforms include: a) setting up school education. It is expected that by 2025, over 50% of the

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learners through the school and higher
TricksterIAS facilitating such entry will be put in
education system will have exposure to place, and such universities will be
The gaps between the current
vocational education.9 given special dispensation regarding
and desired educational regulatory, governance, and content
Quality Academic Research
outcomes are to be bridged norms on par with other autonomous
The policy advocates for by major systemic reforms and institutions of India. 10
developing a strong culture of research suitable strategies/programme
and knowledge creation to make Promotion of Indian Languages, Art
India a knowledgeable superpower.
interventions from early and Culture
It calls for setting up the National childhood through higher NEP-2020 advocates the use of
Research Foundation (NRF) with a education. The policy is both Indian languages, art, and culture
special mandate to foster research and global and local in its outlook at all levels of education. The
innovation in universities and colleges and intent. policy has proposed establishing an
including interdisciplinary research. Indian Institute of Translation and
Use of Technology Interpretation (IITI) to promote Indian languages. It has
also been pointed that Sanskrit will be mainstreamed in
The new NEP 2020 proposes to set up a National schools and higher education institutions. The policy also
Educational Technology Forum (NETF) to serve as a makes it explicit that proficiency in Indian languages
platform to better the ideation process, improve learning, will be included as part of qualification parameters for
assessment, planning, and administration. employment opportunities.
This policy aims to see that technology is Conclusion
appropriately integrated into all levels of education for:
improving teaching, learning, and evaluation processes; Thus, the vision of the National Education
supporting the preparation of teachers and their continuous Policy-2020 is quite comprehensive and long standing.
professional development; enhancing educational access Keeping in mind the comprehensive nature of the
to disadvantaged groups; and streamlining educational vision and principles of the policy, pathways have been
planning, administration, and management. chalked out to realise the associated goals and targets.
The gaps between the current and desired educational
Raising Public Expenditure on Education outcomes are to be bridged by major systemic reforms
The policy commits to raise the public expenditure and suitable strategies/programme interventions from
on education to the recommended level of 6% of GDP as early childhood through higher education. The policy
envisaged by the 1968 Policy. is both global and local in its outlook and intent. It
makes a significant headway from earlier policies by
The policy also identifies the following key long-
putting quality education as the topmost agenda of
term significant areas for financing to cultivate an
educational reforms, strengthening the foundations
education system; (a) universal provisioning of quality
of education, catering to the educational needs of the
early childhood care education; (b) ensuring foundational
most disadvantaged, and making India a global leader in
literacy and numeracy; (c) providing adequate and
education. 
appropriate resourcing of school complexes/clusters;
(d) providing food and nutrition (breakfast and midday References
meals); (e) investing in teacher education and continuing 1. NEP-2020, p.6
professional development of teachers; (f) revamping 2. NEP 2020, Section 3, para 3.1
colleges and universities to foster excellence; (g) 3. NEP 2020, Section 10, para 10.06
cultivating research; and (h) extensive use of technology 4. NEP 2020, para 4.1, p.11
and online education. 5. NIEPA, 2020, p.114; Kasturirangan,2021
Internationalisation in Education 6. NEP 2020, p. 24-25
7. NEP 2020,p.3
NEP-2020 advocates for greater internationalisation
in education by creating avenues for having larger 8. NIEPA, 2021, p.152
number of international students studying in India and 9. NIEPA, 2020, p.129
providing opportunities to students interested in studying 10. NEP, 12.8, p.39
abroad. NEP 2020 points out that high performing Indian Endnotes
universities will be encouraged to set up campuses in other 1. 2020’ Ministry of Human Resource Development, New Delhi.
countries, and similar selected universities, e.g., those 2. Kasturirangan, K 2021 `Liberal Education – A 21st Century
from among the top 100 universities in the world will Initiative’, Fifteenth Foundation Day Lecture, NIEPA, New Delhi,
be facilitated to operate in India. A legislative framework 11th August

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HOLISTIC LEARNING
FOCUS

Assessment Reforms
Manoj Ahuja
Aanchal Chomal

S
everal national level committees and policies have highlighted
the aspect regarding examinations being extremely content heavy,
leading to rote memorisation and narrowing down of the syllabus
that gets transacted in schools. In such a situation, assessments do
not live up to the potential they have in ensuring quality education.
What is needed today is a progressive system of assessment that could
lead the path towards quality education in schools. Assessments need to be
more comprehensive, to measure not only learning of the textbook, but also
other abilities like analysis, critical thinking, creativity, socio-emotional skills,
High quality educational etc. In this context, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 suggests certain
assessment is central to any fundamental reforms in the purpose, design, and implementation of assessment.
To begin with, the very culture of assessment in our schooling system must
well-functioning schooling
change to become more constructive, developmental, and learning-focused.
system. Such a system would Assessment needs to be visualised as an ongoing process that is instrumental in
be typically characterised understanding how students think and learn. Evidences about student learning
with assessments that are emerging from assessment data should be used for analysing and interpreting
valid, reliable, fair, and how it is best to address students’ learning needs. Such a system of ongoing
assessment will also enable teachers in introspecting about the effectiveness of
equitable for its wide diversity
teaching strategies by providing valuable insights on what and how to change.
of student population. It will also provide inputs to schools on how much they are able to function
However, at present, across as learning institutions by reflecting on their processes, their culture, and
a majority of school systems
in the country, assessments
are commonly perceived
as examinations or tests
that end up measuring
a very narrow range of
competencies across subjects
and fail to accurately
measure the overall potential
of the students. Such a system
creates undue pressure,
stress, and anxiety among
students and reduces the
goal of education to merely
scoring high marks in key
examinations.

Manoj Ahuja is the Chairman of CBSE. Email: [email protected]

Aanchal Chomal is Associate Professor at Azim Premji University. Email: [email protected]

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curriculum. At the systemic level, thoughtfully designed 360-degree, multidimensional report that reflects in
and administered assessments will provide inputs to great detail the progress as well as the uniqueness of
policy-makers about the overall performance of the each student in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor
ecosystem with reference to key learning in the context domains. While this may appear to be a massive mandate,
of specific geographies and diverse socio-economic implementing these reforms will be foundational in
groups. The role of assessment to enable learning must transitioning to a high quality assessment system. In
be center-stage– for this, all involved, whether teachers, achieving this, we need to adhere to certain principles
schools, parents, system must understand that assessment that are briefly outlined below:
is to enable learning of students and help them realise the Building consensus among stakeholders is the first
goals of education. principle. What is often found missing in our education
The policy also makes some concrete system is conversations among institutions and key
recommendations for transforming Board examinations. stakeholders. Such conversations trigger new ideas that
Any effective schooling system should have a very enable active collaborations. Institutions need to actively
credible and robust mechanism of certification. Boards collaborate and maintain continuous dialogue. For
serve the purpose of such certifications after 10-12 years example, NCERT, SCERT, and Boards should together
of schooling. Over the years, policies have pointed out work towards reforming the curriculum, the syllabus,
key issues in the design and implementation of Board and associated assessments. It will be impossible to
examinations, and made specific suggestions. NEP 2020 change one in the absence of reform in the other. It is
also suggests redesigning of Board examinations to make also important to recognise the need for a deep alignment
them more valid, reduce academic stress and pressure, and between curricular goals and assessment processes.
de-emphasise coaching culture. The Board examinations Therefore, it is critical that institutions developing these
should primarily assess core capacities rather than approaches work collaboratively. Such collaboration need
content memorisation. The focus of such certification not be limited to only government institutions. Competent
examinations should be on holistic and well-meaning organisations,
learning and development rather than The role of assessment to enable universities, and researchers should
a narrow range of content or textbook
learning must be center-stage– also be consulted regarding such
material learnt in a single stream. In decisions.
this context, NEP 2020 offers choice for this, all involved, whether
teachers, schools, parents, Second, we need agreement
and flexibility to students to reduce the among stakeholders on what are
stress and anxiety currently associated system must understand that the core and essential competencies
with Board examinations. assessment is to enable learning that must be assessed through various
Concomitant with the above of students and help them systems of assessment. To enable
suggested reforms, NEP 2020 also realise the goals of education. this, we need contextualised learning
discusses the need for a holistic, standards, competency frameworks,

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and assessment processes for all
TricksterIAS In addition to teachers, training
subjects. The learning standards and capacity building of paper
will provide a common vocabulary
NEP 2020 also suggests setters, evaluators, and moderators
among stakeholders. These standards redesigning of Board of Board examinations should
must take into account higher order examinations to make them also be undertaken to enable these
thinking skills, 21st century skills, and more valid, reduce academic improvements.
socio-emotional skills that are needed stress and pressure, and de- In its efforts to facilitate
for holistic development of students. emphasise coaching culture. assessment reforms, CBSE has been
Such standards and frameworks making ongoing changes. It has
must provide adequate direction to
The Board examinations
should primarily assess core provided training to its teachers on
teachers, curriculum designers, and various pedagogic and assessment
Board examination paper setters in capacities rather than content reforms suggested in NEP 2020. It has
assessing appropriate and relevant memorisation. undertaken various definitive measures
competencies. This will also enable in the past few years to include key
equivalence across Boards, something that is sorely competencies in Board examinations. It has conducted
missing in our schooling system today. It is practically an exhaustive review of its certification examination
impossible to compare performance across Boards in (Board) papers to evaluate the reliability and validity of
the absence of such commonly shared frameworks of the test instruments. In order to support teachers with
standards and processes. These standards and processes implementing competency based education, learning
need to be developed collaboratively and disseminated standards framework for various subjects at secondary, and
among key stakeholders. senior secondary level have been developed in alignment
Third, in the context of Boards, any change in with the NCERT learning outcomes. In addition to that,
the policy envisages a shift in assessment, both at the to provide equal attention to the growth of learners in all
classroom and school level as well as the systemic aspects of development, Holistic Progress Cards (HPCs)
level. Therefore, generating awareness among have been developed. The HPC will form an important
key stakeholders, such as teachers, parents, school link between the home and school, and will capture the
principals, block/district officers, etc., is necessary to uniqueness of each learner in the cognitive, affective, and
successfully implement these changes. It is important psychomotor domains as opposed to the conventional
that the rationale and motivation for any change in Board report cards which measure the achievements of children
Policy be explicitly communicated to all stakeholders in quantitative terms, only once in an academic year.
impacted by these changes. It has also initiated efforts to build capacity of Board
Fourth, key stakeholders entrusted with the task of personnel in standards and processes of test development
assessment and evaluation must be provided ongoing and standardisation. The handbooks, guidebooks, and
capacity building on various aspects of assessment. other reference materials have been developed to be used
To enable teachers to conduct more reliable and valid as reference materials for test developers. CBSE has
assessments, comprehensive assessment guidelines, collaborated with various government and not-for-profit
handbooks and manuals, exemplar assessment tools institutions in instituting these changes.
and processes must be available. Teacher capacity for Assessment reform has been in the discourse for
designing, implementing, and using valid and reliable several decades now. NEP 2020 reiterates key areas
assessments must be strengthened through regular of reforms from reports and policies that preceded it.
training. Teacher capacity to analyse, report, and use Therefore, the need to build on what exists, to learn
results of assessment will also need to be developed. from what has worked before, and the lessons learnt
As teachers are the primary evaluator are vital. We need to be creative
of the student, they require freedom and innovative in our efforts and
to take independent decisions about Teacher capacity for designing, solutions to transform the way
teaching-learning and assessment implementing, and using valid assessments are perceived and used
processes based on their individual and reliable assessments must across our country. The continuity
needs. Support from the school head be strengthened through regular of effort towards the envisaged
is needed for the teacher to exercise training. Teacher capacity to processes and systems must be
this autonomy. The trust, support, the basis of all action– creating
and encouragement from the latter
analyse, report, and use results repositories of best practices will
will enhance the level of motivation of assessment will also need to enable consolidation of efforts,
of teachers and they will feel more be developed. as will dialogue and collaborative
confident using the new approach. action across institutions. 

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 TricksterIAS
LEADERS FOR THE YOUNG
Special ARTICLE

Reinventing Teacher Education

Santosh Sarangi

India’s aspiration to become a knowledge society, reverberating with educated and skilled
individuals of high standards that are required to meet the challenges of the 21st century will
require us to ensure a strong foundation to our school education system. Based on the principles
of equity, quality, accessibility, and affordability, the National Education Policy, 2020 brings the
focus back on the children as well as teachers.

T
he National Education Policy’s stated goal is NCFTE, 2009, the teacher education strategy is aimed at
to “reinstate” teachers as the “most respected imbuing the teachers with skills to become facilitators of
members of our society.” Empowerment of knowledge rather than gatekeepers of information as well
teachers remains a recurrent theme in the as to make teaching less textbook-oriented and to connect
policy, and it is understood that this can be achieved knowledge to life outside the school..
by ensuring their “livelihood, respect, dignity and The Justice Verma Commission in 2012 also stressed
autonomy”, while ensuring quality and accountability. upon the need to improve the quality of pre-service
Evolution of Teacher Education and in-service teacher education. In 2014, the erstwhile
In the ancient times in India, teaching in the pristine Ministry of Human and Resource Development (MHRD)
environs of ‘gurukuls’ was truly multidisciplinary as restructured its B Ed. programme by doubling the duration
it focussed on teaching life skills, martial skills, and of the programme to two years. The new teacher education
imparting the teaching of “Vedas”. A formal system of curriculum, designed by the National Council for Teacher
teachers’ training was introduced in India during the Education (NCTE) introduced several changes in the
spread of Buddhism. The monastic system was prevalent curriculum such as Yoga education, ICT, peace and value
in which every learner was to be placed under the education, health and physical education, environmental
supervision and guidance of a preceptor (Upajjhaya). education and population education.

The current style of schooling and teaching emerged Challenges

during the British rule in India. Inspired by the Victorian Certain challenges with teacher education have
schooling system, this system focused on a behaviourist continued to plague the sector including a system of
paradigm where education was concerned with training and recruitment that is churning ill-equipped and
preparing students to be disciplined, English-speaking
clerks, to submissively execute the tasks of the British
administration. It prepared teachers too as mechanics
mainly concerned with classroom teaching.
There has been a slow paradigm shift in the system of
teacher education in India, with the successful introduction
of National Curriculum Framework (NCF)-2005,
National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education
(NCFTE) 2009, and Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009.
Over time, the focus of the system has shifted away from
disciplinarian, rote memorisation, to a collaborative
construction of knowledge. Following the NCF 2005 and

The author is the Additional Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, GoI. Email: [email protected]

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 TricksterIAS

Source: SE Shagun, www.repository.education.gov.in

poorly trained teachers. As on date, the National Council and curiosity become more essential to succeed as
for Teacher Education (NCTE) has given approval to professionals and individuals in the world, teachers also
11139 D.El.Ed. Courses with intake capacity for 690840 need to mentor students and link real-life experiences
students. Similarly, 9455 number of B.Ed courses have and skills with the curriculum that they teach. Most
been registered with intake capacity of 937660 students. importantly, teaching needs to be student-centric and
This is much higher than the annual requirement of new joyful to foster the joy of learning and discovering among
teachers which would be in the range of 3.5 to 4 lakh. young people who will be leaders and entrepreneurs of
Teacher Education Institutions have been working in the world. Keeping this in mind, NEP 2020 has proposed
isolation from rest of the Higher Education Institutions to revise and revamp aspects of teacher education, in line
(HEIs). The multidisciplinary education, essential in with the current trends, including its structure, regulation,
developing a well-rounded personality, has been missing and governance, through radical action so as to raise
in the Teacher Education Institutions, which hitherto standards and restore integrity, credibility, efficacy, and
have been operating in a stand-alone manner. There has high quality to the teacher education in the country.
been no system to ensure only motivated and meritorious Recognising the ‘power of teacher’, NEP 2020 has put in
individuals select teaching as a profession. place systemic reforms that would help ‘teaching’ emerge
Teacher Education Post NEP- 2020 as an attractive profession of choice for bright and talented
young minds and has put in place
Teachers, today, need to keep different interventions like Integrated
abreast with not only the curriculum Following the NCF 2005 and Teacher Education Programme (ITEP),
in the textbooks but also the ever- NCFTE, 2009, the teacher National Professional Standards for
evolving technology, changing market education strategy is aimed Teachers (NPST), National Mission
trends as well as continuously update at imbuing the teachers with for Mentoring (NMM) and at least
themselves with the culture and skills to become facilitators 50 hours of Continuous Professional
beliefs that shape up the students of Development (CPD) for every teacher
of knowledge rather than
today. Teachers also need to play a in a year.
more conscious role in supporting the
gatekeepers of information
as well as to make teaching The four-year Integrated Teacher
parents, community, as well as school Education Programme (ITEP), a
management in developing the child. less textbook-oriented and dual-major holistic bachelor’s degree
As technology and blended learning to connect knowledge to life programme offering B.A., B.Ed/B.
becomes a part of our daily lives, and outside the school.. Sc., B. Ed., and B.Com. B.Ed, will
life skills like collaboration, creativity, be the minimum entry requirement

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 TricksterIAS
for teachers. Since, a multidisciplinary environment healthy competition among teachers to be the best in their
is key for the holistic development of individuals, field as well as set clear pathways for career progression.
multidisciplinary universities and institutions will be National Mission for Mentoring (NMM) for schools
encouraged to establish education departments and run will be operationalised by NCTE by creating a large
teacher education programmes, in collaboration with pool of outstanding senior/retired faculty as potential
other departments such as psychology, philosophy, mentors for mentees (school teachers, Principals, teacher
sociology, neuroscience, languages, arts, science, etc. All educators, etc.), regardless of the age or position of the
stand-alone Teacher Education Institutes (TEIs) will be mentor and mentee who will contribute towards realising
required to transform to multidisciplinary institutions by 21st century developmental goals of our nation. Mentoring
2030. is a process for the informal/formal transmission of
ITEP will teach cutting-edge pedagogy and offer knowledge and the psychosocial support perceived by
a foundation in Early Childhood Care and Education the recipient as relevant to work, career, or professional
(ECCE), Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN), development. NMM underlines the importance of the
toy-based pedagogy, stage-based pedagogy, inclusive short and long-term mentoring/professional support to
education, and a comprehension of India and its values/ teachers and teacher educators.
ethos/art/traditions, among others. In-classroom training The Department of School Education, NCERT are
and internships will also form an essential part of working with State Governments and SCERT to design
the programme. Teachers are expected to have good short-term modules for assisting teachers in continuous
knowledge of the social, physical, professional development. NEP, 2020
emotional, cognitive, moral, and envisages each teacher to undergo
aesthetic development of the child as As technology and blended
at least 50 hours of CPD per year.
well as the experience of using the learning becomes a part of our To realise the vision of NEP-2020,
kind of pedagogy, content, medium daily lives, and life skills like recently, NCERT under the aegis of
of instruction as well as learning collaboration, creativity, and the Ministry of Education (MoE), in
approaches that are relevant for her/ curiosity become more essential collaboration with States/UTs and
his pupils. Teachers are also expected
to succeed as professionals and autonomous bodies have initiated the
to understand the different needs of NISHTHA (National Initiative for
children who come from socially and individuals in the world, teachers School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic
economically disadvantages groups, also need to mentor students
Advancement) integrated training
students with special needs, and and link real-life experiences and programme 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 online for
students who are gifted and require skills with the curriculum that different stages of school education–
additional exposure and support than they teach. Teachers, Head Teachers/Principals,
their peers. and other stakeholders in Educational
The roll out of National Professional Standards for Management and Administration.
Teachers (NPST) is a continuum in teacher education Conclusion
so far as it would cover expectations for the role of
teacher at different levels of expertise/experience at It has been clearly established in the past that
different stages of his/her career, and the competencies focus on pre-service and in-service teacher significantly
required for that stage. As and when it fully evolves, impacts learning outcome of students. The multipronged
linkage of career promotion, financial incentives, etc. approach adopted by NEP, 2020 is likely to revitalise
will enable the teachers to strive for the next level of the teacher education, allow bright students to opt for
professional competence. A tech-enabled platform for ITEP as a matter of choice rather than by chance, and
self-assessment by teachers followed by a wide range of interventions like NPST, NMM, CPD, etc. contribute to
accrediting bodies (including SCERT/DIETs) will play qualitative changes in teachers’ pedagogic transaction.
a key role in assessing the beginner teacher, proficient Simultaneously, efforts will also have to be made to phase
out the sub-par teacher training institutes and D. El. Ed
teacher, expert teacher, and the lead teacher. Availability
courses.
of online, offline, and blended modules to assist the in-
service teachers in increasing domain expertise, deeper Dr APJ Abdul Kalam had said “Enlightened
understanding of socio-psychological understanding, new citizenship has three components: education with value
methods in pedagogy, use of technology in education and system, religion transforming into spiritual force, and
leadership skills are being planned under the NPST. NPST creating economic prosperity through development”. We
which sets clear benchmarks of the skills, competencies, repose faith in our teachers to become torch-bearers for
disposition, and knowledge required among teachers, the young generation and shape India’s development and
will also infuse a spirit of increased professionalism and sustained progress in the right direction. 

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 TricksterIAS

MISSION
PRELIMS
2022
CURRENT AFFAIRS
12-weeks course
Coverage of Current Affairs
from 01 January 2021

300+ hours of lectures for

rapid revision
Chapter-wise quiz

28 Tests
Current Affairs tests from 2020
YE-1741/2022

   

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 TricksterIAS
WAY FORWARD
Special ARTICLE

Skilling Youth for Future

Santosh Yadav

India is celebrating its 75th year of Independence and as our Hon’ble Prime Minister said “Today’s
youth, born in the 21st century, are going to carry India’s development journey forward till
the 100th year of Indian independence. That is why skill development of the youth of this new
generation is a national need; it is the foundation stone for a self-reliant India”.

H
istorically, vocational education in schools has There are 62 skill courses available at Secondary
been accorded high priority since National and Senior Secondary level from 20 sectors such
Policy on Education, 1986, and Centrally as Agriculture, Automotive, Beauty and Wellness,
Sponsored Scheme (CSS) of Vocationalisation Construction, Electronics, Healthcare, IT/ITES, Media and
of Secondary Education was launched in 1988. Considering entertainment, Plumbing, Retail, Tourism, and Hospitality
various bottlenecks in infrastructure, finance, and policy, etc.
the scheme was revised in 2011. The scheme was further CBSE has also been considering Vocational Education
revised in 2014 with the specific objectives of integrating as an important component of holistic education. Vocational
vocational education with general academic education; Courses offered by CBSE also provide wide choices
enhancing the employability of youth;  filling the gap for schools and students to choose from the relevant
between educated and employable; and decreasing the competency-based courses. Currently, about 3.5 million
pressure on academic higher education. Currently, the students are undergoing vocational courses in Secondary
scheme is being implemented as part of the Centrally and Senior Secondary schools in the country, including the
Sponsored Scheme ‘Samagra Shiksha’ and has been aligned schools affiliated to CBSE.
with the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).
The vocational subjects are introduced as an additional As mentioned by the National Education Policy
subject at the Secondary level and as a compulsory elective 2020, ‘The aim of education will not only be cognitive
subject at Senior Secondary level. The scheme covers development, but also building character and creating
Government schools and Government aided schools. holistic and well-rounded individuals equipped with
the key 21st century skills’. Though skill education in
An important part of this vision is providing skill schools is one of the means towards this aim, NEP also
education to millions of children in their school years in an mentions various challenges faced in its manifestation
integrated and holistic manner. like perceived social status hierarchy associated with
Under  Samagra Shiksha, 14,435 schools have been vocational education, lack of vertical mobility pathways
approved to impart Vocational Education.
The implementation of Vocational Education has
expanded almost 10-fold in the last six years, from only
960 schools in 2014-15 to 11,710 schools across the nation
in 2021-22.
Currently, more than 1.5 million students are
undertaking vocational education under Samagra Shiksha
as a part of their Secondary and Senior Secondary
curriculum with the help of a trained instructor facilitating
learning in a trade specific laboratory setup within the
school itself.

The author is Joint Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, GoI. Email: [email protected]

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 TricksterIAS

for its students of post 12th as well as lack of its integration cooperation, teamwork, judicious use of raw materials,
with mainstream education at all levels. creativity, quality consciousness, etc. The desirable attitudes
Hence, NEP has also set a goal that by 2025, at least and values with respect to the appreciation of manual work
50% of learners through the school and higher education and dignity of labour will be developed though activity-
system, shall have exposure to vocational education, based learning, where discipline, persistence, and creativity
making them learn at least one vocation and expose them will be achieved through teamwork and cooperativeness.
to several more by integrating vocational education into Its implementation can be done with minimal resources
all schools and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in a available at the school or community level, as well as can
phased manner over the next decade. Importantly, NEP be facilitated by regular teachers from all subjects, thus
2020 also encourages different models of Vocational making it easily replicable at a larger scale.
Education in schools so that locally relevant skill education At Secondary and Sr. Secondary level, NSQF
can be offered in appropriate manner. compliant vocational courses are offered to the students
Let us discuss several efforts that are being made to alongwith other academic subjects. NSQF is a nationally
further the goals set by National Education Policy 2020. integrated education and competency-based framework
and organises qualifications according to a series of
Child at the Core levels of knowledge, skills, and aptitude. Students not
Any intervention of providing Vocational Education only engage in learning of the vocational skills in any
needs to keep the child at the Core and care about the particular sector in the school lab, guest lectures, and
outcomes that are being achieved for the child. Hence, field visits but also gain real life experience of the
there is an effort to provide age appropriate and customised particular vocation by participating in Internship/On-
Vocational education at each level of the school (Primary, the-Job Training. The State Governments have been
Secondary and Higher Secondary). advised that Vocational courses are to be treated at par
with other academic subjects and accorded a similar
Provisions have been made to provide exposure to
status in the scheme of subjects. Employability Skills
Vocational Education at Upper Primary level (Grade 6-8),
module consisting of Communication Skills, Self-
with an aim to provide opportunities to the students to
Management Skills, Information and Communication
orient themselves with the skills required for the various
Technology Skills, Entrepreneurship
occupations in a sector and to equip
Skills, and Green Skills has been made
them to make informed choices while
NEP has also set a goal that by a mandatory part of the Vocational
selecting their subjects in higher
2025, at least 50% of learners Courses.
classes. The pre-vocational education
programme to be introduced from through the school and This lifecycle-based approach for
Grades 6 to 8 will mainly focus on higher education system, shall the student from Upper Primary to
activity-based teaching-learning. It will Grade 12, helps change the narrative
have exposure to vocational
not only reduce the boundaries between of Vocational Education as “Applied
education, making them learn Learning”  as well as provides them
the bookish knowledge and practical
at least one vocation and with much needed “life skills”, thus
knowledge, but will also expose
expose them to several more by making them future ready for higher
children to the skill requirements in the
education, employment, or livelihood.
work areas, thus helping them to decide integrating vocational education
the future career path. These activities, into all schools and higher Adaptability
would also foster the development of education institutions. Another important aspect about
soft skills, such as aesthetic values, vocational education that NEP aims

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to address is integration of vocational
TricksterIAS Similar initiatives will provide more
education into all schools and Higher The pre-vocational education opportunities and increase coverage of
Education Institutions (HEIs) and programme to be introduced Vocational Education exponentially.
this provides mobility between States’ Capacities
from Grades 6 to 8 will
general and Vocational Education. In
order to enable this, a unified credit mainly focus on activity-based States and UTs are key partners in
accumulation and transfer framework teaching-learning. It will not implementing Vocational Education in
schools and appropriate adoption and
is being devised for integration of only reduce the boundaries
implementation of national policies by
academics and Vocational Education, between the bookish knowledge
the State/UT Governments is critical
and to facilitate the aforementioned and practical knowledge, but for reaching the goals set by National
mobility between the two. This will will also expose children to the Education Policy. Currently, various
also help Vocational Education become skill requirements in the work components of Vocational Education
more aspirational and remove the hard are being supported by national
separation between the two.
areas, thus helping them to
decide the future career path. agencies/institutions viz.  Pandit
Coverage and Convergence Sunderlal Sharma Central Institute
of Vocational Education (PSSCIVE), National Skill
With respect to achieving the goal of upto 50% of
Development Corporation, Sector Skill Councils, etc.
learners into Vocational Education, let us look at the
models which are trying to increase the coverage of Similarly, Capacities of State level institutions like
Vocational Education in this age group. Under Samagra State Council for Vocational Education and Training
Shiksha, new schools are being approved every year (SCVET), State Council of Educational Research and
for the implementation of Vocational Education, where Training (SCERT) and its subordinate bodies (DIETs)
schools are provided with infrastructure and resources can be developed for identification of locally relevant
for providing Vocational Education in school premises. In courses, adoption and/or development of textbooks,
reference material, digital learning material, etc., as
addition, the Hub and Spoke model is being implemented
well as training of vocational trainers or instructors
where schools with requisite infrastructure will act as
engaged in providing skill education at school level.
hubs and provide skill education to the children from
Considering NEP 2020’s focus on the principle of
surrounding spoke schools. Scheme guidelines provide for respect for diversity and respect for the local context, it
additional funds for such Hubs, as well as transportation of becomes imperative to build States’ capacity in terms of
children between the hub and its spokes. these components.
Covid-19 has forced implementers to look for agile Significance
solutions mostly enabled by the technology for various
components of education including skill education. The need With ever changing socio-economic conditions, Skill
spans from availability of solutions, and digital infrastructure Education also needs to keep up the pace and keep it relevant
for students, industry, as well as communities. Skill courses,
to digital capacity of the learners and implementers. AI
methodology, and assessments should remain effective for
For All is one of such initiatives which is co-developed
students’ holistic growth as envisaged in NEP. 
with technology partners providing a self-paced online
learning programme for AI (Artificial Intelligence) skills. Vocational Education and Training (VET) or

25th National Youth Festival inaugurated in Puducherry

P rime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated
the 25th National Youth Festival in Puducherry, via
video conferencing on 12th January, the birth anniversary
in times of need, further adding that today’s youth has a
‘Can Do’ spirit which is a source of inspiration for every
generation. The Indian youth is a force to be reckoned with
of Swami Vivekananda, which is observed as National in the unicorn ecosystem all over the world.
Youth Day every year.  Giving highlights of the National Youth Festival (12-
Commenting on the young profile of the ancient 16 January, 2022), Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister of
country, the Prime Minister said, the world looks at India Youth Affairs & Sports, and Information & Broadcasting
with hope and faith. Because, India’s demography is young, said, “During the youth festival, experts from different
and the mind of India is also young. India is young in its fields like Sports including Olympians, Environment,
thoughts as well as in its consciousness. India’s thinking Climate, Technology, Entrepreneurship including leaders
and philosophy has always accepted change and there is of start-ups, History, Natural farming will guide and
modernity in its antiquity, he said. The Prime Minister said share their experience with youth”.
that the youth of the country have always come forward Source: PIB

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 TricksterIAS21  century skills. Digital skilling should become
st

the core programme of all the skill development

activities. Artificially intelligent training delivery
system needs to be developed and promoted so
that the training can be customised according
to the needs of the learner and its outreach be
enhanced. We also need to work on Future
Skills like Cloud Computing, Coding through
Gamification,  Additive Manufacturing (3D
Printing) Operator, Low voltage EV service
technician,  Telematics data analyst, Drone
Technology, Augmented Reality & Virtual
Reality (AR-VR). CBSE has already introduced
courses like Data Science, Coding, and AI.
Outcomes of skill education will be seen
as students make transition from school to
higher education, employment, or livelihoods.
This transition needs to be enabled by creating
awareness among students, industries, and
institutions about available pathways, career
Skilling Programmes will be successfully implemented counselling, and advocacy on vocational skills as an
if the supply of skilled manpower matches with the aspirational career pathway.
demand in the industry or the world of work. Therefore,
As highlighted by the Prime Minister, “Ramping up
it is important to assess the emerging requirements for
skills, particularly in trades, through Vocational Education
knowledge and skills and match them through the VET
has emerged as a recurrent and increasingly critical
or Skill Programmes.
priority for India.” Hence, the education ecosystem needs
The sectors which require a greater focus to meet the to offer skill education in schools that touch various crucial
skill requirements of the future workforce are IT-ITeS, aspects of holistic education and overcome the social status
Renewable Energy/Green Energy, Power, Hospitality, hierarchy associated with Vocational Education. India is
Tourism, Electronics, Green Construction, Sustainable on its way to implement the key reforms for integrating
Mining, Green Logistics, Telecom, Green Agriculture, and mainstreaming of vocational education with general
Disposable Plastics, and Chemicals. education. At the same time, the role of all stakeholders at
Emerging trends, such as Internet of Things (IoT), all levels becomes really crucial for ensuring that children
machine learning, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and robotic are provided with vocational and life skills required for the
process automation need to be explored besides the 21st century. 

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 TricksterIAS
Paradigm Shift

Quality Education For All

Maneesh Garg

Q
uality education is a comprehensive term that includes learners,
teachers, learning environment, appropriate curriculum, engaging
pedagogy, learning outcomes, continuous formative assessment,
and adequate student support. Quality is more a systemic trait rather
than only a feature of instruction or attainment. As an overarching attribute,
quality expresses the system’s capacity to reform itself for enhancing its ability
to address its own weakness and to develop new capabilities. It is not merely a
measure of efficiency but also has a value dimension.
Attempt to improve quality of education will succeed only if it goes hand
in hand with steps to promote equity and inclusion. This requires schools to be
With the arrival of the sufficiently equipped and prepared to address the diverse learning needs of all
children with special focus on children belonging to SC, ST and Minorities,
National Education CwSN (Child with Special Needs), as well as the girl children. Another
Policy (NEP) 2020, the dimension of quality is to address the rural-urban divide and regional disparities
paradigm shift in the as also the digital divide.
teaching- learning Learning should be holistic, integrated, inclusive, enjoyable, and engaging.
process from the In order to encourage holistic development and 21st century skills such as
traditional teacher- critical thinking, creativity, scientific temper, communication, collaboration,
centred to learner- multilingualism, problem solving skills, ethics, social responsibility, and digital
literacy– the curriculum, textbooks, pedagogy, and assessment need to be
centric approach, transformed.
envisions to ensure the
As Education is in the concurrent list of the Constitution, the Government
holistic development of India through the erstwhile Centrally Sponsored Schemes of Sarva Shiksha
of students by Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), and Teacher
accentuating their Education (TE) has been aiming to– enhance access, promote equity through
creative potential. the inclusion of disadvantaged groups and weaker sections, and improve the
The policy stresses quality of education for all. With the persistent efforts of the Central and State
Governments, these schemes have significantly addressed major gaps in access
on the core principle to schooling and have contributed towards laying a foundation for an equitable
that education must quality school education system in the country.
develop not only the The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), 2009
cognitive skills– both also mandates good quality elementary education conforming to the standards
‘foundational skills’ of and norms specified in the Act. The Section 29 of the RTE Act, 2009 provides
literacy and numeracy, for, an academic authority as notified by the appropriate government to lay
and ‘higher-order’ skills down the curriculum and the evaluation procedure under sub-section (1), taking
into consideration:
such as critical thinking
and problem solving, yy the values enshrined in the Constitution;
but also social and yy all-round development of the child;
emotional skills. yy building up child’s knowledge, potentiality, and talent;
yy development of physical and mental abilities to the fullest extent;
The author is Joint Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, GoI. Email: [email protected]

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 TricksterIAS
of learning outcomes.
With the arrival of the National Education Policy (NEP)
2020, the paradigm shift in the teaching-learning process
from the traditional teacher-centred to learner-centric
approach, envisions to ensure the holistic development of
students by accentuating their creative potential. The policy
stresses on the core principles that education must develop
not only the cognitive skills– both ‘foundational skills’ of
literacy and numeracy, and ‘higher-order’ skills such as
critical thinking and problem solving, but also social and
emotional skills– also referred to as ‘soft skills’, including
cultural awareness and empathy, perseverance and grit,
teamwork, leadership, communication, etc. The new
policy proposes revamping of all aspects of the education
structure, its regulation and governance, to create a new
system that is aligned with the aspirational goals of 21st
century, while remaining consistent with India’s traditions
and value systems.
The major recommendations of National Education
yy learning through activities, discovery, and exploration Policy 2020 for enhancing quality of school education are:
in a child-friendly and child-specific manner; 1. Transforming Curricular & Pedagogical Structure–
yy medium of instruction shall, as far as practicable, be in It recommends a new pedagogical and curricular
child’s mother-tongue; structure of school education (5+3+3+4)–
Foundational stage (5 years upto class II) multilevel,
yy making the child free of fear, trauma, and anxiety and play/activity-based learning; Preparatory Stage
helping to express views freely; (3 years from class 3 to 5) having play, discovery,
yy comprehensive and continuous evaluation of child’s activity-based, and interactive classroom learning;
understanding of knowledge and the ability to apply Middle Stage (3 years from class 6 to 8) offering
the same. experiential learning in sciences, mathematics, arts,
The overarching 2030 Agenda for Sustainable and social sciences, and Secondary Stage offering
Development Goals for Education (SDG 4) also commits 4 years of multidisciplinary study, critical thinking,
to provide inclusive and equitable quality education at flexibility, and choice of subjects.
all levels. It aims at ensuring access to and completion of 2. Integration of Experiential Learning, Play-based,
quality education for all children. This necessitates that at Sports-integrated, art-integrated, storytelling, toy-
a minimum, all learners develop Foundational Literacy based pedagogies at all the stages of school education.
and Numeracy (FLN) skills as building blocks for further 3. Integration of Pre-vocational education into the
learning as well as higher order skills in order to lead to curriculum from upper primary level onwards.
relevant, equitable, and effective learning outcomes at all
levels and all settings. 4. Strengthening and universalisation of Early Child-
hood Care and Education (ECCE), and
However, the challenges remain in Foundational Literacy and Numeracy
the provision of quality of education for With the arrival of the (FLN).
all. Some of the major challenges are
National Education Policy 5. Development of National and
persistent gaps in learning outcomes,
including lack of clear definition and (NEP) 2020, the paradigm shift State Curriculum Frameworks for–
lack of understanding of the same among in the teaching-learning process ECCE, School Education, Teacher
teachers and parents, children being from the traditional teacher- Education, and Adult Education,
unprepared for schooling, teachers centred to learner-centric which will integrate key 21st century
lacking the skills and motivation to approach, envisions to ensure skills, mathematical thinking, and
be effective, time spent on different scientific temper. There will also be
the holistic development of a reduction in curriculum content
activities in classroom transactions,
and ineffective school leadership. students by accentuating their to enhance essential learning and
Also, there is a need to orient the entire creative potential. critical thinking, competency based
education system towards achievement education, experiential and joyful

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 learning, increased flexibility, and
TricksterIAS through convergence among different
choice of subjects particularly There will also be a reduction stages of school education, and teacher
in secondary school– including in curriculum content to education.
physical education, arts and crafts, The major objectives of the
and vocational skills.
enhance essential learning and
critical thinking, competency Samagra Shiksha Scheme are:
6. Reform in Assessment and yy Support States and UTs in
based education, experiential
Examination– Creating Holistic implementing the recommendations of
Progress Card. and joyful learning, increased
NEP 2020 and RTE Act, 2009;
flexibility, and choice of subjects
7. Enhancing quality of pre-service yy Focus on ECCE and FLN;
and in-service training of teachers. particularly in secondary
school– including physical yy Thrust on Holistic, Integrated,
8. Tracking Student Progress for Inclusive, and activity-based
Achieving Learning Outcomes.
education, arts and crafts, and
vocational skills. Curriculum and Pedagogy to impart
9. National Professional Standards 21st century skills to students;
for Teachers (NPST) and National Mission for yy Provision of quality education and enhancing learning
Mentoring (NMM) for teachers. outcomes of students;
Enhancing Quality of School Education yy Bridging Social and Gender Gaps; ensuring equity
The Samagra Shiksha Scheme was launched in and inclusion at all levels of school education;
2018-19 as an overarching centrally sponsored scheme yy Strengthening and upgradation of State Councils for
for school education that sees learning as a continuum Educational Research and Training (SCERTs), and
from pre-primary to higher secondary with focus on State/District Institutes of Education and Training
contextual, experiential, and holistic learning. It subsumed (DIET) as nodal agency for teacher training;
the three erstwhile Centrally Sponsored Schemes of SSA,
RMSA and Teacher Education. It has been formulated in yy Ensuring safe, secure, and conducive learning
accordance with the Sustainable Development Goal for environment and minimum standards in schooling
Education (SDG-4) and in 2021-22, it has been aligned provisions.
with recommendations of NEP 2020 to ensure inclusive The Scheme focuses on improvement in quality of
and equitable quality education. The Scheme covers education by providing support for different interventions
nearly 1.16 million schools, 156 million students and to all States and UTs, like in-service training of teachers
5.7 million teachers of government and aided schools. and school heads, conduct of achievement surveys at State
This will help in bringing coherence in the system, and National level, composite school grant to every school
enhancing collaboration with different agencies, removing for providing a conducive learning environment including
duplication of work at different levels, provision of good sanitation and hygiene, grants for library, sports and physical
teaching-learning material, capacity building of teachers activities, support for Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan (RAA)
(to connect school-based knowledge to life outside the
school, and making learning of Science and Mathematics a
joyful and meaningful activity), ICT and digital initiatives,
School Leadership development, Learning enhancement
programmes, Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat, etc.
Further, to improve the quality of education in the
country, the Government has taken several steps,
yy The Central RTE Rules 2010, were amended on 20
February, 2017 to include reference on class-wise,
subject-wise learning outcomes at the elementary
level. Accordingly, the learning outcomes for all
subjects from grade 1 to 8 have been framed by
NCERT and notified. This will help all stakeholders
to understand what is expected of them and hence
enhance measurement and accountability in schooling.
Subsequently, learning outcomes for Secondary level
have been notified and those at senior secondary level
for various subjects are under finalisation.

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 TricksterIAS
targets or Lakshyas for each level from Balvatika to
Grade 3, so that children maintain good health and
well-being, become effective communicators and
involved learners, and connect with their immediate
environment.
yy Digital Initiatives: Given the importance of
leveraging technology for enhancing teaching-
learning experiences as envisaged in NEP 2020,
the Government accords high priority to provision
of ICT labs and smart classrooms in schools at the
upper primary to senior secondary level, which are
supported under Samagra Shiksha. Smart classrooms
and ICT labs have also been set up in the Kendriya
Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas.
yy PM eVidya: It is a comprehensive initiative under
Atmanirbhar Bharat Programme, which unifies all
efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to
enable coherent multi-mode access to education.
yy The National Achievement Survey (NAS) is conducted It includes access to a variety of e-resources in 33
periodically to enable a health check on the education languages including Indian Sign Language over
system, identify gaps in learning outcomes, and DIKSHA (One nation; One digital platform), Swayam
take remedial steps. NAS is a sample-based survey Prabha DTH TV channels (One Class; one channel for
conducted by NCERT or any other external agency for class 1 to 12), Extensive use of Radio, Community
classes 3, 5, 8, and 10 with a district level sampling for radio, and Podcast- ShikshaVani.
all categories of schools. yy PM Poshan Shakti Nirman is a right-based Centrally
yy A comprehensive 70 indicator-based matrix called Sponsored Scheme under National Food Security Act,
Performance Grading Index (PGI) has been developed 2013 and covers all children of Balvatika to Class VIII
to grade the States/UTs, against certain common in Government and Government-Aided schools for
benchmarks and provide them a roadmap for making provision of supplementary nutrition at school.
improvements. This has helped instill the concept yy NCERT has prepared ‘Alternative Academic Calendar’
of competition among States on status of school and ‘Students’ Learning Enhancement Guidelines’ to
education. suggest models for the different scenarios of access
yy Focus on teachers’ training and capacity building: to digital devices to ensure that no child is deprived
National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' of education. These comprise of engaging weekly
Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) is a first of its activities that can be conducted at home, leading to
kind teacher training programme under Samagra achievement of desired learning outcomes.
Shiksha wherein the Government of India, through its yy Home-based learning is an alternative method in
academic bodies, NCERT and NIEPA, is taking a lead times of pandemic when schools remain closed. Parent
role in changing the landscape of and community participation can go a
in-service teacher training. National Initiative for School long way in helping children overcome
yy National Initiative for Proficiency the challenges they face and providing
heads' and Teachers' Holistic
in Reading with Understanding a safe and conducive environment and
Advancement (NISHTHA) support for learning.
and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat) is a first of its kind teacher
has been launched on 5 July 2021, yy NEP 2020 recommends the
training programme under
for ensuring that every child in development of 3-month play-based
the country attains Foundational Samagra Shiksha wherein the ‘school preparation module’ for all
Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) Government of India, through Grade 1 Students’ with and without
at Grade 3 by 2026-27. It has its academic bodies, NCERT and preschool education, to ensure that all
codified learning outcomes at the NIEPA, is taking a lead role in children are grade I ready till universal
foundational level (age 3-9 years) changing the landscape of in- provisioning of quality preschool
under three major Development service teacher training. education is achieved. Accordingly,
Goals (DG) and lays down NCERT has developed the VIDYA

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 PRAVESH module that can be
TricksterIAS and, of course, enjoyable. Moreover,
adapted or adopted by States and NEP 2020 recommends the learning outcomes need to be seen as
UTs as per their need. development of 3-month play- an integral part of pedagogy.
yy SAFAL (Structured Assessment based ‘school preparation yy Assessment- Assessment is
for Analysing Learning module’ for all Grade 1 Students’ vital to track children’s progress in a
levels): This Competency-based continuous and comprehensive manner
with and without preschool
assessment will be introduced using multiple techniques. The shift is
in CBSE schools for grades 3, education, to ensure that all towards Competency based learning
5, and 8 as per NEP 2020, from children are grade I ready till i.e. children advance to the next level
2021-22 academic session. It will universal provisioning of quality only upon mastering the current level
focus on testing for core concepts, preschool education is achieved. of learning outcomes defined for each
application-based questions, and grade.
higher order thinking skills. This will benefit over 50 yy Capacity Building and Teacher Training- Creating
lakh students of nearly 24,000 CBSE schools and the a resource pool to address different aspects of quality
States/UTs who adapt/adopt this framework. and disseminating its perspective and mentoring of
yy Vidyanjali 2.0: A volunteer management programme; teachers is vital. NEP recommends that teachers be
it will help the community/volunteers to interact given continuous opportunities for self-improvement
and connect directly with the Government and and to learn the latest innovations and advances in
Government-aided schools of their choice and share their profession. Similarly, school Principals and
their knowledge and skills and/or contribute in school complex leaders need similar opportunities for
the form of assets/material/equipment to meet the Continuous Professional Development.
requirement of these schools. Careful consideration of above elements before
yy School Quality Assessment and Accreditation planning school activities will help in creating a quality
(SQAA): CBSE has been designated as Standards classroom, as an interactive place buzzing with activity
Setting Authority (SSA) for Kendriya Vidyalayas, that facilitates quality learning. It is a place where children
Navodaya Vidyalayas, Private Independent Schools, learn spontaneously and confidently without inhibition
and Government schools affiliated to the Board. and construct their own knowledge. The increased use
Accordingly, CBSE has prepared standards in different of technology has brought about paradigm shift in how
areas of school functioning like curriculum, pedagogy, teachers teach and how children learn with each learner
assessment, infrastructure, inclusive practices, moving at her own pace. Learning is delivered via a variety
human resources, management and governance, and of channels: classroom instruction, online courses, videos,
leadership. assignments, group projects, etc. Classrooms should also
Planning for quality therefore needs to reflect on the become a centre for cultivating resilience in children,
following aspects and accordingly, decisions need to be helping them emerge from challenging experiences
taken as to which aspects need more attention: with a positive sense of themselves and their futures.
Children who develop resilience are better able to face
yy Curricular Material- The quality dimension needs to disappointment, learn from failure, cope with loss, and
be examined from the point of view of the experience adapt to changes, be it the pandemic, global warming,
designed for the child in terms of knowledge and climate change, natural disaster, or technology boom. For
skills. ensuring quality in classrooms, what is needed is a multi-
yy Linkages across levels of school education- pronged approach. The various dimensions mentioned are
Linkages between foundational, preparatory, middle not mutually exclusive; rather they are intertwined, and are
and secondary levels in the processes of designing and completing and complementing one another.
preparing curricular material are vital. Conclusion
yy Synergy- Setting up of structures that enable school The increased focus on improving overall quality
teachers and subject experts drawn from institutions of education by introducing new policy reforms like
of higher learning to work together for revision of encouraging multilingualism, research, innovation,
curriculum and development of learning material. curriculum reforms technology-enabled teaching,
yy Innovative pedagogy- Every teacher needs to be innovative pedagogy, and providing prevocational
given autonomy to choose the pedagogy relevant to her skills depict the Government’s commitment towards
learners’ needs to make education more experiential, transformation of school education, bridging the
holistic, integrated, inquiry-driven, discovery- learning gaps, and providing education to the last child
oriented, learner-centred, discussion-based, flexible in the last mile. 

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 TricksterIAS

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 TricksterIAS
EDUCATION FOR ALL

Equitable and Inclusive Education

Dr Anupam Ahuja
Zoya Chadha

For any accessible reading material, it is important that the content to be adapted is also
inclusive. This means that the material must show diverse characters, and they must be relevant
for children from different backgrounds. When developing any teaching-learning material, we
must think of all children, with variations in their ability, socio-economic backgrounds, interests,
strengths, and access as being able to use it and find it relevant. The attention and focus given
by NEP on inclusion and equity in education is built on years of efforts and advocacy by State
and national initiatives, and several other stakeholders in their respective capacities to build a
better schooling system where children with disabilities can learn together with all children in
an equitable manner.

I
n a grade four classroom, the teacher asks and high-resolution visuals, text in Devanagari, and
the students to choose a picture book from the braille in the same page, and more inclusive features.
small class library and read it together with a With these books, all children - those with and without
partner. The students pair up with their desk disabilities - can read together and engage with the same
partners, choose a book together, and begin reading. reading material. This exemplary material was developed
Rashi and her desk partner Priya comment on every page by the Department of Education of Groups with Special
as they finish it- sometimes they giggle, sometimes they Needs (DEGSN) at NCERT, as a Ministry of Education
say, “Wow! What will happen next?” and sometimes (formerly the Ministry of Human Resource Development)
they say, “That has happened with me too.” Across the approved project. It provides a direction for developing
classroom, Sumit and his partner Feroza are also reading similarly accessible material in the form of textbooks and
together and asking each other questions like “What other learning resources for all school stages.
does this word mean?” and “How old do you think these
characters are?”. The teacher takes rounds of the room,
gives feedback and praises each student. After everyone
finishes their book, they discuss it with their partner.
In the above situation, all the children in a class,
read, enjoyed, and thought about the book together
with others. In fact, Priya and Sumit are students with
visual impairments- Priya has low vision, and Sumit has
blindness. How did they read the same book together, that
too with engagement and interest?
The students in the classroom were reading
supplementary books from a series called Barkhaa: A Students at an inclusive school during the tryout of the material
Reading Series for ‘All’, which is developed with tactile in November 2019.

Dr Anupam Ahuja is Professor and Head, International Relations Division and Professor, Special Needs Education at NCERT.
Email:[email protected]
Zoya Chadha is a librarian and educator based in New Delhi. She previously held the position of Senior Research Associate at the
Department of Education of Groups with Special Needs, NCERT.

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 TricksterIAS
and advocacy by State and national initiatives, and
several other stakeholders in their respective capacities
to build a better schooling system where children with
disabilities can learn together with all children in an
equitable manner. While the needs and necessary shifts
listed in NEP are essential, this by no means is the first
time that the inclusion of children with disabilities has
been prioritised by educators across the country and
efforts are being undertaken to transform the same. In
this article we will discuss some of these projects as
undertaken by the NCERT - projects which have learnt
from and been built on each other as well as on the
National Curriculum Framework (NCF 2005). What
NEP will hopefully achieve is the bringing together of
initiatives under the umbrella of systemic support and
therefore strengthen how inclusion and equity is planned,
executed, and monitored.
Accessibility in the Current NCERT Curriculum
Due to how central textbooks are in the education of all
Encourages Inclusive Education children from a young age, it is imperative that textbooks
espouse ideas that are inclusive, that are representative of
The National Education Policy 2020 makes available people and stories of diverse backgrounds and abilities,
the provisions for exemplars like Barkhaa: A Reading and that do not perpetuate discriminatory attitudes or
Series for ‘All’ and other accessible material, which stereotypes.
have not been used widely so far, to reach classrooms
and transform the way in which all students learn. This In the current NCERT textbooks developed post the
support in the nationwide policy document is essential NCF 2005, inclusion has been ensured in the content of
so that initiatives in inclusion and equitable education do various chapters and subjects across school grades, rather
not remain limited in use and scope, and so that there can than being limited to one chapter or subject. Inclusion is
be systemic support for the development of accessible covered in various forms in the textbooks— in chapters,
and language-appropriate teaching-learning material, poems, notes for teachers, and evaluation questions. In the
assistive devices and technology-based tools, inclusion primary classes, this is done through the activities which
funds, teacher training, resource centres, and more so that involve all children through the use of concrete objects
schools are equipped to include children with disabilities. along with stories and class engagement activities. In
Taking all these needs of the education system into the higher classes, there are sections in the psychology
account, NEP 2020 has clarified a move to prioritise textbooks which discuss disability in a detailed manner.
“the inclusion and equal participation of children with When it comes to accessing NCERT textbooks, efforts
disabilities in ECCE and the schooling system. . . Children have been made via print and digital initiatives. On the
with disabilities will be enabled to fully participate in ePathshala portal, e-versions are freely available for
the regular schooling process from the Foundational all textbooks from grades 1-12. The ePathshala mobile
Stage to higher education.”1. NEP app allows for Text To Speech (TTS)
is also affirming a commitment to which makes the content accessible to
actualising the provisions of RPwD NEP 2020 has clarified a move persons with disabilities related to low
Act, 2016 on adapting the schooling to prioritise “the inclusion and vision. Further, there are diagrams in
system to the needs of children with equal participation of children both braille and text for Economics,
disabilities so that children with and with disabilities in ECCE and the and educational learning kits for
without disabilities learn together, and schooling system. . . Children Mathematics, Science, and Languages
also the SDG 4 - To ensure inclusive
with disabilities will be enabled at upper primary, secondary and senior
and equitable quality education secondary levels which include 3-D
and promote lifelong learning to fully participate in the regular shapes, paper cut-outs, geo-boards,
opportunities for all. schooling process from the abacus, etc., which due to their tactile
The attention and focus given Foundational Stage to higher nature promote learning environments
by NEP on inclusion and equity in education.” for all children, including those with
education is built on years of efforts disabilities in a regular classroom.

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 These developments in the
TricksterIAS experience for all the children. Arrows
NCERT textbook provide the impetus The ePathshala mobile app indicate how to move to the next
for more projects that focus on creative allows for Text To Speech page, and green and red dots denote
inclusive learning environments in the where a sentence begins and ends. In
(TTS) which makes the content both print and digital, difficult words
following years.
accessible to persons with and their meanings are explained in
Barkhaa: Reading for ‘All’ Children disabilities related to low vision. different ways suitable to the medium
The Barkhaa Reading series Further, there are diagrams of reading.
was developed originally by the in both braille and text for The features give a multi-sensory
Department of Elementary Education
Economics, and educational experience to readers - auditory
(DEE) at the NCERT, and consisted
learning kits for Mathematics, and visual. They create reading
of 40 slim storybooks in Hindi that
Science, and Languages at upper environments where children with
featured a range of diverse young
disabilities can read together with their
children in a variety of relatable yet primary, secondary and senior
classmates, parents, and teachers. For
interesting situations. These books are secondary levels which include instance, before each story begins in
predominantly visual, graded into four 3-D shapes, paper cut-outs, geo- the digital version, there is an audio-
levels, and cover a number of different
boards, abacus, etc. video introduction in Hindi and in
themes which make adaptation into
sign language. This helps prepare the
tactile material more complex. The
child to begin imagining and thinking about the story. In
Barkhaa series is hugely popular with children, and
a simple way, it activates interest in a child by asking
in 2017 it was adapted by the DEGSN at NCERT into
them questions about their own lives and connecting their
Barkhaa: A Reading Series for ‘All’. The goal of this
experiences with the story. The material also introduces
adaptation was to promote inclusion with the belief that
young children to sign language and braille, hence
all children should be given an opportunity to read the
creating a foundation to nurture inclusive attitudes in the
same book in their early years.
early years.
The adaptation of Barkhaa to Barkhaa: A Reading
Series for ‘All’ is an attempt to provide reading material Over the years, the digital version of Barkhaa:
in both print and digital versions with additional A Reading Series for ‘All’ has been widely used and
accessible features. In the print version, there is braille received an overwhelmingly positive response for
and text on the same page, along with tactile and high- its pedagogically effective features and user-friendly
resolution images, page gradation, and other features interface. It is accessible on smartphones, tablets,
that make the stories of Barkhaa accessible to children laptops, desktops, and with features such as changing the
with various disabilities and create a better reading background and font colours to suit vision needs, it sets
the stage for reading for many children with and without
disabilities. The print version of this series remains an
exemplar, and has not been yet circulated widely despite
an excellent national and international response. With the
support of the provisions in NEP, it may be possible to
see a time when this series and many others like it are
developed and shared widely, so that each school library
is equipped with accessible reading material.
It is important too that the accommodations and
features developed in and through this series do not remain
limited to it, rather they must affect the ways in which
teaching-learning material is conceptualised, developed,
and used in a widespread manner. Whereas Barkhaa was
originally a supplementary reading series, in 2019, the
experience gleaned from it was carried into an NCERT
initiative that worked with textbooks themselves.
Accessible Textbooks for ‘All’
NCERT’s module ‘Towards Accessible Textbooks
for All’ in collaboration with the National Institute of
Special Education, the Republic of Korea, took forward

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 TricksterIAS students but particularly those who
were already vulnerable when it came
to accessing education. With an attempt
to shift to online education, the losses
have been immense. Children with
disabilities who require hands-on support
and guidance from regular teachers and
special educators were also left at risk of
losing out on their education. With online
education, came a surge in the number of
e-learning platforms and digital content.
However, this did not necessarily mean
that all platforms and content were
inclusive or accessible to students from
A screenshot of the video with subtitles, illustrations, and an expressive teacher diverse backgrounds and abilities.
using sign languages
The Guidelines for the Development
the learning from the Barkhaa series to adapt nine stories of e-content for Children with Disabilities thus proved a
and poems from NCERT textbooks of Class 1 to 5 into timely intervention. They aim to promote the development
accessible digital formats (different types of audio tracks, of high-quality accessible content for children with
videos which included sign language). disabilities and strengthen momentum for inclusive
classrooms as envisioned in NEP 2020. They are framed
Whereas Barkhaa adapted supplementary reading
on the basis of four cardinal principles, namely, that the
material for the early years, in this module NCERT moved
e-content must be perceivable- students must be able
onto textbook chapters from the primary stages. The nine
to perceive content via any sense, operable- students
poems and stories for adaptation were chosen from Hindi,
must be able to manipulate and control the content,
English, and EVS NCERT textbooks of classes 1 to 5. understandable- students should be able to comprehend
Each adaptation is prefaced by an introductory question the content and the operations such as the instructions,
like in Barkhaa, and further there are reflective and and robust, which means that students should be able to
subjective questions at the end of each adaptation so that access the content on a range of devices— a laptop, a
readers continue to think about the story or poem after it desktop, a tablet, or a smartphone.
is over.
The Guidelines lay out standards and guidelines
For any accessible reading material, it is important for three components of e-content— namely pedagogy,
that the content to be adapted is also inclusive. This technology, and content. They emphasise that e-content
means that the material must show diverse characters, developed must be user-friendly and tested to see how
and they must be relevant for children from different children from diverse backgrounds and abilities respond
backgrounds. When developing any teaching-learning to it.
material, we must think of all children, with variations in
ability, socio-economic backgrounds, interests, strengths, NCERT Handbooks for Teachers
and access as being able to use it and find it relevant. With Over the years, NCERT has also undertaken
the increased reliance on online education since 2020, numerous interactions and consultations with various
this becomes all the more important when thinking about stakeholders and published several handbooks that
digital material or e-content. tackle the ‘how’ of practising inclusion in schools, for
E-Content for Accessibility e.g., Including Children with Special Needs: Primary

All the initiatives in accessibility by NCERT that we

have discussed so far include at least a digital component,
if not more. The e-content guidelines by NCERT were
in the works before the Covid-19 pandemic, building
on the Universal Design for Learning (UDL)-based
exemplar materials already developed and the ways in
which e-learning could be made more accessible for all,
particularly children with disabilities.
The pandemic in early 2020 meant sudden school
closure and heightened inequity, which affected all

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Sumits in the country. It is not their responsibility, nor the
Stage (2014) and Including Children with Special Needs:
Upper Primary Stage (2015) emphasise the need to shift responsibility of any child with a disability to navigate
to classrooms accommodating the needs of all learners. the education system which has historically failed and
Other handbooks that have become valuable resources excluded them. Nor is it the responsibility of parents or
since their publication cover specific subjects such as the community, even though we have much to learn from
including children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and them and we must forge meaningful collaborations with
the education of children from minority backgrounds. them. It is our responsibility— teachers and educators,
The Educational Rights of Children with Special Needs: Policy makers, administrators, and governments to come
Frequently Asked Questions (2020) handbook demystifies together and always keep the child as our priority in
the Right to Education Act for teachers and parents, and whatever we do. In doing this, we can hope to make our
has also been an important intervention in ensuring that schools places where all children, regardless of disability,
the provisions of the Act reach those who need it. can learn together in a community. And when the schools
These publications, along with the initiatives are provided support to teach children with disabilities,
discussed further above, form a series of important all children, including those without disabilities, learn
resources in the field of Inclusive Education. The ever- better.
present question, ‘How can students from various As the late Bell Hooks, the celebrated professor
backgrounds and abilities learn in the same classroom?’ is and feminist said, “I celebrate teaching that enables
broken down and addressed via these various initiatives. transgressions— a movement against and beyond
Moving Forward boundaries. It is that movement which makes education
the practice of freedom.” It is only when all students have
Inclusion in education is a process- it will not take the right to move beyond the boundaries set for them by
place overnight with NEP 2020, nor with any single an inequitable world, that we will create a society where
project or publication. But all of these are critical freedom abounds. 
landmarks on our path towards building a society which
is inclusive and just for all children. References

There are thousands and thousands of Priyas and 1. NEP 2020, 6.10.

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PRIMARY LEARNING

NIPUN Bharat Mission

Rashi Sharma

V
arious researches have clearly pointed out that foundational
learning forms the cornerstone to successful academic development
in later grades1 and is considered to be the gateway to learning2.
Moreover, there are several associated long-term benefits from
investing in foundational learning, such as better life outcomes3 and higher
economic growth.
6-9 years age group
Projected Population: 7,07,44,000
Number of children enrolled in Govt. schools: 3,98,95,694 (56.39%)
Number of children enrolled in Govt. Aided schools: 29,40,018 (4.16%)
The renewed focus on
Number of children enrolled in private unaided schools: 2,77,35,600 (39.21%)
foundational learning in
Number of children not enrolled in the any of the above: 1,72,688 (0.24%)
recent years is the most
positive phenomenon India has a gigantic number of Anganwadi centres and almost 3.46 crore
children of age group of 3 to 6 are enrolled in 13.87 lakh Anganwadis. As per
in the education sector.
UDISE 2019-20, there are 15 lakh schools including all categories (govt., govt.
It is now scientifically aided, and private unaided) with total enrolment of 25 crore children. Further, India
proven that the brain has progressed substantially towards achieving universalisation of elementary
develops faster in first education; the gross enrolment ratio (GER) at the primary level is 102.7% (as per
six years and quality UDISE + 2019-20) which indicates that nearly all children at primary level are
enrolled in schools. The details of children studying in grade I to III are detailed
early-childhood care and
in Graph 1.
education can actually
bring transformation in
education. It is important
to provide children the
exposure to flexible, multi-
faceted, multi-level, play-
based, activity-based, and
inquiry-based learning.
Ensuring that children
learn to read early and well
is the most important way
of ensuring that every child
has an equal opportunity
to learn at the primary
stage of schooling.
Graph 1

The author is Director (TE), Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, GoI. Email: [email protected]

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 However, the status of foundational
TricksterIAS In order to address above challenges
learning is not much different in The vision of the NIPUN Bharat and achieve the goal of attaining
India; learning levels have remained
Mission is to create an enabling foundational literacy as envisaged by
consistently low. As per the results NEP, Department of School Education
of National Achievements survey environment to ensure universal and Literacy has launched a National
conducted in 2017, almost 18% and 13 acquisition of Foundational mission namely ‘NIPUN Bharat’
% children in language and numeracy Literacy and Numeracy (FLN), (National Initiative for Proficiency
in Class III are below basic level, and so that every child achieves the in Reading with Understanding and
15% and 18% children in language and desired learning competencies in Numeracy)4 on 5 July, 2021. The vision
numeracy in Class V are below basic
reading, writing, and numeracy of the NIPUN Bharat Mission is to create
level. Only 47% and 53% children in an enabling environment to ensure
class III and 47% and 44% children in at the end of Grade III in next universal acquisition of Foundational
Class V have achieved proficiency in five years. Literacy and Numeracy (FLN), so that
language and numeracy respectively. every child achieves the desired learning
This situation requires urgent and focused attention to competencies in reading, writing, and numeracy at the end
ensure that the students are able to achieve desired learning of Grade III in next five years. The mission will cover
competencies at each grade. the learning needs of children in the age group of 3 to 9
NEP 2020 and NIPUN Bharat Mission years. There will be a strong linkage and smooth transition
between pre-school stage and Grade I, National Curriculum
The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) framework for ECCE being developed by NCERT will be
recommended a paradigm shift in the current education followed by both Anganwadis and Pre-primary schools to
system. NEP 2020 not only takes cognizance of unique ensure smooth transition to Grade I. The NIPUN Bharat
potential of each learner but also advocates scientific approach Mission will be executed across the nation through a
while propagating the new curriculum and pedagogical five-tier implementation mechanism including National-
structure divided in four stages, i.e 5+3+3+4 (Foundational, State-District-Block-School level. Play and Activity based
Preparatory, Middle and Secondary). With the revolutionary learning, comprising of alphabets, languages, numbers,
recommendations such as low stake board exams, thrust on counting, colours, shapes, indoor and outdoor play, puzzles
formative assessments, experiential learning at all stages, and logical thinking, problem-solving, drawing, painting
innovative and activity-based pedagogies to promote critical and other visual art, craft, drama, puppetry, music, and
thinking, creativity and curiosity amongst the children, and movement are going to be integral part of innovative
establishing crucial role of foundational learning, the Policy pedagogies being adopted for NIPUN Bharat Mission.
envisions to transform the education system and make it
compatible with the aspirations of the 21st century. One of Holistic Development of Learners
the major recommendations of NEP 2020 is emphasis on NIPUN Bharat Mission has been envisioned to make
universal acquisition of foundational skills by all children learning Holistic, Integrated, Inclusive, Enjoyable, and
at the end of Grade III. Foundational learning accounts for Engaging. The Mission keeps in mind the underlying
children’s ability to read and meaningfully comprehend, theme of NEP 2020 and focuses on holistic development
as well as use basic mathematical operations in real life. of learners. The three developmental goals emphasised by
The policy clearly states that until we take urgent steps the mission encompasses whole gamut of different domains
for improving foundational learning, the whole policy will of development like physical and motor development,
become irrelevant. socio-emotional development, literacy and numeracy
development, cognitive development, spiritual and moral
development, art, and aesthetic development which are
interrelated and interdependent. These developmental
aspects make child competent to deal with complex life
situations. All these domains have been subsumed into three
following major goals:
• Developmental Goal 1: Children maintain good health
and well-being
• Developmental Goal 2: Children become effective
communicators
• Developmental Goal 3: Children become involved
learners and connect with their immediate
Graph 2 environment.

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Competency
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Each developmental gool given a number/code for easy
The Competencies for each developmental goal have identification and referencing. It is important to understand
been identified. They are generic in nature and can be that these numbers are not hierarchical.
related to more than one learning outcomes. Competencies
specify what children will know, be able to do, or be able
HW 1 1
to demonstrate when they have completed or participated
in a course or programme. In competency-based education,
teaching and learning focuses on acquiring these basic
competencies which can be measured through Learning
Outcomes.
Learning outcome
Goal/Area Level (Year)
Learning Outcomes (LOs) and its codification number
Learning Outcomes are specific and measurable Graph 3
statements that describe exactly what a student will be
able to do. In order to achieve the competencies identified, VIDYA PRAVESH
learning outcomes under each goal have also been identified In India, access to quality Early Childhood Care and
and codified to understand the progression of a child from Education (ECCE) is still a goal to be achieved. There are
one grade to another; these are codified from 3 years of many children who directly enter grade I without having
preschool to grade III (level 1 to 6). any exposure to pre-school. Therefore, NEP 2020 has
The cycle of progression of the child while achieving a recommended a 3-month-activity-based school preparation
learning outcome from pre-school 1 to grade III is depicted module so that children become ready for Grade I. In
in Chart I. accordance of this recommendation, NCERT has developed
Vidya Pravesh, a 3 Months Play Based ‘School Preparation
Another distinctive feature of the NIPUN Bharat
Module’ as an integral part of the NIPUN Bharat mission
Mission is Lakshya Soochi or Targets for Foundational
that can be adapted or adopted by States and UTs as per their
Literacy and Numeracy which has specifically been
need for children entering Grade I. The objectives of Vidya
developed to generate greater awareness among the
Pravesh is to provide age and developmentally appropriate
parents, community, volunteers, etc. The Lakshyas has
early learning experiences to all children coming from
been developed from Balvatika to Grade 3 and are based
diverse settings and to promote strong foundation for
on the learning outcomes developed by the NCERT and
development and learning of all children with a focus on
international research and ORF studies. For example, a child
FLN. This module will also ensure a smooth transition to
should be able to read 45 to 60 words per minute and at least
class 1 and getting children acquainted with school routine.
60 words per minute correctly by the end of Grade II and
III respectively from an age appropriate unknown text with Assessment for Learning
comprehension and clarity. NIPUN Bharat mission promotes 21st century skills and
replaces rote memorisation with critical thinking, scientific
temper, and activity-based learning. It realises that the
primary aim of education is that the learner will acquire
knowledge, understand what has been acquired and make
informed decisions in the application of that knowledge to
solve problems. If the learner is unable to make connections
between the content and their day to day life, the content
loses meaning. Schools should provide an environment
where students can develop the ability to see relationships
between subjects, content, and skills as well as between
school and life outside of the classroom.
Assessment involves the gathering of information
from all possible sources, regarding knowledge, skill,
attitude, ability, and beliefs of the students, document the
same, and use this data to make informed instructional
decisions, refine or restructure processes, and ultimately
improve the students’ learning. At the foundational level,
school-based assessment is the most appropriate way of
tracking the progress of learning. NIPUN Bharat mission

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Chart 1

recommends a stress-free, non-threatening, and qualitative context, culture, and language an integral part of a child’s
observation-based assessment at school level. School-Based education that positively influences learning levels. The
Assessment (SBA) is principally aimed to see the individual recent Covid-19 pandemic has also demonstrated the
as well as collective impact of the classroom transactions, limitations of the formal schooling system and the vitality of
and experiences at home in attaining the desired learning the involvement of parents in ensuring continuity of learning
outcomes as intended in the curriculum. process. All the stakeholders are required to be made aware
The school-based assessment will help in monitoring the of the targets of NIPUN Bharat and its criticality and impact
quality of education in a decentralised manner. It would be on future learning path of the child.
conducted through day-to-day observation and documentation Conclusion
of stated outcomes achieved as well as children’s development The existing 10+2 system has created a notion that
in terms of their health and nutrition status, their participation class 10th and 12th are most important in terms of academic
and involvement in learning experiences, artwork, games achievements and children are essentially required to do
and exercises, music and movement, etc. including their well in these classes. However, this perception requires to
behaviour in classroom and outside. Assessment at this stage be changed and focus should be shifted to early classes as
is done to recognise and encourage strengths, identifying enough evidences are available which clearly show that if
areas that need additional support, and addressing learning/ children are unable to attain foundational skills by Grade III,
developmental gaps. In addition to SBA, periodic National it become very difficult for them to fulfil the expectations
Achievement Survey (NAS) will also be conducted to assess of curriculum in higher classes. Grade III is the inflection
the health of the education system. point where children are expected to ‘read to learn’ and this
Stakeholders’ Participation is where children who have not made it, essentially get left
The key factor to make any programme successful behind and maintain flat learning trajectories5. The time
and sustainable is dependent on the participation of all is now ripe for every citizen to understand importance of
stakeholders. NIPUN Bharat Mission cannot succeed foundational learning and participate wholeheartedly in the
without the participation of community including parents endeavours to make NIPUN Bharat Mission a grand and
and volunteers. sustainable success. 

The involvement of parents and community is even References

more critical to provide extended academic support. Even 1. Duncan et. al, 2007
after entering the formal schooling system, family and 2. World Bank, 2009
community continue to be the places where major learning 3. Graham and Kelly, 2018
takes place as children spend more than 80% of their 4. NIPUN Bharat: Guidelines are available: https://www.education.gov.
time at home. Additionally, ensuring effective community in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/nipun_bharat_eng1.pdf
involvement, especially in early years can make local 5. Muralidharan and Zieleniak, 2013.

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COMMUNITY BUILDING

Bridging Education and Communities

Dr M K Sridhar
Dr Manasa Nagabhushanam

Education has been the foundation of Indian society since the beginning of civilisation. Prior
to colonisation, the Gurukula system was prevalent and worked on informal structures. This
provided a greater scope for interaction with the society and the connect between knowledge
and its application. During times of Nalanda and Takshashila, the history of higher education in
India was more holistic and connected to the society. The current education system is rooted in
the British education system which brought in a formal structure and contributed significantly
to the growth of education in India. Universities, colleges, and schools were structured and
developed on these lines.

A
great amount of emphasis is laid on the engagement an intrinsic element of education rather
importance of education in India. The first than making it a discreet effort. The flexibility element
two Education policies of the country have provides for greater opportunities to build community
aimed at compulsory education for children engagement at institutional level and autonomy gives
and achieving uniformity across social groups.They have the power to institutions. Institutions with flexibility and
been successful in establishing regulatory structures, autonomy are free to design and develop programmes
systems, and processes to achieve access, quality, and to bring interconnectedness with the society. All aspects
equity outcomes.With the growth of the education sector, of the 2020 Policy make us realise that social justice
there have also been several challenges. The focus on and social transformation are at the backdrop and
excellence has made education more knowledge-oriented education is a vehicle to attain them. NEP articulates
with lesser importance to the application of knowledge to the role of community in education both explicitly and
the society. implicitly. Some of those which are explicit include
Community engagement is an essential bringing Anganwadis in the education fold; integrating
element which links education to the society. The skills at various levels; making education holistic and
interconnectedness can be established only through multidisciplinary; focusing on experiential learning;
community extending its ownership to the educational creating an atmosphere of autonomy; integrating local
endeavours and educational institutions offering its skills in the main course of education focusing on
programmes and services, that in turn empowers impactful research; and so on.
the society. In the current structure, community Community Engagement in School Education
takes ownership by participating through School NEP envisages a public education system with true
Development and Monitoring Committees (SDMCs) philanthropic private and community participation. The
and Educational institutions work with communities community is an integral part of School Education and
through programmes of NSS, NCC, Red Cross, and has a major role to play in shaping it. There have been
other voluntary efforts of institutions. evidences that village schools function effectively only
The flexibility and autonomous dimensions of the when the local community is active and participates in the
National Education Policy 2020 makes community functioning of the schools.

Prof. M K Sridhar is President, Centre for Educational and Social Studies. He served as Member of the drafting committee of the National
Education Policy, 2020. Email: [email protected]
Prof. Manasa Nagabhushanam is a professor at M. S. Ramaiah Institute of Management, Bengaluru. Email: [email protected]

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 TricksterIAS development has a critical role in school
improvement across inputs, processes, and
outcomes. The Policy recommends the
participation of community, alumni, and
volunteers in making learning more effective
and in achieving Foundational Literacy and
Numeracy (FLN) outcomes.
To use the unutilised capacity of
school infrastructure and to promote social,
intellectual, and volunteer activities for the
community, the policy suggests ‘Samajik
Chetna Kendra’ which could promote social
cohesion during non-teaching/schooling hours.
Community Engagement in Higher
Education
In higher education, the policy contains
several important elements fostering social
responsibility and community engagement
in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). In
Higher Education, community engagement
enables bridging the gap between theoretical
concepts and its practice. Education has no
Regarding Early Childhood Care and Education meaning unless real-time problems of the society are
(ECCE), NEP 2020 states that Anganwadis shall be fully identified and solutions are provided. This can happen
integrated complexes/clusters, and children’s parents and only through deeper interactions between higher education
teachers will be invited to participate in school complex institutions and communities. Education and communities
programmes. All these years, Anganwadis have focused on have a symbiotic relationship as education must contribute
mother and child nutrition, their integration with education to society in finding solutions to the real time problems and
enables supporting parents and building communities in turn society has to support the institutions in facilitating
in providing early childhood education along with the curriculum development, teaching learning, and research.
necessary nutrition and health care. The major recommendation of NEP is to make higher
The concept of cluster schools brings in the role of education broad-based and holistic. Universities and
community in building schools and enhancing learning. colleges have to become multidisciplinary institutions
A school complex groups neighbouring schools into a of higher learning, offering undergraduate and graduate
cluster. Apart from the benefits of pooling and sharing programmes, with quality teaching, research, and
resources like teachers, learning, and physical resources; community engagement. Multidisciplinary approach binds
the biggest benefit would be the communities around the courses to the needs of the society with flexible and
the school complex. Broad-based school complexes and innovative curriculum. The Choice Based Credit System
clusters enable innovations specific to the location and (CBCS) structure calls for varied combination of courses
context. The school cluster management committees with integration of experiential learning. To make learning
consisting of various stakeholders include the community broad-based, courses are suggested in the areas concerning
along with local management experts community service, environmental
who can take care of the governance education, and value-based education,
All aspects of the 2020 Policy and projects in the areas of climate
and management of school clusters.
make us realise that social justice change, pollution, waste management,
Non-governmental philanthropic and social transformation are sanitation, conservation of biological
organisations are encouraged to
at the backdrop and education diversity, management of biological
build and develop schools. Schools resources and biodiversity, forest and
with participation of community in is a vehicle to attain them.
wildlife conservation, and sustainable
the management and development NEP articulates the role of development and living. Value-based
of schools have proved to be more community in education both education includes development of
proactive in achieving outcomes. explicitly and implicitly. humanistic, ethical, constitutional,
Community participation in school and universal human values as also

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life-skills; lessons in seva/service;
TricksterIAS spirit and pro-activeness. Community
and participation in community Community participation engagement has to be institutionalised
service programmes. Students are by incorporating the same in the
to be provided with opportunities
in school development has vision, mission, objectives, and
for internships with local industry, a critical role in school the institutional plans. Institutional
businesses, artists, crafts persons, etc., improvement across inputs, mechanisms have to be developed to
as well as research internships with processes, and outcomes. integrate community engagement with
faculty and researchers at their own or The policy recommends the other areas of teaching-learning and
other HEIs, so that students actively participation of community, research. However, institutions are
engage with the practical side of feeling the need to be hand-held during
their learning through sports, culture,
alumni, and volunteers in making the implementation.
environment clubs, and community learning more effective and in
With the available direction and
service projects. NEP, in line with the achieving Foundational Literacy in anticipation of a few guidelines
Global Citizenship Education (GCED), and Numeracy (FLN) outcomes. from the Government and governing
recommends empowering learners bodies, the way forward for institutions
to become aware of and understand global issues and is to proactively respond and implement community
to become active promoters of more peaceful, tolerant, engagement at their level.
inclusive, secure, and sustainable societies.
Institutions have three options in making community
Directional Efforts engagement a reality. Firstly, anticipating directions from
In its pursuit of implementing the policy, the the government and implementing accordingly. Secondly,
government and concerned bodies are in the process of taking the spirit of the policies, implementing them with or
developing guidelines for the implementation both at the without anticipating directions from the Government and
national level and at respective States. The University other concerned bodies by setting teams, preparing plans,
Grants Commission (UGC) has also developed the National involving community stakeholders, and working towards
Curricular Framework and guidelines, 2020 specifically implementation. Lastly, thinking beyond NEP, innovating
on fostering community engagement in higher educational newer ways of bringing community closer to the institution.
institutions (HEIs). There are efforts to develop courses It is the Institutions which can build the interconnectedness
and curriculum to engage students with rural communities within the society, in order to achieve this, the institutions
under the ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’. The Ministry has also have to instill amongst the stakeholders that they belong
entrusted Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural to the society and bring society closer to the institutions to
Education (MGNCRE) with the task of preparing and respond to their needs.
running Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) on The new policy attempts to address the need of social
SWAYAM platform on “Fostering Social Responsibility connect through education. The role of government bodies,
and Community Engagement”. institutions, NGOs, and other organisations is crucial in
Implementing Community Engagement in Institutions realising these goals and creating an adequate ecosystem
The depth of community engagement depends on the and opportunity for individuals to build a connect.
priority that institutions place on involving communities in It also focuses on the establishing a logical end to
Governance, Teaching learning, Research, and Institutional the process of learning which is not just accumulation
Development. The policy has paved way to the Institutions of knowledge, instead building a robust environment
to become an integral part of the society, draw resources, that enables application of concept and understands the
and contribute knowledge to the practical usage of the same in societal
communities. necessities.
Education and communities
The policy gives great clarity The ideology behind NEP is to
have a symbiotic relationship
on what Schools, Colleges and bridge the divide between the society
Universities have to do for better
as education must contribute
and education. Education is intended to
community engagement and why such to society in finding solutions be part of the society and society needs
an engagement is necessary. It is now to the real time problems and contribution of educational institutions
to the institutions to move forward in in turn society has to support to have a synergetic relationship. This
the directions laid down by the Policy. the institutions in facilitating relationship could be strengthened only
The challenge is how to go ahead curriculum development, when institutions recognise their role
with the implementation at individual teaching learning, and research. and work towards making community
schools and colleges with its true engagement a reality. 

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TRAINING and evaluation

Recruitment, Training, and Assessment of Teachers

Ranjitsinh Disale

The education system aims to develop good human beings capable of rational thought and
action, possessing compassion and empathy, courage and resilience, scientific temper, and
creative imagination with sound ethical moorings and values. Its motive is to produce engaging
and productive citizens who can contribute to building an equitable, inclusive, and plural society
as envisaged by our constitution. There are swift changes taking place in the education sector
across the globe.

T
he new National Education Policy 2020 process more transparent by halting mass transfers, using
reflects on how the Indian education system computerised systems for automation of the transfer process,
is dynamic. The policy also stresses on the and also encouraging States to have technology-enabled
importance of the role of teachers, it states planning and forecasting exercises to determine vacancies
“Teachers truly shape the future of our children - and, by subject.
therefore, the future of our nation.” Teachers who are also One of the major challenges is the scarcity of teachers.
called ‘Guru’, one of the oldest words for teachers in Indian Usually, it has been an issue particularly in the disciplines
culture tells us how teachers have been the most respected of art, physical, and vocational education, as well as among
members of our society for ages. Thanks to their noble work counsellors, and technical staff. The policy promotes the
of passing on the skills, knowledge, and even ethical values idea of hiring local experts to a school complex and sharing
to generation after generation. them across the cluster of schools adopted by State or UT
However, over time the role of these human resource governments to deal with inadequate number of teachers.
creators has been looked upon as uninspiring with rampant It is to be noted that there is a hindrance among the
exploitation. But with the constantly changing world, there teachers for the rural posting for various reasons. However,
is a need for complete overhaul by keeping teachers at the the policy suggests incentives for teachers to take up teaching
core of the reforms in the education system. And to do so, jobs in rural areas, by the provision of local housing near or
there is a need for change in recruitment, training, and merit- on the school premises, or increased housing allowances. In
based assessment of teachers. addition, merit-based scholarships will be provided for rural
Teacher Recruitment Process students and teachers.
For the recruitment in government and private schools,
teachers must possess a professional degree and qualify
Teacher Eligibility Tests (TET). NEP 2020 recommends
strengthening the TET in various ways and inclusion of
evaluation of subject knowledge and teaching competencies
through demonstrations and interviews. These interviews
would also assess comfort and proficiency of teaching in the
local language.
Apart from strengthening TET, there are various
positive points the NEP highlights about teachers’
recruitment. The policy aims to make the teacher recruitment

The author is the first Indian teacher to win Global Teacher Prize 2020. Email: [email protected]

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Also, it is laudable that the policy encourages the teacher will be expected to participate in at least 50 hours of
appointment of local eminent persons or experts as ‘master Continuous Professional Development (CPD) opportunities,
instructors’ in various subjects, such as in traditional local driven by their own interests. CPD opportunities will,
arts, vocational crafts, entrepreneurship, agriculture, or any in particular, systematically cover the latest pedagogies
other subject where local expertise exists. This will benefit regarding Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN),
students and help preserve and promote local knowledge formative and adaptive assessment of learning outcomes,
and professions. competency-based learning, and related pedagogies, such as
Training experiential learning, arts-integrated, sports-integrated, and
storytelling-based approaches, etc.”
Teacher recruitment is not the end but the beginning of
the process towards achieving the goal of having the best Considering the diversity and different socio-economic
education system. After recruitment, shaping of teachers’ strata in the society, there is a need for tailored teachers
career is also equally essential. training. The training should be customised/need-based,
continuous, practical, and more focused.
With changes in the global ecosystem and employment
landscape, it has become more important for children to • Tailored Training: Present day training system is ‘fit to
know how to learn. For the same, the education must focus all’, which means, there is only one training module for
on learning critical thinking, creativity, multidisciplinary all. Our country being a diverse country, training should
adaption, innovation, problem-solving among others. be according to the needs of the teacher considering
different factors like urban, rural, tribal, remote areas
The motive of education should also be to make where the teacher is teaching. Training should be
education more learner-centered, enjoyable, experiential, aligned with the teachers’ needs and environment.
discovery-oriented. The system must embrace basic arts,
humanities, sports, games along with science and maths. • More practical: Present day teachers’ training is
The importance of incorporation of languages, literature, theoretical; for the best results it has to be more
culture, and values cannot be forgotten because it will help practical. To simplify this, let’s take an example of the
in the development of all aspects of learners and enhance football team. If a football coach teaches how to score
their capabilities. goals on paper without making the team practice on the
ground, will that suffice? Like we conduct training for
 The way teachers interact with students in the classroom, students, we can also conduct it for teachers through
and the experiences that teachers provides them, can make varied activities. Information about the new curriculum
all the difference in ensuring students’ emotional, academic, is given through lectures in training sessions. There
and social learning. Therefore, teachers’ training becomes could be ways to combine it with activities?
more important.
There should be need-based training for teachers.
Let’s have a look at a cricket team. Apart from 11 players Considering what teachers need to do in the classroom, they
who actually play on the ground, a team has extra players and should be given more opportunities to practice, polish their
other members like the main coach, batting coach, bowling skills, and receive feedback for improvement.
coach, mind and physical coach. With their strong support
system, players give their best on the ground. What if we Focused training: Recently, the training is conducted
•
apply the same for teachers? If teachers get strong support like only when there are changes in the syllabus or
a cricket player gets on the ground, then even they can give something new is introduced to it. These kinds of
their best. Therefore, along with teacher trainings are generalised trainings. There should be
training, it is also important that the focused training that can be measurable
training process should be continuous. The policyaims to make and result-oriented. For example, in
the teacher recruitment teachers training programme for a
NEP states “Teachers will be language course, the trainee can be
given continuous opportunities for process more transparent
taught on effective use of technology
self-improvement and to learn the by halting mass transfers, to deliver the poems. In this way, we
latest innovations and advances in their using computerised systems can move from generalised to focused
professions. These will be offered in for automation of the training to achieve better results.
multiple modes, including in the form
of local, regional, state, national, and
transfer process, and also  On-going training: The teachers’
international workshops as well as encouraging States to have training is considered to be completed
online teacher development modules. technology-enabled planning once it is imparted. There is a need to
Platforms (especially online platforms) and forecasting exercises to change this approach. There should be
will be developed so that teachers may determine vacancies by subject. a follow-up system, where teachers
share ideas and best practices. Each should be asked whether they face

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any difficulties while teaching in the
TricksterIAS Merit-based Assessment
classroom after completing their training. The motive of education should After teachers’ training, another
If yes, the system can provide them also be to make education more important aspect that comes in the loop
assistance to overcome those hurdles. is the assessment of teachers. According
Teachers should be given continuous
learner-centered, enjoyable,
experiential, discovery-oriented. to NEP, teachers doing outstanding
support even after the training. They work must be recognised, appreciated,
should be provided feedback based on The system must embrace promoted, and given an increment in
observations after their training. basic arts, humanities, sports, the salary. Incentivisation of all teachers
Independent Training Wing games along with science and to encourage them to do their best is
For teachers training programme, maths. The importance of needed. Therefore, a robust merit-based
three to four teachers from each district incorporation of languages, structure of tenure, promotion, and
are selected and trained at the State literature, culture, and values salary structure may be developed.
level. These trainees then work as cannot be forgotten. The policy also hinted at
trainers for teachers from the district the development of the National
level. This continues at tehsil and then at the block level. In Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST). This will be
this process, students may suffer academically due to loss of developed by 2022. It is suggested that, the standards would
classes and disturbed schedule, when their teachers are busy cover expectations of the role of a teacher at different levels
with the training. of expertise/stage, and the competencies required for that
To address the same, there could be a separate training purpose. It will also comprise of standards for performance
wing where interested and additional teachers can be appraisal, for each stage, that would be carried out on a
appointed as permanent trainers. These trainers will be periodic basis. The NPST will also inform the design of
given an advanced training which will help in moulding pre-service teacher education programmes. This could
them into competent trainers who can then train others from be then adopted by States and determine all aspects of
the district, tehsil to block level. This change can be made at teacher career management, including tenure, professional
the SCERT training wing available in States and UTs. development efforts, salary increment, promotions, and
other recognitions. Promotions and salary increment will
We can also check whether this system can be not occur based on the length of tenure or seniority, but only
implemented on a PPP basis where private organisations will on the basis of such appraisal. The professional standards
work as trainers on a voluntary basis. Teachers are not trained to will be reviewed and revised in 2030, and thereafter every
train other teachers. They are just trained to teach students. This ten years, on the basis of rigorous empirical analysis of the
thus highlights the need of professionals or the formation of efficacy of the system.
the independent training wing with a skilled and professional
training team.With the availability of many courses online Evaluating Teachers
on various platforms, teachers can be given choices to attend Currently, there is a Confidential Report (CR)
various programmes available at their time of convenience. method used for the evaluation of teachers. This is not a
performance and target-based method. This system does not
give weightage to evaluation of children’s learning ability
as a result and outcome of teacher’s efforts. There needs
to be some method to make it more objective. Teachers’
performance should be measurable. The increment should
be based on performance and not the tenure like it has
been done presently. Because with the present day system,
salary increment of teachers is the same, irrespective of
their performance. There is a need for a system where
increments are given based on the performance. Also there
may be a provision of incentives. This will help improve
the performance. With these improved performances,
desired results can be achieved.
The NEP looks promising as it rightly highlights the
changes necessary in the 21st century. With the addition of
some more alterations to teachers’ training programme and
their implementation, the system will achieve greater goals,
assist teachers to think out of the box to attain great heights,
Source: Twitter account of National Council for Teacher Education, MoE, GoI and support children to realise their potential. 

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YE-1756/2022

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The Early Years

Teach them Young

Shankar Maruwada

At present, there are likely to be about 100 million children between the ages of 3-6 years.1 These
years are the bridge years between home and school, critical for physical, cognitive, socio-
emotional, language, and early numeracy development - components together comprising
Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE). These years have the “most important influence in
subsequent learning, behaviour and health.”2 The damage ensued by no early learning for the
majority of little children of India is no different from the devastation caused by climate change
and the pandemic. Despite the setback due to the pandemic, with the trend of children returning
back to schools for a brief period before the recent wave, we need to expand the opportunities
to the youngest children of India, for the future depends on how our youngest children are
empowered to learn and craft their own future in a fast-paced, ever changing world.

T
he pandemic has further exacerbated the yy Stimulation that fosters curiosity particularly
problem for the most vulnerable children. “planned play, adult-child interactions, child-
It has become imperative to lay a solid child interactions, and opportunities for holistic
foundation of ECCE since population trends development”.5
show that India’s child population has reached a peak; NEP 2020 notes: “Over 85% of a child’s cumulative
hereafter we can expect a slow decline.3 Over the next brain development occurs prior to the age of 6,
decade, about 23-24 million births are expected per indicating the critical importance of appropriate care
year.4 If we do the heavy lifting of educating this one and stimulation of the brain in the early years...”6
generation, future generations will reap rich dividends.
Neuroscience tells us that “a young child’s brain
Foundation for the Future develops through stimulation of the sensing pathways
Consider the year 2040- 25 year old Raksha looks
back to 2020 when the pandemic caused destruction in
the lives and livelihood of her poor parents. 20 years
hence, she walks the same path of uncertainty. Five
year old Raksha was uncared for, had not attended any
preschool and dropped out of school in class 8. She
wondered what could have helped break this ‘chain of
pain’ passed down from generations. She wanted her
3-year-old daughter not to live a life like hers.
For overall development, a child in the early years
needs:
yy Care, in the form of good health & nutrition and a
safe environment, as well as,

The author is CEO and Co-Founder of EkStep Foundation. Email: [email protected]

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Sensitive Periods for Early Development Heckman’s Curve: Economic Impact of Early Childhood
(MWCD 2013, adapted) Learning (Heckman 2021)

(e.g. seeing, hearing, touching, Nobel Laureate James Heckman

smelling, tasting) from early A mother singing a lullaby to strongly argues that investing in early
experiences”2. A mother singing a her child or a father playing childhood education produces the
lullaby to her child or a father playing with his child are such critical greatest returns in terms of human
with his child are such critical early early experiences. The child’s capital and ensures quality economic
experiences. The child’s brain in these brain in these years is plastic, returns. It results in far greater
years is plastic, rapidly growing, and returns than the same investment in
rapidly growing, and yearning
yearning for experiences to prepare schooling8. It thus achieves the most
itself for the future. Greater the for experiences to prepare impact for those most impacted.
number of experiences, more the itself for the future. Greater
“It takes a village to raise a child.”
neurons create neural pathways for the number of experiences,
optimal learning and development. more the neurons create neural This adage is befitting of the
pathways for optimal learning early year children more than anyone
Child and adolescent mental else. They begin to form a sense of
health therapist Dr Shelja Sen states and development.
self but their agency is mediated by
about the brain that: caring adults who surround them–family,
“...the more it lights up, makes teachers, anganwadi workers, etc.,
synaptic connections and builds who would provide for their food,
pathways, the more complex care, learning, and safety, and
and stronger it grows. shape a sense of self.
Especially the pre-frontal They play with their
cortex or the conductor peers in the community.
of the whole neural Across these spaces,
orchestra, which they learn all the
seats what we call time: “Children learn
the executive from anything and
skills– ability to everything they see.
think clearly, self They learn wherever
regulate, manage they are, not just
time, organise self, in special learning
be goal directed. places”9. How can
In short– the key this be optimised for
ingredients for learning, at home and
optimal living.”7 community, during play
Therefore, missing or interacting with the
this critical window of family?
opportunity would be to What is required to
deprive the child an opportunity empower caring adults to engage
for learning and a better future. in children’s early learning? What

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support do these caring adults need?
TricksterIAS particularly children from socio-
ECCE in India It proposes that change economically disadvantaged
backgrounds.”6 A strong investment in
Decades of state effort has gone be brought about through
ECCE will ensure school-readiness,
into delivering care and learning for campaigns, events, etc., drawing which is the achievement of preschool
the little child. India has, among other on key insights from successful level learning outcomes across key
programmes, one of largest network public programmes like Polio developmental goals. These can be:
of child care or anganwadi centres, eradication and Swachh 1. Children maintain good health
set up under the Ministry of Women Bharat in order to make ECCE and wellbeing, 2. Children become
& Child Development’s Integrated effective communicators, 3. Children
Child Development Services (ICDS)
a Jan Andolan or People’s
become involved learners and connect
Scheme (1975), that provides a range movement.
with their immediate environment.12
of services, from health and nutrition
to pre-school non-formal education. ECCE: a core Policy imperative

Civil society organisations have played a The NEP 2020 has taken a big step in making ECCE
significant role- conducting pioneering research, a core Policy imperative:
working extensively with States in building capacity “Universal provisioning of quality early childhood
for anganwadis and schools, spreading awareness, development, care, and education must … be achieved
implementing programmes, and interventions and as soon as possible, and no later than 2030, to ensure
creating a number of practitioner resources. that all students entering Grade 1 are school ready.”6
In addition, private preschool, and day care services Following NEP 2020, detailed guidelines for ECCE
have been accessible at various price points due to and FLN have been formulated through the National
increased demand particularly between 2008 and 2020.10 Initiative for Prociency in Reading with Understanding
Despite multiple actors and a variety of interventions & Numeracy or NIPUN Bharat. These have generated
and initiatives, achieving quality ECCE still remains a a buzz in the ecosystem to create impact in the ECCE
challenge. space and maximise opportunities for every child’s
Unprepared Schooling future in India. What is critical now is implementation.

Of the nearly 25 million children born in India Improving ECCE

every year, about 99% enroll in school at the age of 5 or NEP 2020 and NIPUN Bharat emphasise the need
6. However, as ASER 2019: ‘Early Years’ reveals, many to involve parents/family in the learning.
enter school without being school-ready. Only 10.7% of
The current parent/caregiver mindset is “These are
children aged 5 could match pictures beginning with the
the days for play.” NIPUN Bharat directs us to barriers
same sound, and only 17.5% could complete a simple
such as parents/caregivers “do not have a role to play in
pictorial pattern.11
education if they themselves are not literate, or that their
The root cause for this, as the National Education role ends at sending their child to school.” It proposes
Policy (NEP) 2020 points out is: “Presently, quality that change be brought about through campaigns, events,
ECCE is not available to crores of young children, etc., drawing on key insights from successful public

How school-ready are children in India? (ASER 2020)

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activity, it carries immense potential to become optimal
learning moments.
It is critical for both mother as well as father to play
a role in the creation of learning moments. Though it is
well recognised that it is the mother who is primarily
involved in the child’s learning, studies show the
unique role that fathers play in the cognitive skills
development of a child.14 It has been found that male
caregivers report higher levels of overall satisfaction
compared with female caregivers15, thus opening up an
opportunity for planned interventions to involve fathers/
male caregivers.
In addition to awareness, empowering caring adults
to create learning moments is critical, for instance:
yy Can access to local language resources (games,
stories, activities etc) be enabled for caregivers,
anganwadi workers, teachers?.12
yy Can the learning outcomes for preschoolers
across the three developmental goals12 be made
understandable, accessible, and usable for parents?
Ministry of Education tweet emphasising parents’ involvement in This would align with the MoE’s “Guidelines”
children’s learning (2021c) that stress the importance of parents/caregivers
to measure learning progress, “For pre-schoolers
programmes like Polio eradication and Swachh Bharat monitoring of progress must be part of the activities
in order to make ECCE a Jan Andolan or People’s that are conducted with them.”12 The ability to
movement.12 measure could serve as caregiver motivation to
The MoE “Guidelines for Parent Participation sustain participation in children’s early learning.
in Home Learning” mentions a key strategy for early yy Can there be a national caregiver helpline where
learning, that is to “turn every day routines into fun caring adults can get guidance, in their local
playful moments for learning and brain development”. language, about child development- from tips
Underlying this conversion is the important fact that on nutrition, child care, early learning to initial
a child is learning all the time, and therefore, play is assessments on developmental delays and learning
learning. The “Guidelines” provide an A-Z listing of difficulties?
moments and activities that can be conducted, for eg. yy Can there be a platform that offers everything “Early
Kitchen drummer: Turn over safe, shatter-proof bowls, Learning” – from curriculums, TLMs & resources,
pots, and pans to make a set of drums straight from including books, toys & how-to guides for teachers,
your kitchen; Connect with nature: Encourage children anganwadi workers, caregivers?
to observe the flowers, trees, plants, leaves, birds,
butterflies, insects in the local environment.13 In all this, yy Can ‘words’ become a means to open the world of
the child is learning– while drumming, playing outside language to children- with word activities and word
in nature, while interacting with games messaged to caregivers?
parents/caregivers, peers, etc. Technology Divide to Dividend
As early as the 1950s, Robert
As early as the 1950s, Robert Havighurt in his book Human Technology is a means to fulfill a
Havighurt in his book Human Development and Education societal purpose. For this, technology
Development and Education spoke of has to mould itself to fit the needs of
‘teachable moments’ in the context of
spoke of ‘teachable moments’ in
caring adults rather than caring adults
children learning: “When the timing the context of children learning: having to mould themselves to fit
is right, the ability to learn a particular “When the timing is right, the technology. Technology in the ECCE
task will be possible. This is referred ability to learn a particular task space is not child facing but can
to as a ‘teachable moment’, or for the will be possible. This is referred become a powerful tool to empower
child, a learning moment during play, to as a 'teachable moment'.” and enable caring adults (caregivers,
because a child is immersed in the teachers, anganwadi workers) to

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raise the quality of interactions with their children in yy the need to bridge the alienation children from
the physical world. It can aid in the creation of more tribal communities experience, both culturally and
learning moments through providing relevant, usable academically
information, and easing discovery of child resources. yy certain geographical areas contain significantly
Two key findings of the ASER Report 2021 on the larger proportions of SEDGs, and hence these areas
use of technology for learning during the Covid-19 should be declared Special Education Zones (SEZs),
lockdown are that availability of smartphones has almost where all the schemes and policies are implemented
doubled from 2018-2021 and that since the lockdown, 1 to the maximum
in about 28 households have purchased a smartphone for yy specially targeting girls, who cut across all
studies.11 This signals a critical shift in parental mindset underrepresented groups, making up about half of
about the use of smartphones for learning. How can this all SEDGs and as a means to secure learning for “not
be leveraged for ECCE at home? just in the present but also in future generations.”
Language as a Resource, not Barrier yy ensuring inclusion and equal participation of
Multilingualism in the context of teaching-learning children with disabilities in ECCE, in particular
has conventionally been seen as a challenge. Can the through assistive devices, appropriate technology-
multilingual classroom be turned into a resource rather based tools, and language-appropriate teaching-
than a barrier for learning? NEP 2020 lays emphasis on learning materials. Technology-based solutions
“multilingualism and the power of language” arguing for orientation of parents/caregivers and learning
for a promotion of home, local, and regional languages materials to actively support their children’s
as “It is well understood that young learning needs will be accorded
children learn and grasp nontrivial NEP 2020 lays emphasis on priority.
concepts more quickly in their  Support to teachers to sense &
home language/mother tongue.”6
“multilingualism and the
power of language” arguing identify learning disabilities early
The UNICEF-LLF “Guidelines for and plan for their mitigation. Not
Implementation of Early Learning for a promotion of home,
the least, it emphasises a change
Programs” reiterates that including local, and regional languages in school culture to remove biases
children’s languages helps to promote as “It is well understood that and stereotypes in order to develop
“an equitable learning environment”, young children learn and respect for diversity.6
“a strong scaffold for learning the
school language”, and “higher order
grasp nontrivial concepts Conclusion
work like thinking, reasoning and more quickly in their home Now is the moment in India
expression.”16 language/mother tongue.” to target the challenge of quality
NEP 2020 argues for children to be exposed to early childhood education. With a
multilingualism early on “as research clearly shows that decreasing child demographic, the problem is a solvable
children pick up languages extremely quickly between the one. Despite the setback due to the pandemic, with
ages of 2 and 8 and that multilingualism has great cognitive the trend of children now returning back to schools,
benefits to young students”. It recommends generation
6 we need to expand the opportunities to the youngest
of textbooks, TLMs, and “enjoyable and inspirational children of India, for the future depends on how
books” in local languages to support the multilingual our youngest children are empowered to learn and
approach, including through technology-assisted craft their own future in a fast-paced, ever changing
translation.6 world. Policy intent exists, what is now required is
an ecosystem to create, contribute, and leverage
Inclusion of All building blocks required to create diverse solutions
NEP 2020 advocates inclusion of all Socio- and resources as public goods for the sake of the early
Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs) years child. 
at the three levels of access, participation, and
learning outcomes. NEP 2020 specifically calls References
out that “children who come from families that are 1. Dept. of School Education & Literacy (DoSEL) 2021, UDISE+
Projected Population of India (in ‘000) by Gender, Age-group
economically disadvantaged” reap the “greatest
and Social Category (2011–2021). Ministry of Education.
dividends” with an early childhood education. It https://dashboard.udiseplus.gov.in/#/reportDashboard/sReport
draws attention to: 2. McCain & Mustard 1999. Early Years Study: Reversing the
yy disparities experienced by socio-cultural groups Real Brain Drain. Toronto, April.
based on caste, tribe, and religion 3. United Nations-Population Division 2019 Revision. accessed

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 TricksterIAS
at Ricthie, H 2020, “India’s population growth will come to an Beyond” https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/
end”, ourworldindata.org mhrd/files/MoE_Home_Learning_Guidelines.pdf
4. UNICEF Key Data: India n.d. https://www.unicef.org/india/ 14. Rollè, L. et al 2019. “Father Involvement and Cognitive
key-data Development in Early and Middle Childhood: A Systematic
Review”. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2405
5. Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) 2013.
“National ECCE Curriculum Framework”, https://wcd. 15. Sheth, S and Lewis, M 2021. “Listening to families”, https://
nic.in/sites/default/files/national_ecce_curr_framework_ www.dosteducation.com/blog/listening-to-families, August 11.
final_03022014%20%282%2 9.pdf
16. UNICEF-LLF 2019. “Guidelines for Design and Implementation
6. National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. https://www.education. of Early Learning Programs”, https://www.unicef.org/india/
gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/NEP_Final_English_0.pdf media/2586/file/Guidelines-for-Design-and-Implementation-
7. Sen, S. n.d. “It Takes a Child to Raise a Village”, UNESCO- of-E arly-Learning-Programmes.pdf
MGIEP, https://mgiep.unesco.org/article/it-takes-a-child-to- Endnotes
raise-a-village# 1. Bronfenbrenner, U 1979. The Ecology of Human Development:
8. Heckman J. James 2021. “The Heckman Curve”, https:// Experiments by Nature and Design. Cambridge, Massachusetts:
heckmanequation.org/resource/the-heckman-curve / Harvard University Press.
9. Holt J. 1990. Learning all the Time Da Capo Lifelong Books 2. Centre on the Developing Child (CDC) 2019. “The Brain
(first published 1989) Architects Podcast: Brain Architecture: Laying the Foundation”,
Harvard.
10. Ghosh S. & Dey S. 2020. “Public or private? Determinants of
parents’ preschool choice in India” 3. https://devhcdc.wpengine.com/resources/the-brain-architects-
podcast-brain-architecture-layin g-the-foundation/#transcript
11. Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) Rural 2020, ‘Early
Years’ 2019. Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) Rural, 4. ICEP 14, 3.
2021.
5. Havighurt, Robert 1952. Human Development, and Education,
12. Ministry of Education (MoE) 2021b. National Initiative for quoted in “Teachable Moments and your Child”, https://www.
Proficiency in Reading with Understanding & Numeracy or verywellfamily.com/what-are-teachable-moments-2086537
NIPUN Bharat. https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_
files/mhrd/files/nipun_bharat_eng1.pdf 6. Ministry of Education (MoE) 2021c. Parents’ involvement in
children’s learning, 4 December, #NEP2020inaction, https://
13. Ministry of Education (MoE) 2021a. “Guidelines for Parent twitter.com/EduMinOfIndia/status/1467041724488830978?t=
Participation in Home Learning During School Closure & mlJ2K6B_Xy9Enatggw_Kvg &s=09

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EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

Music and its Significance

Dr Kasturi Paigude Rane

Food, shelter, and clothing have traditionally been the basic needs of survival for the human race.
The modern times require one to depend upon art, education, health care, and sanitation which
are equally important for humans to thrive. As we progress from being a developing nation to a
developed one, there is a shift in the basic needs of human beings. Music plays a significant role
in our daily lives. India has a rich cultural heritage with varied traditions of music and art forms
all across the country. Some of these can be traced back to the Vedic Ages. While some have
evolved over the time and stayed, a few have got lost with time and forgotten.

T
he first line of a shloka in Bhartruhari Importance of Music in Schools
Neetishatakam says, साहित्यसङ्गीतकलाविहीनःसाक् Integrates Varied Subjects
षात्पशःु पचु ्छविषाणहीनः।
Music integrates varied subjects simultaneously.
It means that a person devoid of the Music education not only allows children to develop their
knowledge of literature, music, and arts is no different from musical aptitude, but it also gives them an opportunity to
an animal without a tail or horns. Such an animal would develop their mathematical skills- incorporate fractions,
be perceived as imperfect; similarly, a person without the science skills, and gain knowledge of history. Additionally,
knowledge of literature, music, and arts cannot be called it improves their grades, motor skills, and cognitive ability.
learned. Music is important at every step in education. It Moreover, it enhances brain functions,
is all the more necessary in school education. And yet, it increases the happiness index,
is being inadequately promoted in most schools across leads to better emotional
the country. It is often treated as an extra-curricular development, and lowers
activity. Unfortunately, due to this outlook stress levels in children in
many schools have started excluding the process.
music from their curriculum or
have limited it to a single Instills Discipline and
music session of forty-five Concentration
minutes once a week to Learning and practicing
make room for other music develops time
subjects. If music is management skills and
removed from school gives children a direction
education or is given and focal point. Inculcating
lesser importance, these values early in life
younger generation has innumerable benefits
will no longer on a child’s future. For
enjoy the benefits of example, if children begin to
intangible results that learn these values during pre-
music offers. Instead, primary or primary school, they
schools should take on robust will be able to deal with the work
music programmes for students. load in high school more effectively

The author is a Hindustani classical vocalist, academician and visiting faculty of music at Lalit Kala Kendra, Savitribai Phule Pune
University. Email: [email protected]

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 TricksterIAS
Many researchers and music practitioners from
the western world are in awe of our music and on
the other hand, we have to continuously struggle
to retain music as a subject in schools and junior
colleges in India. Every child in our country has
the right to get exposed to classical music and
other art forms. The responsibility of giving the
right exposure to the children lies largely with
parents and schools, and early exposure of classical
music during their school years becomes helpful
when a child is receptive and their sensitivities are
developing.
Music in Secondary School
Music not only relieves the burden of syllabus
on children, but also brings down the conflicts
and disputes in their mind. Moreover, it offers
them opportunities to bring out their emotions.
Expressing creatively through music enables
children to keep up their emotional stability and
harmony due to enhanced aesthetic standards
developed in them. At this crucial stage, if music
becomes a discipline which the child can pursue
for higher studies, it can prove to be beneficial for
them as music learning at this stage can be linked
with college education.
Encouraging practice and theory of the subject
and giving equal importance to both would prove
and the chances of them excelling at high school would to be useful. Discussions about how musical instruments
be higher. Excelling in high school would allow a student work will involve understanding about physics of sound
to choose a reputable institute of their choice for higher and can be interesting and engaging for the students.
education, resulting in better job prospects as an adult. Not only is it crucial to develop a historical viewpoint
of our age-old traditional musical forms, but it is equally
Stimulates and Enhances Brain Development in
important to inspire the students to learn the language and
Children
vocabulary of the subject and give a clear understanding
Various studies have shown that learning and of the different terminologies of music. At this point in
practicing music can lead to improved brain development time, students can develop an ear for aesthetics and they
of children. A study at Northwestern University found that can be encouraged to understand the qualities of a raga
the students who sing or play a musical instrument have and identify different ragas by singing or playing its
better neural processing than the students who simply swaras. Developing aesthetics happens through listening
listen to music. Thus, receiving music sessions and from experiences such
education is important rather than just as attending live classical music
turning the music on in the background Music education not only allows performances by a guru. A basic sense
while children are working on other children to develop their musical of classical music can be developed
subjects. aptitude, but also gives them through teaching taal, notation
Exposure to Indian Classical Music an opportunity to develop their systems, singing swaras, and basic
and Arts compositions.
mathematical skills- incorporate
India has a rich cultural heritage fractions, science skills, and Music as an Established Subject
with varied traditions of music and art gain knowledge of history. Music should be encouraged and
forms all across the country. Some of Additionally, it improves included in schools and colleges as
them are hundreds of year-old traditions. a mainstream subject. ‘Music’ and
While some traditions have evolved
their grades, motor skills, and
‘Culture’ are often very widely and
and stayed, some are endangered, and cognitive ability. loosely used terms in our society
a few have even been lost with time. because of which many inappropriate

58 YOJANA February 2022

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concepts are conveniently clubbed
TricksterIAS felt relaxed and was free from his
under these categories. Music has demanding schedule.
an inherent quality of engaging, but Discussions about how musical
The great violin teacher Shinichi
problems arise when parents and instruments work, will involve Suzuki once said “The purpose of
schools only seek ‘entertainment’ in understanding about physics of music education is to train children,
music whereas Indian classical music sound and can be interesting not to necessarily be professional
and our age-old art forms offer benefits musicians but to be fine musicians and
and engaging for the students.
to children way beyond entertainment to show high ability in any other field
which often go unnoticed. Students Not only is it crucial to develop
they enter.”
who engage themselves in music a historical viewpoint of our age
and devote more time to learning old traditional musical forms, Schools and colleges should take
and practicing it indulge less in but it is equally important to the responsibility along with parents,
non-productive activities such as to foster and nurture the knowledge,
inspire the students to learn understanding, and skill of arts in
watching screen for longer hours. The
the language and vocabulary students so that they become balanced,
advantages of music are extensive
and far-reaching and do not lead up of the subject and give a clear sensitive, creative, progressive, and
to any child’s race, ethnicity, or social understanding of the different inspired members of the society.
background. terminologies of music. Needless to say, the most fundamental
subjects such as maths, science, and
Anyone who has mastered singing history are crucial. Nonetheless,
or playing a musical instrument would know that musical subjects like music are also equally essential and important.
excellence is hard to come by. It requires years of practice For the many, worthwhile advantages and benefits that
and a willingness to keep going. It requires perseverance music education offers needs to be encouraged, nurtured,
to refine and progress in music. School-going children and promoted as a key module of elementary and secondary
having an understanding that they have to keep their education.
nose to the grindstone to achieve something that is
unbelievably powerful and something they will depend Today, few movements like SPIC MACAY (Society
on for the rest of their lives. There are only a few better for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture
options to inculcate perseverance other than music. Amongst Youth) are working voluntarily in India and
abroad to take Indian classical music to each and every
Musicians devote their life practicing music with focus child in the country. Though SPIC MACAY drives this
and discipline. Improvisation in music offers unlimited cause and acts as a facilitator between an artist and a school,
capacity and opportunities for improvement which can it is important for institutions to be equally passionate
encourage the students to constantly push the limits and do towards this cause and drive it further. It will help music
better, thus helping in development of brain, sensitivities, to be included in our education system to a great extent.
and formation of human connections. Improvisation is Yearly allocation of a separate budget for classical music
the first step towards innovation which can prove to be to such movements and for central and state universities
beneficial for a student. through education department will encourage and enable
Music education from a young age has proved to be music education in its truest sense.
a well-founded predictor of success in higher education Conclusion
and professional life as well. According to the records,
the first rate engineers and technical designers in Silicon Lastly, along with learning music, a regular exposure
Valley in the US along with a large number of students of experiencing a live concert by a guru performing in
studying at the IITs, IIMs, IISERs, IIScs, and many front of children can give magical results. The time spent
other top colleges and universities in India are practicing in the ‘Sangat’ of an inspired soul or guru can be a life
musicians. changing experience for a student which probably would
Let us not fail to remember that Albert Einstein, be treasured for the rest of his life. Our responsibility
the greatest physicist of the late 19th-20th century was hence should be to create such opportunities often.
a highly skilled musician. Einstein used music as Therefore, the benefits that music education offers
a doorway and means to dwell upon and create his are way beyond academic excellence and consist of no
significant inventions. language barrier. Its applications in today’s fast moving
Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, the former President of India world are truly inspiring and liberating. Hence, music
had learnt to play veena during 1985-95 when he was with education should not only be retained in schools and
the Defence Research and Development Organisation colleges but should be made mandatory and not kept
(DRDO). He practiced playing veena whenever he optional anymore. 

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T he first Vice-President of free India who went on to become the President

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