BALANCE-

IMBALANCE
NEW NORMAL& NEW EDUCATION
POLICY
 LET US DISCUSS

• Is it doing a balance in terms of ‘new normal’ and New Education Policy in place for
universalization of education for all?
• or
• is it the same pattern as before whereby the policies are in favour of the
advantaged population?
• Is it ‘inclusion’ in all terms and we as practitioners look forward to the ‘good times’
ahead?
LOCKDOWN

• The Union Cabinet approved and launched the National Education Policy 2020 on 29th
July 2020, paving way for transformational reforms in school and higher education sector
in the country.
• It aims to overhaul the country’s education system making “India a global knowledge
superpower”.
• The COVID-19 pandemic, due to its unprecedented scale and unique response
strategies, had a critical impact on students’ education, particularly of those from
marginalized sections. Lockdowns to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic have
posed many challenges for school education globally, and India is no exception.
A detailed introspection is needed in terms of inclusion of NEP amidst Covid-19
and ‘new normal’ situation.
 HIGHLIGHTS OF NEP

• In a significant shift from the 1986 policy, some of the biggest highlights of the NEP 2020
are a single regulator for higher education institutions, multiple entry and exit options in
degree courses, discontinuation of MPhil programs, low stakes board exams and common
entrance exams for universities.
• It brings early childhood education (also known as pre-school education for children of
ages 3 to 5 years) under the ambit of formal schooling including mid-day meal program to
pre-school children.
• The NEP indicates that students until Class 5 should be taught in their mother tongue or
regional language.
• The policy also proposes phasing out of all institutions offering single streams and that all
universities and colleges must aim to become multidisciplinary by 2040.
HIGHLIGHTS OF NEP-2

• Every child to learn at least one vocation and exposed to several during
Grades 6-8 is one of the key focus areas of the policy. Thus by 2025, at least
50 percent of learners through the school and higher education system shall
have exposure to vocational education including holiday periods. Vocational
courses through online mode will also be made available.
• Children with disabilities will be enabled to fully participate in the regular
schooling process from the foundational stage to higher education, with
support of educators with cross disability training, resource centers,
accommodations, assistive devices, appropriate technology-based tools and
other support mechanisms tailored to suit their needs.
EMERGENCY

• A comprehensive set of recommendations for promoting online education

consequent to the recent rise in epidemics and pandemics in order to ensure
preparedness with alternative modes of quality education whenever and
wherever traditional and in-person modes of education are not possible is part of
the NEP.
• The new academic session did not begin in September-October; the delay is due
to the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak.
ONLINE EDUCATION

• With schools being locked down due to COVID-19, educators across the country are
moving to virtual classes to ensure learning never stops.
• Teams not only enables teachers and students to connect over video-enabled remote
classrooms but also provides a host of interactive and collaborative tools on a single
platform.
• “Education systems responded with distance learning solutions, all of which offered less
or more imperfect substitutes for classroom instruction,” said the UNESCO report, noting
that while many poorer countries opted for radio and television lessons, 55 per cent of
low-income, 73 per cent of lower-middle-income and 93 per cent of upper-middle-income
countries adopted for online learning platforms for primary and secondary education.
• India has used a mix of all three systems for educational continuity.
CRISIS

• Besides the disruption in the school year, there is a risk that prolonged out-of-
school learning may lead to alienation of children from school systems and
exacerbation of existing inequalities.

• We could see disruptions in continuity of schooling for girls and children of those
who migrated back from urban to rural areas after losing livelihoods, post the
abrupt imposition of the lockdown.
CRISIS

• The extent of impact of the lockdown on schools, community and children is

proportionally very high.
• India has 1.4 million schools, 2.01 million children enrolled in government schools from
Standard 1-8 and an additional 3.8 million children enrolled in Standard 9-10.
• More than one-fourth of India’s population are children, and 19.29 per cent is in the age
group of 6-14 years being entitled to education under the Right to Education (RTE) Act,
2009.
EDUCATIONAL CRISIS

• As an Indian, we always needed a strong public education system incorporating a holistic vision to achieve
universalization of education while also establishing a discrimination-free education system.
• However, this didn’t receive adequate attention from policy-makers. Now, the pandemic has magnified
inequalities like never before. Previous health emergencies also demonstrate that the impact on education is
likely to be most devastating in countries where there are already low learning outcomes, high drop-out rates and
low resilience to shocks.
• Despite increase in public awareness and aspiration to get children educated, as well as increased enrolment of
children in schools post RTE Act 2009, India’s learning crisis remains grave.
• The National Sample Survey of Estimation of Out-of-School Children Report indicates that poverty/economic
reason has been reported by 23.76 per cent respondents. This reason is quoted by more dropouts (28.52%), and
never enrolled (23.45%), than those who enrolled but never attended school. ‘Child not interested in studies’ has
been reported as a reason for 27.7% dropouts.
IMPACT

• A look at previous emergencies in the country reveal direct and indirect impacts of natural
disasters on school education.
• Direct impacts include destruction of school buildings and damage to roads connecting to
schools, resulting in uncertainty of reopening and irregular attendance.
• Indirect impacts include long-term closure of a school due to temporary conversion of school
building to a rehabilitation center, silent exclusion of children belonging to families in distress
through displacement or migration, resulting in child labour, child marriage and child trafficking.
IMPACT-2

• School teachers have also been impacted immensely.

• India’s school education system includes 10,93,166 contractual teachers at the elementary level.
• These teachers, in many states, were not receiving their salary for several months even before the pandemic
broke out.
• The coming of the pandemic has made their situation bleaker. This has made contractual teachers uncertain
about continued employment.
• Despite all these difficulties, teachers are playing a significant role during the lockdown. Wherever schools
have been used as a relief distribution centre, all teachers irrespective of position are providing services from
morning till night.
IMPACT-3

• Lack of infrastructure in schools is another major challenge in these COVID times, which will impact continuing school
education.
• The RTE Act brought a normative framework to ensure quality and equity in elementary education. However, even
after 11 years, less than 12% schools are RTE-compliant.
• Lack of safe drinking water, toilets, hand-washing facility, electricity and cramped classrooms means schools don’t
have the prerequisites to reopen. Further, due to closure of many government schools in several states, as part of a
consolidation policy, numerous government primary schools do not fall within the RTE Act requirement that they lie
within 1 km from the habitation of all students, which also forms one of the basic principles for reopening schools.
• Lack of schools, infrastructure and teaching and non-teaching staff including sanitation workers will impact children’s
education immensely, during and post-COVID19. Further, participation of community, school management committees
and local institutions needs to be increased so that local needs and voices are well-represented. Physical distancing,
sanitization and other guidelines for prevention of infection, should be strictly followed for their safety and of others.
IMPACT-4

• Schools are more than learning centers for poor children.

• They provide social protection, nutrition, health and emotional support to the most disadvantaged, and this applies
in all countries, from low to high-income.
• About 9.12 crore Indian children are not receiving their mid-day meal during school closure. These meals served
as an important safety measure, as economists estimate that 75% of poor families’ income is spent on food.
• Access and availability of sanitary napkins to adolescent girls at their schools is causing for a health hazard too.
• The big changes to school education in the COVID-19 scenario that the government has announced – digital and
online education, attendance of 30-40 per cent children after reopening of schools, subsidy to private schools, to
name a few, is another concern which will have a huge impact on children coming from vulnerable sections.
GAPS

• In this ‘new normal’, changed behavior of people and changed centralized norms
and guidelines could lead to a situation where forms of governance and
participation may change. Virtualization of teaching may impact the social relation
between peers, teachers and school and community on the whole.
• The social class gap between the teachers and students may widen after the
school reopens post-lockdown.
NEP

• The latest New Education Policy (NEP), certainly requires revision in this context. If the
‘new normal’ becomes the norm, the policy will need to situate equity, inclusion and
diversity in the new frame of things.
• A one nation, one channel or one digital framework will not be able to translate the goal set
by the NEP into action.
• Further, this will also create barriers to India achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDG), particularly SDG4 on quality education, which now ever more than before needs to
be looked at along with SDG1 (no poverty) 2 (zero hunger), 3 (good health and well-being),
5 (gender equality), 11 (sustainable cities and communities) and 17 (partnership for the
goals).
THINK IT OVER?

• Is it doing a balance in terms of ‘new normal’ and New Education Policy in place for
universalization of education for all?

• is it the same pattern as before whereby the policies are in favour of the advantaged
population?

• Is it ‘inclusion’ in all terms and we as Educationists look forward to the ‘good times’ ahead?
NEP SHOULD PAY HEED TO SOME OF THESE
ASPECTS

The NEP requires revisions to address the following concerns:

• Strengthening of the normative framework of the RTE Act instead of restricting it; access, equity and diversity
of language and lived experiences so that all children are well within the school education system;
• trained and permanent teachers whose agency is recognized;
• adequate resilient schools and infrastructure;
• most importantly, participation of local authorities and community so that children coming from vulnerable
families, particularly girls are not left out.
• This will also prepare school systems to face such pandemics in the future more
efficiently and without prolonged disruption, as well as move towards building a strong
public education system in the country.
• COVID-19 did teach us how schooling is not equivalent to merely learning, but
encompasses a social space, a social process, to learn to live, think and act for one’s self
and the collective good.
THANK YOU