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Recently, Union Education Minister mentioned the National Educational Technology Forum and stated the need to train students, teachers, for New Education Policy to succeed
About National Educational Technology Forum(NETF)
New Education Policy-2020 suggests the setting up of a National Educational Technology Forum to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration.
Through the NETF, new technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, machine learning, smart boards, computing devices, adoptive computer testing for student development and other forms of educational software and hardware will be integrated into all levels of education to improve classroom process, support teachers’ professional development, enhance educational access for disadvantaged groups and streamline educational planning, administration and management
NETF will also facilitate decision-making on the induction, deployment and use of such technologies by providing educational institutions, governments and other stakeholders the latest knowledge to consult and share the best practices, the draft said.
A brief note on National Education Policy-2020
- New Policy aims for Universalization of Education from pre-school to secondary level with 100 % GER in school education by 2030
- This is the first education policy of the 21st century and replaces the thirty-four year old National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986.
- NEP 2020 will bring 2 crore out of school children back into the main stream
The special features of NEP 2020:
- Ensuring Universal Access at All Levels of schooling from pre-primary school to Grade 12
- Ensuring quality early childhood care and education for all children between 3-6 years
- New Curricular and Pedagogical Structure (5+3+3+4)
- No hard separations between arts and sciences, between curricular and extra-curricular activities, between vocational and academic streams
- Establishing National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy
- Emphasis on promoting multilingualism and Indian languages; The medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the home language/mother tongue/local language/regional language.
- Assessment reforms – Board Exams on up to two occasions during any given school year, one main examination and one for improvement, if desired
- Setting up of a new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development)
- Equitable and inclusive education – Special emphasis given on Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups(SEDGs)
- A separate Gender Inclusion fund and Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups
- Robust and transparent processes for recruitment of teachers and merit based performance
- Ensuring availability of all resources through school complexes and clusters
- Setting up of State School Standards Authority (SSSA)
- Exposure of vocational education in school and higher education system
- Increasing GER in higher education to 50%
- Holistic Multidisciplinary Education with multiple entry/exit options
- NTA to offer Common Entrance Exam for Admission to HEIs
- Establishment of Academic Bank of Credit
- Setting up of Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities(MERUs)
- Setting up of National Research Foundation(NRF)
- ‘Light but Tight’ regulation
- Several bodies proposed by NEPare:
Single overarching umbrella body for promotion of higher education sector including teacher education and excluding medical and legal education- the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI)-with independent bodies for standard setting- the General Education Council; funding-Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC); accreditation- National Accreditation Council (NAC); and regulation- National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC)
- Expansion of open and distance learning to increase Gross Enrolment Ratio(GER).
- Internationalization of Education
- Professional Education will be an integral part of the higher education system. Stand-alone technical universities, health science universities, legal and agricultural universities, or institutions in these or other fields, will aim to become multi-disciplinary institutions.
- Teacher Education – 4-year integrated stage-specific, subject- specific Bachelor of Education
- Establishing aNational Mission for Mentoring.
- Creation of an autonomous body,the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration. Appropriate integration of technology into all levels of education.
- Achieving 100% youth and adult literacy.
- Multiple mechanisms with checks and balances will combat and stop the commercialization of higher education.
- All education institutions will be held to similar standards of audit and disclosure as a ‘not forprofit’ entity.
- The Centre and the States will work together to increase the public investment in Education sector to reach 6% of GDP at the earliest.
- Strengthening of the Central Advisory Board of Education to ensure coordination to bring overall focus on quality education.
