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Subject: Indian Society

  • National Recruitment Agency: Taking jobs closer to people

    Recruitment reform in the form of National Recruitment Agency will resolve many issues faced by the youth appearing for the multiple government exam.

    Context

    • On average, 2.5-3 crore candidates appear for about 1.25 lakh vacancies in the central government every year.
    • But from next year, the NRA will conduct the CET and based on the score, one can apply for a vacancy with the respective agency.

    NRA: Composition and functioning

    • The NRA will have representatives from the Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Finance/Department of Financial Services, Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) and Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS).
    • A multi-agency body, the NRA will conduct a Common Eligibility Test (CET) to screen/shortlist candidates for the Group B and C (non-technical) posts.
    • The NRA shall conduct a separate CET each for the three levels of graduate, higher secondary (12th pass) and the matriculate (10th pass) candidates for those non-technical posts to which recruitment is presently carried out by the SSC, RRBs and IBPS.

    How it will benefit youth

    • It will eliminate multiple tests and save time as well as resources.
    • It will give a big boost to transparency.
    • The multiple recruitment examinations are a burden on the candidates, as also on the respective recruitment agencies, involving avoidable/repetitive expenditure, law and order/security-related issues and venue-related problems.
    • The NRA is a combination of convenience and cost-effectiveness for candidates.
    • Examination centres in every district would greatly enhance access to the candidates located in far-flung areas, with a special focus on creating examination infrastructure in the 117 Aspirational Districts.
    • This will prove a great boon to crores of aspirants residing in hilly, rural and remote areas and most importantly, for female candidates.
    • Taking job opportunities closer to the people is a radical step that would greatly enhance ease of living for the youth.

    Consider the question “Recruitment reform in the form of National Recruitment Agency is a radical step that would greatly enhance ease of living for the youth.”

    Conclusion

    Taking job opportunities closer to the people is a radical step that would greatly enhance ease of living for the youth.

  • Namath Basai Programme

    Namath Basai, the State government’s unique programme of teaching tribal children in their mother tongue, has become a runaway hit in Kerala’s tribal districts.

    Try this MCQ:

    Q. The Namath Basai Programme recently seen in news is related to:

    Tribal Education/ Women SHGs/ Forest Produce/ Tribal Health

    Namath Basai Programme

    • The NBP is implemented by the Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK).
    • It has succeeded in retaining hundreds of tribal children in their online classes by making them feel at home with the language of instruction.
    • The SSK has distributed some 50 laptops exclusively for Namath Basai. Pre-recorded classes are offered through a YouTube channel.

  • Issues with the graded autonomy

    The article analyses the issues the graded with the graded autonomy to the Higher Education Institutes.

    Background

    • NEP 2020 provided for phasing out of the system of affiliated colleges and the grant of greater autonomy in academic, administrative and financial matters to premium colleges.

    Concerns with the autonomy

    • The move has raised concerns about the politico-bureaucratic interference in the internal functioning of universities.
    • It has also raised concerns about the substantial burden on universities which have to regulate admissions, set curricula and conduct examinations for a large number of undergraduate colleges.
    • Concerns have long existed about over-centralisation, due to constraints imposed on the potential for premium affiliated colleges to innovate and evolve.
    • These apprehensions about the autonomy came to be used by successive governments to build a case for the model of graded autonomy.

    The push towards graded autonomy

    • Successive governments have pushed through measures that have largely allowed for greater penetration of private capital in higher education.
    • Recommendations of recent education commissions have promoted the unequal structure of funding for higher education.
    • Under this, hierarchy in higher education was created: Central government-funded universities, provincial Central government-funded universities, regional universities and colleges funded by State governments, etc.
    • The National Knowledge Commission (2005) stated that good undergraduate colleges are constrained by their affiliated status… the problem is particularly acute for undergraduate colleges which are subjected to the ‘convoy problem’ as they are forced to move at the speed of the slowest.
    • In turn, the dominant policy discourse vocally propagates “graded autonomy” for better performing Higher Educational Institutions.
    • Under which academic excellence can be supported through a grant of special funds and allowing greater power to such institutions.
    • This basis has been gradually enforced with the UGC in 2018 granting public-funded universities the right to apply for autonomy based on whether they are ranked among top 500 of reputed world rankings or have National Assessment and Accreditation (NAAC) scores above 3.26.

    NEP 2020: Centralisation and autonomy

    • NEP 2020  is a combination of enhanced centralising features and specific features of autonomy.
    • Deeper centralisation is indicative in the constitution of the government nominated umbrella institution, Higher Education Council of India (HECI); Board of Governors, the National Education Commission etc.

    Concerns

    • The model of graded autonomy will encourage hierarchy that exists between different colleges within a public-funded university, and between different universities across the country.
    • While the best colleges gain the autonomy to bring in their own rules and regulations, affiliated colleges with lower rankings and less than 3,000 students face the threat of mergers and even closure.
    • A shrinking of the number of public-funded colleges will only further push out marginalised sections.
    • Autonomy could lead to more inaccessibility as the independent rules and regulations of autonomous colleges and universities shall curtail transparent admission procedures.
    • Graded autonomy can be expected to trigger a massive spurt in expensive self-financed courses as premium colleges, which will lead to exclusion.

    Conclusion “Examine the issues with the autonomy of Higher Education Institutes in the NEP 2020.”

    Conclusion

    More than deliverance, autonomy represents the via media for greater privatisation and enhanced hierarchization in higher education.

    Sources: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/privatisation-via-graded-autonomy/article32396753.ece

  • [pib] Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2020

    The Vice-President has released the Atal ranking ‘ARIIA 2020’.

    Note the indicators on which the ARIIA ranking is based.  Also try this PYQ:

    Q. Which one of the following is not a sub-index of the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business Index’? (CSP 2019)

    (a) Maintenance of law and order

    (b) Paying taxes

    (c) Registering property

    (d) Dealing with construction permits

    Highlights of the ARIIA 2020

    • The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has topped the ARIIA 2020 under the ‘Best Centrally Funded Institution’ category.
    • Last year too, the institute emerged as the top innovative institution in the country.
    • IIT Bombay and Delhi have secured the second and third spots, respectively.

    About ARIIA

    • ARIIA is an initiative of erstwhile Ministry of HRD, implemented by AICTE and Ministry’s Innovation Cell.
    • It systematically ranks all major higher educational institutions and universities in India on indicators related to “Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development” amongst students and faculties.
    • ARIIA 2020 will have six categories which also includes special category for women only higher educational institutions to encourage women and bringing gender parity in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship.
    • The other five categories are 1) Centrally Funded Institutions 2) State-funded universities 3) State-funded autonomous institutions 4) Private/Deemed Universities and 5) Private Institutions.

    Major Indicators for consideration

    • Budget & Funding Support.
    • Infrastructure & Facilities.
    • Awareness, Promotions & support for Idea Generation & Innovation.
    • Promotion & Support for Entrepreneurship Development.
    • Innovative Learning Methods & Courses.
    • Intellectual Property Generation, Technology Transfer & Commercialization.
    • Innovation in Governance of the Institution.

  • Census 2021 and the long-pending reforms

    • In all likelihood, the February 2021 Census will have to be rescheduled to ensure comparability with earlier censuses.
    • This will also affect the National Sample Surveys and others that use the census as the sampling frame.
    • The delay can, however, be used to introduce much-needed reforms to this gigantic exercise whose roots go back to the late 19th century.

    Try this question for mains:

    Q.The Census of India needs a basic overhaul beyond its procedural digitization. Critically analyse.

    Background: Census of India

    • The decennial Census of India has been conducted 15 times, as of 2011.
    • While it has been undertaken every 10 years, beginning in 1872 under British Viceroy Lord Mayo, the first complete census was taken in 1881.
    • Post-1949, it has been conducted by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
    • All the censuses since 1951 were conducted under the 1948 Census of India Act.
    • The last census was held in 2011, whilst the next will be held in 2021.

    Census 2021

    • The Census 2021 will be conducted in 18 languages out of the 22 scheduled languages (under 8th schedule) and English, while Census 2011 was in 16 of the 22 scheduled languages declared at that time.
    • It also will introduce a code directory to streamline the process
    • The option of “Other” under the gender category will be changed to “Third Gender”.
    • There were roughly 5 lakh people under “other” category in 2011.
    • For the first time in the 140 year history of the census in India, data is proposed to be collected through a mobile app by enumerators and they will receive an additional payment as an incentive.
    • The Census data would be available by the year 2024-25 as the entire process would be conducted digitally and data crunching would be quicker.

    Issues with the Census

    (1) Data quality issues

    • The past four decades have seen a decline in the quality of data and growing delays in its release despite technological innovations.
    • The use of census data in delimitation and federal redistribution has been questioned on grounds of poor quality, while the Covid-19 pandemic revealed the obsolete and poor quality of data on internal migration.

    (2) No major reforms

    • The legal foundation of the census has remained largely unchanged since newly independent India enacted permanent census legislation in 1948.
    • Despite sustained problems, the census has not seen any major reform after 1994 when both the Census Act, 1948 and Census Rules, 1990 were amended.

    (3) Old methods and questionnaire

    • The methodological core – extended de facto (synchronous) canvasser-based enumeration – too has remained intact even though the length and layout of schedules changed quite a bit.
    • The Household Schedule, for instance, grew with the footprint of the state, from 14 questions in 1951 to 29 questions in 2011.

    (4) Workforce issues

    • Data collection has not kept pace with improvements in data processing technology due to the lack of motivated and adequately trained enumerators.
    • Given the high salaries of school teachers, the modest honorarium paid for census work does not cover the opportunity cost of conducting the door-to-door enumeration.

    Understand the ‘purpose’ of the census

    Reforms should begin with the design of schedules based on a clear understanding of two essential functions of the census:

    (a) Resource allocations

    • First, census facilitates the rule-based distribution of power and resources through constitutionally mandated redistribution of taxes, delimitation of electoral constituencies and affirmative action policies.
    • It is also used in routine policy-making across tiers of government.

    (b) Population projections

    • Second, census serves as the sampling frame for surveys and is also the basis of population projections.
    • Other routine policies require distribution of the headcount by households, marital status, age, sex, literacy, migrant status, and mother tongue.
    • Put together, these variables are sufficient for choosing representative samples for surveys.

    What can be done?

    1.Cut the questions

    • Nearly half of the ‘Houselisting and Housing Schedule’ of the census is devoted to questions on household amenities and assets.
    • These questions can be dropped because the information can be more appropriately collected through sample surveys and administrative statistics.

    Why put fewer questions?

    • Cutting down the length of unwieldy schedules has several advantages.
    • First, it will improve data quality by reducing the workload of enumerators.
    • Second, it will also free up senior census officials and help revive the earlier tradition of producing detailed administrative and other reports crucial for understanding the context of data.
    • Third, shorter schedules will seem less invasive and assure respondents uncomfortable with sharing too many details.
    • Fourth, it will cut down processing time and help in reducing delays in the release of data.

    2.Dealing with data manipulation

    • There is poor accounting of migrants that distorts estimates of urbanisation as well as the inter-state distribution of the population.
    • There exists grassroots manipulation of data-driven by political and economic considerations.
    • There is a need to demystify census operations and build trust in the impartiality of the exercise, better scrutiny of electoral records and welfare schemes to weed out bogus beneficiaries.

    Conclusion

    • These reforms are essential to ensure that the census exercise is able to fulfil its constitutional, policy and statistical obligations and also clear the ground for debates on the future of census in the digital era.

  • Making sense of population growth of India

    The article analyses and explains the declining trend in India’s total fertility rate. The aspirational revolution in the parents explains such decline. 

    What the projections say

    • A new study was published in The Lancet, and prepared by the Seattle-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
    • It argues that while India is destined to be the largest country in the world, its population will peak by mid-century.
    • And as the 21st century closes, its ultimate population will be far smaller than anyone could have anticipated, about 1.09 billion instead of approximately 1.35 billion today.
    • It could even be as low as 724 million, the study projects.
    • Until 2050, the IHME projections are almost identical to widely-used United Nations projections.
    •  It is only in the second half of the century that the two projections diverge with the UN predicting a population of 1.45 billion by 2100, and the IHME, 1.09 billion.

    Present trends in India’s fertility rate

    •  In the 1950s, India’s Total fertility rate (TFR) was nearly six children per woman; today it is 2.2.
    •  Between 1992 and 2015, it had fallen by 35% from 3.4 to 2.2.
    • It is even below the replacement rate in 18 States and Union Territories.

    What explains the trends

    • One might attribute it to the success of the family planning programme.
    • But family planning has long lost its primacy in the Indian policy discourse.
    • Punitive policies include denial of maternity leave for third and subsequent births, limiting benefits of maternity schemes and ineligibility to contest in local body elections for individuals with large families.
    • However, these policies are mostly ignored in practice.

    Aspirational revolution

    •  It seems highly probable that the socioeconomic transformation of India since the 1990s has played an important role.
    • Over the years parents began to rethink their family-building strategies.
    • Smaller families when compared with a bigger family with same income level, invest more money in their children by sending them to private schools and coaching classes.
    • It is not aspirations for self but that for children that seems to drive fertility decline.

    Consider the question “Examine the factors responsible for the declining trends in the total fertility rate for India. What are its implications for country?”

    Conclusion

    Demographic data suggest that the aspirational revolution is already under way. What we need to hasten the fertility decline is to ensure that the health and family welfare system is up to this challenge and provides contraception and sexual and reproductive health services that allow individuals to have only as many children as they want.

  • Digital realities of India

    Context

    • Google has recently announced a decision to invest $10 billion in India.
    • To put that sum in context, it is over 10 times the money set aside for 100 smart cities and almost 20 times that for Digital India.
    • Purpose of that investment is stated to be digitising India.

    Digital realities of India Google must consider:

    1) Contradictions

    •  India recognises the internet as a human right, and yet, has led the world in internet shutdowns.
    • Its internet speeds can be slow and variable, but its uptake of smartphones is the world’s fastest.
    • It is second only to China in internet users, app downloads and social media users.

    2) Lack of access to internet

    • Only 21 per cent of women are mobile internet users, while the percentage for men is twice that number.
    • There are many societal factors that make it difficult for women and girls to enjoy full digital freedoms.
    • In rural India, where two-thirds of the country lives, just about a quarter of the population has internet access.
    • Differences in digital access mean differences in the quality of education.
    • The gaps are both digital and societal.

    3) Lack of access to banks

    •  India’s workforce is mostly informal.
    • Only 22 per cent of recipients of migrant remittances have access to banks within one km, according to a report by the Centre for Digital Financial Inclusion.
    • A push from Google and its competitors could make payments and financial access more inclusive.

    4) Need for special products for India

    • you mention new products for India’s unique needs, of which there are many.
    • Consider the needs in the agricultural sector alone.
    • Impac of predictive data analytics and basic artificial intelligence into Indian agriculture using readily available technologies would be huge.
    • Precision farming to improve the timing and quantity of seeding, irrigation and fertiliser usage.
    • Helping farmers get credit at lower costs and helping predict commodity prices can create $33 billion in new value annually in Indian agriculture.

    5) Lack of data governance and issues with it

    • Nandan Nilekani has said, India will be data rich before it is “economically rich”.
    • With 650 million internet users, there is a lot of data richness already.
    • But this data richness exists without a forward-looking and inclusive data governance policy.
    • The experience with Aarogya Setu, provided a perfect case study on the discomfort within India because of the absence of such governance.

    6) Prevalence of misinformation

    • It is essential to get a handle on the “infodemic” problem in India.
    • The situation was made far worse by the pandemic, where many of the prejudices, fears have converged.
    • Google-owned YouTube is a critical medium for spreading information, fact and fiction.
    • To its credit, YouTube removed over 8,20,000 videos in India in the first quarter of 2020.
    • This is a great start, but the bad guys will only find ways around it and Google must make deeper investments in both human and machine intelligence to stay ahead.

    7) Geopolitical context

    • India is inching closer to the US corner in the tech Cold War between the US and China.
    • India-China relationship has cooled this year as a fallout from the political tensions between New Delhi and Beijing.
    • India acted against Chinese ByteDance-owned video streaming app TikTok, along with 59 mobile apps.
    • Google’s role will be important as a bargaining chip against China and the partnership with Jio.
    • This important role may help Google get some domestic leverage with Indian regulators.

    8) Job creation

    • Digital technologies can create jobs.
    • For this to happen India must streamline the regulations to enhancing the country’s digital and physical foundations.
    • There is also need for developing more progressive data accessibility laws.
    • To translate into productive work, the government must invest in skill-building and education at all levels.

    Consider the question “Digitising India could accelerate its progress toward development but there are certain factors which must be addressed before India could reap benefits of digitising. Examine such factors and suggest the ways to deal with the issues in digitising the country.”

    Conclusion

    There is a lot Google can take while working on the task of digitising India. But the above-mentioned factors will help Google chart out its journey well.

    Original articles:

    https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/sundar-pichai-google-education-digital-india-6544793/

  • National Education Policy and current status of education

    The article contrasts the targets set in the National Education Polity with the present state of education in the country.

    Key recommendations

    • Redesigning the school curriculum to accommodate early childhood care and education.
    • Ensuring universal access to education.
    • Increasing gross enrolment in higher education to 50% by 2035.
    • Improving research in higher education institutes by setting up a Research Foundation.

    Let’s take stock of the current situation on the above-suggested parameters.

    1) Universal Access to Education

    • Despite the Right to Education Act-2009 retaining children remains a challenge for the schooling system.
    • As of 2015-16, Gross Enrolment Ratio was 56.2% at senior secondary level as compared to 99.2% at primary level.
    • Data for all groups indicates a decline in GER as we move from primary to senior secondary for all groups.
    • This decline is particularly high in case of Scheduled Tribes.

    NEP 2020 recommendations

    • The NEP recommends strengthening of existing schemes and policies which are targeted for such socio-economically disadvantaged groups.
    • Further, it recommends setting up special education zones in areas with a significant proportion of such disadvantaged groups.
    • A gender inclusion fund should also be setup to assist female and transgender students in getting access to education.

    2) GER to 50% in higher education

    • The NEP aims to increase the GER in higher education to 50% by 2035.  
    • As of 2018-19, the GER in higher education in the country stood at 26.3%.
    • The annual growth rate of GER in higher education in the last few years has been around 2%.

    NEP 2020 recommendations

    • The NEP recommends increasing capacity of existing higher education institutes by restructuring and expanding existing institutes.
    • It recommends that all institutes should aim to be large multidisciplinary institutes, and there should be one such institution in or near every district by 2030.
    • Further, institutions should have the option to run open distance learning and online programmes to improve access to higher education.

    3) Restructuring of Higher Education Institutes

    • The NEP notes that the higher education ecosystem in the country is severely fragmented.
    • At present, there is complex nomenclature of higher education institutes (HEIs) in the country such as ‘deemed to be university’, ‘affiliating university’, ‘affiliating technical university’, ‘unitary university’.
    • These shall be replaced simply by ‘university’.

    NEP 2020 recommendations

    • The NEP recommends that all HEIs should be restructured into three categories:
    • 1)  research universities focusing equally on research and teaching.
    • 2)  teaching universities focusing primarily on teaching.
    • 3) degree-granting colleges primarily focused on undergraduate teaching.
    •  All such institutions will gradually move towards full autonomy – academic, administrative, and financial.

    4) National research foundation to boost research

    • The NEP states that investment on research and innovation in India, at only 0.69% of GDP, lags behind several other countries.
    • The total investment on R&D in India as a proportion of GDP has been stagnant at around 0.7% of GDP.
    • Of which 58% of expenditure was by government, and the remaining 42% was by private industry.

    NEP 2020 recommendation

    • To boost research, the NEP recommends setting up an independent National Research Foundation (NRF).
    • The Foundation will act as a liaison between researchers and relevant branches of government as well as industry.
    • Specialised institutions which currently fund research, such as the Department of Science and Technology, and the Indian Council of Medical Research, will continue to fund independent projects.
    • The Foundation will collaborate with such agencies to avoid duplication.

    5) Digital Education

    • The NEP states that alternative modes of quality education should be developed when in-person education is not possible.
    • But let’s look into the accessibility of such mode.
    • As of 2017-18, only 4.4% of rural households have access to a computer (excludes smartphones).
    • Nearly 15% have access to internet facility.  Amongst urban households, 42% have access to the internet.

    NEP 2020 recommendations

    • Several interventions are recommended-
    • (i) developing two-way audio and video interfaces for holding online classes.
    • (ii) use of other channels such as television, radio, mass media in multiple languages to ensure the reach of digital content where digital infrastructure is lacking.

    6) Increasing public spending on education to 6% of GDP

    • Public spending of 6% of GDP was first made by the National Policy on Education 1968 and reiterated by the 1986 Policy.
    • NEP 2020 reaffirms the recommendation of increasing public spending on education to 6% of GDP.
    •  In 2017-18, the public spending on education-includes spending by centre and states-was budgeted at 4.43% of GDP.
    •  In 2020-21, states in India have allocated 15.7% of their budgeted expenditure towards education.
    • States such as Delhi, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra have allocated more than 18% of their expenditure on Education for the year 2020-21.
    • On the other hand, Telangana (7.4%), Andhra Pradesh (12.1%) and Punjab (12.3%) lack in spending on education, as compared to the average of states.

    Consider the question “Examine the provision with regard to increasing research in the country in the National Education Policy 2020.”

    Conclusion

    The National Education Policy is an ambitious document with the potential to transform. What is required is the zeal to implement and assess the progress by analysing the outcomes.

    Source-

    https://www.prsindia.org/theprsblog/national-education-policy-recommendations-and-current-scenario

  • Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA)

    The JNU has got approval for a fund from the Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA) for the construction of new infrastructure.

    Try this PYQ:

    What is the aim of the programme ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’? (CSP 2017)

    (a) Achieving 100% literacy by promoting collaboration between voluntary organizations and government’s education system and local communities.

    (b) Connecting institutions of higher education with local communities to address development challenges through appropriate technologies.

    (c) Strengthening India’s scientific research institutions in order to make India a scientific and technological power.

    (d) Developing human capital by allocating special funds for health care and education of rural and urban poor, and organizing skill development programmes and vocational training for them.

    About HEFA

    • HEFA is a joint venture company of Canara Bank and Ministry of Human Resource Development.
    • It provides financial assistance for the creation of educational infrastructure and R&D in India’s premier educational institutions.
    • All the Centrally Funded Higher Educational Institutions will be eligible to join as members of the HEFA.
    • For joining as members, the educational institution must agree to escrow a specific amount from their internal accruals for a period of 10 years to the HEFA.

    Funding pattern of HEFA

    • HEFA will have an authorized capital of 2,000 crore rupees and the government equity would be 1,000 crore
    • It also mobilizes CSR funds from Corporates/PSUs which will, in turn, be released for promoting research and innovation in these institutions on a grant basis.
    • The principal portion of the loan will be repaid through the ‘internal accruals’ of the institutions earned through the fee receipts, research earnings etc.

  • Understanding text and context of National Education Policy

    The article critically examines the various aspects of the National Education Policy 2020 and the issue of flexibility and exams has been analysed closely.

    Context of scepticism

    • The New Education Policy is a forward-looking framework for transforming Indian education.
    • But the past record on implementation of polity raises the concern that the New Education Policy should not turn out to be just “another document”.
    • Also, the emphasis in the document on critical thinking and free inquiry is entirely well placed.
    • But universities are being intimidated into political and cultural conformity.
    • The document lays down objectives; the strategy has yet to come.

    Walking the tightrope

    • On the language issue it prefers the long-standing recommendation of primary education in the mother tongue.
    • But does not categorically recommend curb English.
    • On the basic architecture of delivery, policy does not show an inclination towards public or private education both in school and higher education.

    School education: Most promising part

    • The policy focus on early child development, learning outcomes, different forms of assessment, holistic education, and,  recognises the centrality of teacher and teacher education.
    • The document recognises that “the very highest priority of the education system will be to achieve universal foundational numeracy and literacy.”
    • The suggestions for school education are ambitious, centred on the students, cater to their pedagogical diversity, and take on board the world of knowledge as it is now emerging.

    Multidisciplinary education

    • The document mentions the word multidisciplinary a bit too much, without explicating what it means.
    • One way of thinking about this is not in terms of multiple subjects.
    • It is reorienting education from disciplinary content to modes of inquiry that allow students to access a wide variety of disciplines.

    Two concerns

    1) Flexibility issue

    • Under the policy, students might need different exit options.
    • But it is unclear if the diploma or early exit options all be made available within a single institution, or different institutions.
    • If it is within single institutions, this will be a disaster.
    • Because structuring a curriculum for a classroom that has both one-year diploma and four-year degree students takes away from the identity of the institution.
    • There is also a risk that without adequate financial support, the exercising of exit options will be determined by the financial circumstances of the student.
    • The flexibility offered through multidisciplinary education is against the principle that different institutions have a different characters and strengths.
    • A healthy education system will comprise of a diversity of institutions, not a forced multi-disciplinarity.

    2) Issue of exams conundrum

    • The document rightly emphasises that focus needs to shift from exams to learning. But it contradicts itself.
    • Exams are burdon because of competition and cost in terms of opportunities.
    • So the answer to the exam conundrum lies in the structure of opportunity.
    • This will require a less unequal society both in terms of access to quality institutions.
    • Exams are also necessary because in a low trust system people want objective measures of commensuration.
    • So the policy reintroduces exams back into the picture by recommending a national aptitude test.
    • But the idea that this will reduce coaching is wishful thinking, as all the evidence from the US and China is showing.

    Consider the question “The National Education Policy 2020 moves away from rigidity and offers flexibility in many ways. In light of this examine the flexible dimensions offered in the policy and issues with it.”

    Conclusion

    The policy is commendable for focussing on the right questions. But the hope is that with this our education policy can be transformed into a treat, not another trick.