The government of India proposed a plan to reform the education system on all scales. This reform aims to change the learning of students and teaching
Alignment of Education to the needs of the future workplace, providing flexibility to students in charting their careers, and standardization of the quality of the education are the primary focus of NEP 2020. At the school levels, the policy proposes the change from 10+2 structure to 5+3+3+4 structure. The first five years include the first three years in preschool and the first two grades in the primary. In the next three years, the preparatory stage includes grades three, four, and five. In the next stage, middle, grades six, seven, and eight are included. The high school grades nine, ten, eleven, and twelve come under the secondary stage. With this change in the structure, the policy plans to reduce the curriculum content to the core essentials.This policy also aims to introduce the multidisciplinary approach in the education system so students can learn different combinations of subjects based on their interests. This measure opens doors to innovations into their learnings and makes students more advanced and ready for the workplace. The policy aims to make changes in the assessment system. Board exams will focus on the core competencies of students rather than focusing on how well they memorized an answer. NEP 2020 also proposes a plan to implement standardized exams for grades three, five, and eight to track the progress throughout the schooling rather than testing at the end. The policy also plans reforms in the medium of education. It proposes the three language formula where students have the liberty to choose languages with two of them being native to India. The reform in the medium of education comes with applause and heavy criticism.Though the policy seems very effective in bringing changes in the education system of India, there are challenges in its implementation. Notable investment is required for building the infrastructure, technology, and training the teachers. It is a huge responsibility to change the current education system from the roots. Though the plans of tracking the progress throughout the schooling, introducing the multidisciplinary approach, and training the teachers are very efficient to read, they are tough to implement and require support to the central government from states and even opposition. The idea of bringing the whole education system under one roof is an idea worthy of applause, yet it requires changes at many levels. There are concerns raised in terms of teaching in regional languages up to grade five. If the common language is avoided entirely and replaced by regional language and if a child who attended school until grade four in one state and had to move to another state, then the child might face a lot of problems in learning that new language and the subjects taught in it.
