The new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has now a renewed and revived focus on providing education to students in their mother tongue, said the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday, July 30, while addressing the Akhil Bhartiya Shiksha Samagam 2023 concluding day.
The programme was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, July 29, on the third anniversary of the launch of the NEP 2020 and had several highlights targeting the upliftment of education.
NEP focused on Indian languages
The union minister added that the Shiksha Parivar is committed to implement NEP to make India a knowledge based superpower. He further said that skilling the students in Indian languages would make the students future ready and give them more diverse knowledge. He urged the education fraternity to convert the 'mahakumbh of education' into an all India institution.
On PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) Schools which the minister contended as the primary laboratory for the implementation of NEP, he said that under this policy, the existing schools will be selected and strengthened and upgraded. He also asked the heads of the educational institutions to make concerted efforts to strengthen the school ecosystem and change the outlook of students.
NEP's third anniversary
On Saturday, July 29, the Prime Minister released the first installment of funds under the PM SHRI Scheme, under which, schools will be selected, strengthened and upgraded. Almost 6,207 schools received the first installment, with a total amounting to Rs 630 crore.
The education minister said that for now, the priority is on capacity building of teachers and added that from this academic year onwards, 300 institutions including 100 from school education, 100 from higher education and 100 from skill will be developed as centres of excellence.
Focus on research and academic excellence
The ministry has also signed 106 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with various organisations to fasten research and knowledge exchange in various domains, and to usher in a new era of collaboration in education and industry-academia linkages.
A statement that was issued on the eve said, "These collaborations signify the government's unwavering commitment to equipping the youth with cutting-edge skills and knowledge, fostering innovation, and nurturing academic excellence in India. The Ministry of Education looks forward to the collective efforts of all stakeholders in realising the full potential of these partnerships and shaping a bright and prosperous future for the nation."