The NEP will give India a major digital push with a strong nationalistic tinge, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking on the first anniversary of the National Education Policy, PM Modi virtually addressed the who's who of the Education Ministry, the heads of the states, and school and college students, principals and teachers from across the country today — to mark one year of the new National Education Policy being launched. Releasing ten schemes to implement the NEP, the PM said, "The policy will take into consideration the national interest of India while providing digital, machine and AI-supported learning to the students in the country. It will be a key factor in the goal of Bharat Nirmaan."
Talking about how the country was forced to adopt online education systems after the onset of the pandemic, the PM said, "The youth is looking to break free of traditional customs in the system. They have developed at a fast pace, and have adapted to online education quickly during the trying COVID times," before adding, "Policies such as the Academic Bank of Credit which enables multiple entries and exit points during under-graduation will encourage them to be fearless in deciding their careers."
One of the biggest criticisms has been that rural students have not had the same access to technology and have lost out on learning. "The digitisation of education will happen simultaneously and evenly for the rural and urban, rich and poor students," said the PM while speaking on the National Digital Education Architecture scheme launched by the government today. While there was no mention of India's gaping digital divide in this context, the PM did mention the "language divide." Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, he said, "The education policy of the country should reflect the national interest of the country. Regional languages must be given importance. The efforts of the states and educational institutions in incorporating regional languages and Sanskrit into the curriculum is laudable, especially the eight states that have offered engineering courses in regional languages."
The language policy, which appears to have a lot of focus on Sanskrit and Hindi, has come in for a lot of flak in the last year. Elaborating on the language divide, the PM said, "The rural poor and communities such as SCs, STs, Dalits, and OBCs have suffered the most because of lack of representation of their language in the system and the provisions of the NEP will give them confidence and do their abilities justice."
Emphasising once again the stress on Atmanirbhar Bharat, he said, "There must be progress in every sphere including health, defense, infrastructure, and technology. I am elated to see 1200+ educational institutions have implemented skill development courses."
He finished off by saying, "The NEP will enable India's youth to lead the world into a futuristic era."
