NEP aims at delinking degrees from education, livelihood opportunities: Jitendra Singh 

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday, October 27, said that the National Education Policy (NEP) is aimed at delinking degrees from education and livelihood opportunities. Addressing students and the youth at Krishna Mahavidyalaya at Thakurdwar in Mumbai, he said that the policy also supplements the start-up ecosystem with the promise to open new career and entrepreneurship opportunities for youngsters in India, as stated in a report by PTI. Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel, said that the NEP 2020 introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reorient India's education policy as per global benchmarks.

Impact of NEP 2020

Describing it as the biggest path-breaking reform in India since independence, the Minister said the new policy is not only progressive and visionary, but is also in keeping with the emerging needs and requirements of 21st century India, as per PTI. He said that it gives due priority to the inherent talent, knowledge, skill and aptitude of the students, rather than focusing only on degrees. Additionally, the Minister said that linking degrees with education has taken a heavy toll on our education system and society as well and one of the fallouts has been an increasing number of educated unemployed.

The Minister said that the provision of multiple entry/exit available in NEP 2020 provides academic flexibility to the students. This will have a positive impact on the students related to availing of different career opportunities at different times, depending upon their intrinsic learning and inherent aptitude, he said.

Opportunities in the start-up sector

Singh also urged the students and the youth to explore livelihood opportunities in the booming start-up sector in the country. He informed that only in August this year, the Uttar Pradesh government injected Rs 4,000 crore into the state's start-up corpus for employment generation and economic activity. The fresh infusion of capital has been made to constitute the maiden 'UP Innovation Fund' that will be mandated to provide seed capital to start-ups, the Minister said.

Singh noted that the UP government plans to have at least one incubator in every district by 2023. As of now, there are 47 incubators in 20 districts, he said. The government has also decided to set up two centres of excellence in the state, with one coming up in the Indian Institute of technology (IIT) Kanpur for promotion of drone technology, the Minister announced.