Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stated on Thursday, July 10, that vice-chancellors (VCs) of all central universities should put the needs of their students first and seek to create a new educational paradigm that is inclusive, comprehensive, forward-thinking, and deeply rooted in Indian culture.
Pradhan asked the vice-chancellors to create a special model for implementing the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) in their respective institutions during his remarks at the two-day VCs conference of central universities at Kevadia in Gujarat's Narmada district on Thursday.
He suggested they prepare a strategy paper for the full implementation of NEP provisions in higher education, Hindustan Times reports.
“The paper should include multidisciplinary integration of subjects, mainstreaming Indian Knowledge System (IKS), devising strategies for tech-driven education to promote skilling and up-skilling, campus initiatives focusing on innovation and integration of technology with traditional values,” the minister said.
Pradhan emphasised the expansion of higher education in India over the past ten years, stating that the total number of students enrolled has reached 44.6 million, a 30 per cent rise since 2014-15. India currently has more than 46,000 colleges and more than 1,200 universities, including deemed, private, state, and central universities.
Pradhan urged VCs to take decisive action in crucial areas like curriculum redesign, digital system construction, faculty training, and the promotion of multidisciplinary methods to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education to 50 per cent by 2035.
