5 years of NEP 2020: Time for a bold leap in school health and wellness

Business Standard

13 hours ago

As the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 completes five years, there is much to appreciate. The policy has boldly reimagined Indian education for the 21st century, emphasizing flexibility, foundational learning, critical thinking, and holistic development. It also recognises the importance of health, nutrition, mental well-being, hygiene, and life skills in shaping capable and compassionate citizens.
But five years on, new realities have emerged, ones that demand urgent attention. And the time has come to revisit the policy's implementation with courage and clarity.
A recent Aiims study paints a worrying picture: obesity among Delhi's school children has jumped from 5 per cent in 2006 to 24 per cent in 2025. Hypertension affects over 7 per cent of them. Private school children are at greater risk, but the trends are rising even in government schools. India's malnutrition story is shifting from undernutrition to over-nutrition and lifestyle disorders.
Meet Ami, age 12. She skips breakfast, snacks on chips, stays up late, wakes up tired, and spends hours glued to her screen. She's too exhausted to play and struggles to focus in class. Sadly, Ami is not alone; this is becoming the norm. Behind these everyday habits are rising cases of constipation, fatigue, anxiety and mental health issues, poor immunity, and early signs of diabetes and heart conditions across cities and villages alike.
While we know the solutions: healthy food, hydration, good sleep, physical activity, mental calm, limiting screen time; they are not reaching children in meaningful ways. Good health is not only about nutrition but also about habits.
What NEP 2020 Says and Where It Falls Short?
NEP 2020 deserves credit for recognising the importance of health, nutrition, and wellness in education. It speaks of 'capabilities and dispositions that promote wellness,' not just knowledge. It also refers to mental health, physical activity, nutrition, hygiene, and prevention of substance abuse.
However, in practice, these elements remain fragmented and loosely integrated across subjects.
The National Curriculum Framework (NCF), while establishing a dedicated area for 'Physical Education and Well-being,' ends up prioritizing physical activity. Structured time is allocated to movement and sports. But topics like food, mental health, hygiene, and emotional health are diluted into textbooks or co-curricular modules without structured periods, trained teachers, or experiential learning.
As a result, we continue to rely on occasional campaigns or awareness drives like sugar boards, campaigns to reduce edible oil (which are great), instead of cultivating the real-life skills and lifelong habits children truly need.
We Need Two Separate Subjects: One Cannot Substitute the Other
To correct this imbalance, we need to treat Physical Education and Health Education as two distinct subjects.
Physical Education should continue to focus on movement, fitness, and sports, delivered by trained PE teachers through outdoor, activity-based learning.
Health Education should be taught inside the classroom. Health is a web of daily choices. Food and nutrition must work alongside sleep, physical activity, and hygiene, especially during puberty. Health education should not only focus on food and nutrition but also include mental well-being, hygiene, social relationships, and safety, with the goal of building lifelong habits.
Environmental awareness is equally important, helping children understand that their health is closely linked to the planet's well-being. Preventing addictive behaviours, such as tobacco and substance use, is another vital component. A strong health education curriculum must connect all these threads to help children make informed and confident choices every day.
A structured and science-backed curriculum can bring health to life through three key habit areas:
Smart Routine – daily structure, restful sleep, hydration, and screen balance.
Choosing Healthy Foods – building skills in choosing to eat a variety of foods maintaining nutrient balance, and reading labels.
Eating Wisely – avoiding food waste, embracing local and seasonal foods, practicing mindful eating, and ensuring food safety.
Simple habits like hydration, movement, and rest, can lay the foundation for lifelong wellness.
The Time is Now: Turning Vision into Reality
We must move beyond one-off campaigns and complement them with a structured subject that has dedicated time, trained educators, and thoughtfully developed learning resources. Schools should allocate two periods per week for health education in the preparatory and middle stages, and one period per week in the secondary stage.
This is not just about delivering content; it is about pedagogy. Teaching health means enabling behaviour change, not merely sharing facts. It involves helping students make everyday decisions that support their physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
This calls for a new vision of Health Education, one that reflects the web of daily choices children must navigate. To achieve this, teachers need dedicated training, and over time, a cadre of certified health coaches can support schools. Japan offers a compelling example, where trained school nutritionists also serve as dietitians, combining nutrition education with meal planning to promote lifelong healthy habits.
As India looks toward Viksit Bharat 2047, we must recognise that health is not a peripheral concern; it is the foundation of learning and life. Schools must commit to systemic change.
A dedicated health subject, properly timed and resourced, can prepare every child to thrive especially in a world of AI-driven content and digital overload. We must equip students not just to cope with these challenges, but to meet them with confidence, clarity, and care.