Latest news with #People'sEducationPolicy
The Hindu
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
People's Education Policy: A challenge to NEP 2020
The implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 is in full swing. Various aspects of the policy are being implemented by the Centre, central agencies, as well as State governments and their agencies, albeit with some caveats here and there. The three-language policy, for instance, has drawn opposition in some States. But the general thrust of the policy, which draws from the Kasturirangan Committee's recommendations, is being applied, and rules have been framed for application across much of India. While supporters of the NEP laud it as ground-breaking and one that would help India leap into the future, detractors have said that while its diagnosis of the Indian education system is not far off the mark its cure is worse than the disease. They say the NEP will do more harm than good. The draft People's Education Policy, unveiled recently for public comments, takes this approach. From the splitting of school-college years to the emphasis on foundational literacy and numeracy, the PEP seeks a complete reversal of all the key aspects of NEP, calling for strengthening formal education, a massive increase in government funding, a return of education to the State list, and so on. Let's join us on a webinar to critically understand and discuss what the alternative policy is saying. The Hindu will host a live webinar titled 'People's Education Policy: A challenge to NEP 2020', on Saturday, May 31, 5:00 p.m. The panellists include: Prof. Arun Kumar, Former Professor, CESP, JNU; Prof. Sachidanand Sinha, Former Professor, CSRD, JNU; Ramnath Sankaran, Engagement Lead, CEGIS; K. Ramachandran, EdTech Entrepreneur. The session will be moderated by M. Kalyanaraman, who heads The Hindu's Education vertical. Register now for free to ask questions and interact with the panellists. Those who ask the three best questions will receive a free online subscription to The Hindu. Panellists Prof. Arun Kumar, Former Professor, CESP, JNU Arun Kumar joined JNU in 1984 and retired as the Sukhamoy Chakravarty Chair Professor in the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, in 2015. He was the Chairperson of a Commission on Unemployment set up by Civil Society Groups, and its Report was released in October 2022. Before this, he was the Malcolm Adiseshiah Chair Professor in the Institute of Social Sciences from 2017 to 2022. He was a member of the team to study the black economy for CBDT (1982-85). He has a Ph.D. in Economics from JNU and a Master's in Physics from both Princeton University, U.S., and Delhi University. He is a gold medalist of the Delhi Higher Secondary Board and Delhi University. He has specialized in Development Economics, Public Finance and Public Policy, and Macroeconomics. Prof. Sachidanand Sinha, Former Professor, CSRD, JNU Prof Sachidanand Sinha is a Former Professor, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, JNU, New Delhi. His research revolves around access to education and health facilities, particularly with reference to marginalised sections, inaccessible terrain, etc. He had worked with the GoI on the identification of educationally backward districts. He currently serves as the President All India Save Education Committee Delhi Chapter. Ramnath Sankaran, Engagement Lead, CEGIS Ramnath anchors CEGIS' engagements in Education and HR with the Government of Tamil Nadu. Before joining CEGIS, he spent over two decades at Infosys, gaining experience in sales, designing, and delivering large and complex programs, as well as assembling and leading cross-functional teams. Ramnath made a conscious shift from the technology sector to explore his interest in Public Policy and effective governance. He is passionate about creating equity for children by improving access to better education and is keen to create impact at scale. K. Ramachandran, EdTech Entrepreneur K Ramachandran ( KRC) is an entrepreneur, freelance journalist, writer. In his 18-year career in journalism, KRC has covered education and urban development. In 2007, he shifted careers to head the industry - academia interface program at a leading IT and Consulting Services company. He was involved in curriculum making committees on many occasions of universities, colleges and industry forums like Nasscom and the CII. He became a co-founder of 361 Degree Minds, a digital education and edtech company. Currently he heads Strategy and large initiatives at 361 Degree Minds. (For any suggestions or feedback, please reach out to us at education@
The Hindu
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Academics release draft of People's Education Policy as an alternative to NEP 2020
A group of academicians have come together and formulated an alternative to the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020. The group has called it People's Education Policy (PEP) 2025, which, they said, would be finalised after nation-wide discussions. K. Yogarajan, secretary of the Tamil Nadu chapter of All India Save Education Committee, said the PEP proposes secular, scientific, democratic, and universal education, as against 'communal, undemocratic, anti-scientific, privatised, and commercialised education' that NEP 2020 represents. PEP proposes at least 10% allocation in the Union budget and 25% allocation for education in the State budget. It also proposes to bring education to the State list and amending the Constitution to that effect. The PEP is in favour of 10+2+3 structure and school education for students in the age group of 3 to 17 years. it also suggests classroom teaching instead of online and hybrid mode, and proposes to dispense with CUET and NEET. It calls for appointing permanent teachers instead of guest and contractual teachers. It opposes Indian Knowledge System, which it says is a design to distort history and inculcate pseudoscience. Ramu Manivannan, former Political Science professor at the University of Madras, said it is important to ensure that universities are run effectively and faculty appointments are made when need arises. Mr. Manivannan released the first copy of the draft of PEP and it was received by S. Bakthavatchalam, an office bearer of the Tamil Nadu High and Higher Secondary Graduate Teachers Association.
Time of India
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Edu NGO's draft policy offers alternative to NEP
Chennai: An NGO released a draft People's Education Policy on Thursday, suggesting it could be an alternative to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The All India Save Education Committee (AISEC), which came up with the policey, suggested a two-language system in schools and proposed continuing the present 10+2 system with provisions for pre-primary education and three-year undergraduate degrees, and providing free education from pre-primary to Class NEP proposed restructuring the school education system from the 10+2 structure to a 5+3+3+4 model. "Pre-primary, primary, and middle schools should be seamlessly integrated. This will facilitate a better transition of children from primary to upper primary classes," the draft People's Education Policy (PEP) said. "Admission shall not be based on centralised tests like NEET and JEE. Universities or higher educational institutions shall decide their own admission policy for admitting students into undergraduate and postgraduate programmes," said K Yogarajan, secretary, AlSEC. While allowing universities and colleges to give preference to local students, it suggested reserving 20% of seats for students from other universities and states to balance local aspirations and integration. The PEP supported the two-language policy. "A student shall learn both the mother tongue and English. In addition, students shall have the option to learn any additional language, and this shall be optional," Yogarajan said. The alternative education policy also demanded an increase in the allocation to education in the union budget to 10% and 6% of the GDP. State govts shall allocate up to 25% of their budget to education. It suggested providing free education from pre-primary to Class XII with funding from union and state govts. The policy wanted to continue with the three-year undergraduate degrees instead of four-year degrees. "Introducing multiple entry and exit is anarchic and will lead to dropouts, leaving these dropouts without jobs. Three-year degrees allow students to complete degrees by twenty years which makes higher eduation affordable," Yogarajan said. PEP also opposed introducing vocational education before Class X. "Education up to Class X should be common to all. The introduction of vocational subjects in upper primary schools will invariably replace some subjects that are presently taught," it said. Yogarajan said the policy will be presented to the union govt and state govts for implementation. "It's the draft policy, and we will make amendments to drafts in the conference to be held in January 2026," he added. The document criticised the NEP, saying it encourages privatisation and commercialisation of education from pre-school to university level, making it difficult for the poor to access quality education.
