Around 10 countries have contacted the Ministry of Education to show their willingness to implement India’s new National Education Policy (NEP), Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ said on Friday.
He spoke during a webinar on “NEP 2020 – The Brighter Future of Education” hosted by ASSOCHAM.
“About 10 countries have contacted us and their education ministers have shown the will to implement India’s new education policy in their countries,” Pokhriyal said. “The government is looking for paragraph suggestions on how to implement NEP. So far 15 billion comments have been received and we are open to receiving more suggestions, ”he added. The minister regretted that some people are arguing that to advance internationally it is necessary to learn English. “I must say that we are not against English, but the mother tongue as a means of education would help to strengthen the Indian languages. The government does not intend to impose any language on any state. We are in favor of strengthening 22 Indian languages and we want to promote all these languages, ”he said.
Read more: Everything you need to know about the new education policy
“People need to understand that English is not an Indian language. I would like to say to people who argue that if we do not learn English we cannot progress globally, we must look to countries like Japan, Russia, Israel, France, the US that provide education in their language, “the minister added.
The NEP passed by the Union Cabinet in July replaces the 34-year-old National Education Policy framed in 1986 and aims to pave the way for transformative reforms in the school and higher education systems to make India a global superpower of the knowledge.
The choice between 3- or 4-year undergraduate courses, multiple entry and exit options in degree courses, the addition of 3.5 crore seats in higher education institutions, which will now have a single regulator, the discontinuation of programs of MPhil and fee setting are among the higher education reforms outlined in the new NEP.
“The main objective of NEP 2020 is to develop good human beings and not machines. It is a nation-centered policy, full of human values and when it comes to innovation, knowledge, research, science and technology, it will be at the top internationally, ”Pokhriyal said.
“Perhaps it is the first policy of its kind in the world that has seen such large consultations with more than 1,000 universities, 45,000 graduate colleges, 15 lakh schools, 1 crore teachers and professors along with 33 crore students and their parents, politicians, state governments and their education ministers, senior ministers, parliamentarians and industry bodies ”, he added. The minister said they have incorporated most of the 2.25 lakhs suggestions received from across the country.
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