Equity, quality and accessibility foundations of new NEP: Ramesh Pokhriyal

Talking about the ‘Implementation of National Education Policy 2020’, Union Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal said equity, quality and accessibility will be the base of the July 2020 blueprint. Pokhriyal, during the conference on Friday, said awareness and excitement regarding the implementation of the NEP are not only in the country but also globally, PTI reported.

“If you look at the NEP from a wider horizon, the policy is as national as it is international. It is impactful, inclusive and interactive. The new education policy stands firm on the foundations of equity, quality and accessibility,” PTI quoted Pokhriyal as saying.

“The new education policy connects the past with the future and focuses on leading India to the top,” Pokhriyal said.

He further stressed India’s diversity in terms of regional languages to stress the benefits of having primary education in a child’s mother tongue.

“The country is resolved to achieve its objective in education,” he quoted Swami Vivekananda to address the importance of the NEP.

“Primary education will be in mother tongue and later one may switch to other languages,” Pokhriyal added.

There were many questions on the global appeal of the policy vis-a-vis use of English. However, Pokhriyal countered by saying that countries like Japan, Germany, France, and Israel have lagged behind others just because they stuck to their mother tongue.

“These arguments do not make any sense,” he said, stressing the importance of education in mother tongue in a “diverse” country like India with several regional languages. This is not one man’s or one government’s education policy, it is the education policy of a country which has provided leadership to the world,” Pokhriyal added.

The minister told the audience, including vice chancellors of various universities and UGC officials, that the implementation of the policy is as crucial as the policy itself.