National Education Policy
An exciting new era for the Indian educational environment began in July with the long-awaited release of the National Education Policy (NEP). The NEP outlined important proposals to improve and reform the current system with the goal of creating an equal, inclusive, and knowledge-based society appropriate for the twenty-first century. These changes were focused on raising quality, ensuring everyone has access, improving governance, providing a comprehensive, interdisciplinary education, educating more teachers, putting more of an emphasis on research, and integrating technology into every facet of education delivery. Since if properly executed, this new policy has the potential to be a significant gamechanger, it was widely praised when it was introduced.
It is important to take stock of the NEP's advancements and advances as we mark its first anniversary. Despite the difficulties brought on by the pandemic, higher education stakeholders in India and the larger world community maintained their enthusiasm and drive to realise the NEP's mission.
Following the NEP's lead, a series of changes have been implemented over the last year to allow the present educational system to adapt and stay up with the demands of students, academics, society, and the workplace of the twenty-first century, all of which are changing quickly. These changes aim to advance and support open and remote learning programmes, online learning, academic flexibility, the promotion of regional languages, research and innovation, transdisciplinary learning, and, most significantly for UK institutions, internationalisation. This is due to the fact that NEP 2020 places a more focus on internationalisation and foreign partnerships than its forerunners did in order to improve India's education industry.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”-Dr. Seuss
The most recent announcement relates to the guidelines for internationalising higher education in India, which aims to motivate Indian universities to improve their systems and structures to meet international standards and start cross-border exchange of academic best practises, competencies, and student mobility. Further conversation and collaboration between Indian and international higher education institutions will result from this, in turn. This strategy has already had the expected beneficial effect, encouraging numerous Indian States to establish partnerships with universities and other stakeholders in higher education in key markets. The recent collaboration between Welsh universities, the Welsh Government, British Council Wales, and the Telangana State Council of Higher Education is a prime example (TSCHE).
In addition to giving scholarships to the smartest and greatest students from Telangana institutions so they can study for a Master's degree at Welsh colleges in 2021, these organisations have joined forces to improve the arts and commerce curriculum and match it with industry standards.
One of the most significant achievements of the NEP till date is this radical and positive shift in mindset that it has set in motion. This, together with the deepening of ties between the UK and India under the 2030 Roadmap, marks the beginning of a new chapter in UK India bilateral relations.
