By Badri Narayan
If someone analyses the history of development in various societies of the world, one may find that every concept, planning and initiative needs knowledge, culture, ideas, and value base. These develop through the support of education and pedagogy. When India entered in its neoliberal phase, it aspired towards a new developmental regime which was holistically conceptualised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was elected in 2014. He visualised a new era of Indian development and evolved a concept and mission of Viksit Bharat, to be achieved by 2047, when India will celebrate 100 years of Independence.
As I said, Viksit Bharat is not merely developmental, but is also woven around panch pran- (develop India; erase all traces of servitude; be proud of our legacy; the strength of our unity; citizen duty which may provide ideals for evolving India with its spiritual and cultural foundation). To provide the cultural, spiritual, and knowledge base of Viksit Bharat, a new education policy named New Education Policy (NEP 2020) has been formulated by PM Modi and the ministry of education. Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and his team are working constantly to implement it, trying to lead the transformation of the Indian education system as the support base for the Viksit Bharat mission.
The structural transformation of Indian education system, which was earlier rigid and conventional, is now moving rapidly towards flexibility, innovation and being multidisciplinary. Various apex bodies like National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and University Grants Council (UGC) are working to harness this transformation by inculcating various reforms, revisions and corrections in structure, text, curriculum, and pedagogy. Changing society, markets, and global realities require flexibility in the Indian education system. Under NEP, the flexibility, interdisciplinary interaction, and multidisciplinary movement are being evolved through various UGC regulations to respond to the changing society and job market. The skill-based courses have been updated, which may create a competent work force for the ongoing developmental efforts under Viksit Bharat. These new changes will also increase job opportunity for the Indian youths.
Creativity, morality, innovation, and career aspiration are being woven into courses under the NEP-2020 very organically. Regulations, courses, training, and orientation are being paid attention to to achieve the complete implementation of NEP. The process of admission and the meaning of attendance are being redefined in educational institutions by various regulations of UGC, Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) etc. The importance of Indian languages is being asserted in research and teaching not only at the school level but also in higher education. This transformation is gradual, and its implementation is being achieved step by step.
The notion of development under the defective modernity of the West always creates the science versus social science divide in the education system and gives priority to the former over the latter. But NEP-2020 provides a balanced and interactive relationship between the two. Pradhan, in one of his deliberations organised by the ICSSR, recently argued that every scientific innovation needs to have social roots and connection, which is why social science knowledge may have equal importance for achieving the goal of Viksit Bharat.
In fact, the notion of Viksit Bharat is also different from the Western notion of development. It is not merely economic but also cultural and social. This reminded me of a statement by famous historian EP Thompson—“It is true that without economics, there is no history, but it is also true that without culture, there is no economics.” That is why we are in need of educational pedagogy, which may evolve the Indian youth as innovative, creative, skillful, confident, self-dependent and moral world leaders. NEP- 2020 is working with this mission. So here, notion of education, development, national building and ‘manav rachana’ (human development) are organically and intrinsically linked with each other.
In the educational sphere, the concern of the NEP is that no one should be left out. So, various kinds of online and community teaching, along with schooling in remote regions and for marginal communities are now taking place. Various kinds of scholarships and fellowships are being launched for the students of marginal communities of India. The organic linkages of education and development may be also observed in the constant evaluation of the projects with developmental and policy impact on the most marginal communities. These are being launched by apex research bodies like ICSSR.
This India is different from post-90s India, which was struggling to emerge as Viksit Bharat. The NEP-2020 is going reshape our future generations, which may emerge as the foundational resource for Viksit Bharat, as envisioned by PM Narendra Modi.
The author is Director, GB Pant Social Science Institute
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