3 Yrs of NEP: IIT GN, Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, KVS focusing on skills, New age courses

IIT Gandhinagar and other central academic institutions share their initiatives and future plans for implementation

The National Education Policy, NEP 2020, is completing three years now, majority of the centrally run institutions like the IITs, Central Universities, and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan are implementing various provisions suggested under it.

NEP 2020 inches closer to completing three years, the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN), Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya - Vadodara, Regional Directorate of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship; and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) - Ahmedabad Region have prepared “Strategic Action Plan for Implementing National Education Policy 2020”.

The vision of NEP is to transform India into a global knowledge superpower through a broad-based, flexible, and multidisciplinary education system. The Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 29, 2023, at ITPO, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, coincides with the 3rd anniversary of National Education Policy 2020.

The two-day event, being organised by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, will provide a platform for experts of schools, higher educational institutions, and skilling institutions to discuss, deliberate and share insights, strategies, success stories and best practices in implementing the NEP 2020.

Introduced in the year 2020, NEP emphasises developing each individual's foundational and higher cognitive capacities, such as critical thinking and problem-solving. It paves the way for developing and grooming our youth for such a responsibility, preparing them for emerging job roles of the future.

Speaking on how IITGN’s vision is aligned with the goal of NEP, Prof Rajat Moona, Director, IITGN, said, “The progressive and integrated approach under the National Education Policy will give global recognition to Indian education. It has paved the way for providing holistic education right from the beginning to equip our next generation with knowledge, skills, capabilities, and sensitivity to lead India in the 21st century. IIT Gandhinagar has always been a torchbearer of innovative, flexible, and interdisciplinary curriculum coupled with an emphasis on cutting-edge research, innovation, learning-by-doing, humanities subjects, and industry exposure. So, I strongly feel that through NEP, the future of education in India will get a major boost.”

He also shared some of the most significant projects and initiatives being implemented or planned at IITGN that are aligned with NEP 2020, including multiple entry and exit programmes; interdisciplinary centres in the fields of Archaeology, Biomedical Engineering, Sustainable Development, Design & Innovation, Creative Learning, and Safety; international exposure to students through industry/academic research internships; making a social impact through outreach programmes and by proving financial support to needy students; providing different language courses to students; engaging industry experts as Professors of Practice; among others. For the first time this year, IITGN is also going to provide verifiable digital mark sheets, degrees, and medal certificates to the graduating students via USB so that they can access them from anywhere.

Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya is the first central university that was launched after the announcement of NEP, and it has a unique and broad mandate to focus on the entire transportation and logistics sector. Prof Manoj Choudhary, Vice-Chancellor, Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya – Vadodara, shared significant information on the NEP implementation and future plans at their institution and said, “Our curriculum is industry demand-driven and innovation-led from the beginning. We have also established the Centre for Policy to synergise policy inputs to the government and generate knowledge to make the transport sector stronger than ever.”

He also elaborated on the uniqueness of courses and curriculum at the Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya that integrates subjects like artificial intelligence & machine learning, design thinking, operation research, logistics & supply chain management, among others, to make students market-ready.

J P Meena, Regional Director, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, elaborated on various skill-based and entrepreneurial courses offered by them for the youth of our country. He said, “With the introduction of NEP, about 1500 of our traditional programmes are being redesigned to integrate skills with education so that every child acquires some kind of skill. We are also running programmes on entrepreneurship and soft skills development for youth so that they develop the confidence to become self-employed. To promote technical education other than in the English language, we have already published about 100 books on technical education in Hindi and are in the process of publishing them in 12 regional languages.”

Shruti Bhargava, Deputy Commissioner, KVS – Ahmedabad Region, elaborated on the initiatives taken at KVS schools across the state and said, “Since the inception of NEP 2020, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan Ahmedabad Region is putting its best effort to implement it. As desired in NEP, the re-alignment of the age of admission in class 1 is changed to 6 years. We have also introduced Balvatika in 20 KVs of Gujarat to date and a 12-week module has been adapted to bolster a child’s pre-literacy, pre-numeracy, cognitive and social skills after admission. All schools are following vocational/skill subjects under the bag-less day's scheme wherein students are getting hands-on experience on pottery, carpentry etc. 100% of teachers of KVs under the Ahmedabad Region have been trained under Nishtha Courses on Diksha Portal and resources like Jadui Pitara are being used in our schools.”

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