National Education Policy (NEP) 2020

 

India is one of the youngest nations in the world and in the next decade it will have the highest number of young people in the world. This was the background in which National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 was announced by the Government of India on July 29, 2020. It says “… our ability to provide high-quality educational opportunities to them (youth) will determine the future of India.”  The NEP 2020 document rightly emphasized that “Education is the fundamental for achieving full human potential, developing an equitable and just society, and promoting national development.”

 

There is no doubt that we needed a New Education Policy. The last National Education Policy was adopted in 1986, and revised in 1992. Since then, changes of momentous significance have taken place, especially in the field of information and communication technology.

 

The NEP 2020 is a progressive policy document but it has some gaps also which should be relooked at. They need to be changed.

 

Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) is one of the positive features of the policy.  Children in the age group of 0-6 years were not covered by RTE Act 2009.  It is rightly pointed out by the NEP that over 85% of a child’s cumulative brain development occurs prior to the age of 6 years.  Since this was not part of the RTE Act, quality ECCE is not available to crores of children. The NEP has set a goal for universalization of quality ECCE by 2030. It will ensure that all students entering Grade I are school ready.

 

The NEP 2020 envisages the replacement of the existing 10+2 structure of school education by a 5+3+3+4 structures. It covers children right from the age of 3 years to 18 years.  This is looks nice but it does not have any legal support. One of the important critic of the NEP 2020 is lack of will to bring every child under fundamental right. The policy does not talk about the extension of RTE Act 2009 to cover children in the age group of 3 to 18 years. In fact, it is diluting the existing Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009. This Act need to be strengthened. The NEP is also silent on making necessary steps to strengthen the public education system, ensure that it is adequately financed, resourced and empowered.

 

The NEP is focusing on curtailing dropout rates of school going children and ensuring universal access to education at every level.    This is a welcome step but it is silent of out of school children. In fact in the NEP, they are mainly in the form of the declaration of intention by the Government. There is no compulsion or binding on them.

 

Input Vs Output: Another important critic of the policy is that the it gives less emphasis on input and greater emphasis on output. And the regulations of inputs will be limited to certain areas.  It is here the policy is diluting the RTE Act 2009, which clearly talks about inputs.

 

RTE Act clearly defined the norms and regulation and stopped any form of Non Formal Education. But the NEP has diluted that also. It talks about the use of volunteers and qualified persons from the community for achieving the objective of dropout rates and ensuring enrolment.  

 

It is a good document for advocacy to make equitable and inclusive education for children in the age group of 3 to 18 years. We need to engage with policy makers in the Parliament and at the different bodies like NITI Aayog, Education Ministry and other departments related to children.

 

Following should be the advocacy pointers:

·       The Government of India must amend the RTE Act 2009 to universalize the quality education form pre-school to Grade 12 and cover children in the age group of 3 to 18 years.

·       ECCE should be part of RTE Act hence cover children upto the age of 6 years under RTE Act.

·       The top priority should be implementation of the RTE Act, as most of the important provisions of the Act remains unimplemented.

o   According to RTE Forum Stocktaking Report 2018, only 12.5 % schools are complying with RTE norms and regulation.

·       To universalize the ECCE, RTE Act should be amended.

·       Universalization of quality secondary education is another important agenda to work on. It can only be done by amending the RTE Act.

 

Well, we have now two weapons (RTE Act 2009 and NEP 2020) to ensure every child in the age group of 3 to 18 years get access to quality education and healthy life within the walking distance from their home. Let us work on it to make it happened. It is doable.

National Education Policy 2020-gaps and appreciation

India is one of the youngest nations in the world and in the next decade it will have the highest number of young people in the world. This was the background in which National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 was announced by the Government of India on July 29, 2020. It says “… our ability to provide high-quality educational opportunities to them (youth) will determine the future of India.  The NEP 2020 document rightly emphasised that “Education is the fundamental for achieving full human potential, developing an equitable and just society, and promoting national development.”

 

There is no doubt that we needed a New Education Policy. The last National Education Policy was adopted in 1986, and revised in 1992. Since then, changes of momentous significance have taken place at national and international level. Most important among them are the changes in information and communication technology, which are important to take into account for the planning for education in the 21^st century India.

 

The NEP 2020 is a progressive policy document but it has some recommendations which should be relooked at. They need to be changed.

Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) is one of the positive features of the policy.  Children in the age group of 0-6 years were not covered by RTE Act 2009.  It is rightly pointed out by the NEP that over 85% of a child’s cumulative brain development occurs prior to the age of 6 years.  Since this was not part of the RTE Act, quality ECCE is not available to crores of children. The NEP has set a  goal for universalization of quality ECCE by 2030. It will ensure that all students entering Grade I are school ready.

 

The NEP 2020 envisages the replacement of the existing 10+2 structure of school education by a 5+3+3+4 structures. It covers children right from the age of 3 years to 18 years.  But the policy does not talk about the extension of RTE Act 2009 to cover children in the age group of 3 to 18 years. In fact, it is diluting the existing Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009. This Act need to be strengthened. The NEP is also silent on making necessary steps to strengthen the public education system, ensure that it is adequately financed, resourced and empowered.

 

The NEP is focusing on curtailing dropout rates of school going children and ensuring universal access to education at every level.    

 

 

 

The Juvenile Justice Act 2021, the Act without clear vision for children

 One of the main provisions of the JJA Act 2021 is allowing the trial of juveniles in conflict with law in the age group of 16-18 years as adults, in cases where the crimes were to be determined. The Juvenile Justice Board will determine the nature of the crime, and whether the juvenile should be tried as a minor or a child.

This Act clearly established following:

a.      The Juvenile Justice Act 2021 has divided the world crime into 3 diverse genera:

a.       (1) Petty offence (2) Serious offence (3) Heinous offence.

b.      A 16 years old child in the case of heinous crime offender will be treated as an adult.

a.      That means the J.J. protection shall not be granted in this case.

The Act further clarifies about the categories of crimes:

Petty Offence: A minor offense for which one may be tried at common law without a jury or for which there is no constitutional right to trial by jury- that may not be the subject of an indictment.

Serious Offences: Serious offences incorporate offences for which least detainment of three years and not surpassing seven years are endorsed under Section 2(54) of the Indian Penal Code. This eliminates the uncertainty and has been brought to guarantee the Juvenile’ greatest assurance to get them far from the adult justice system.

Heinous Offences: Heinous Offences are those wrongdoings that recommend the least discipline of seven years or more under Section 2(33) of the Indian Panel Code. For the most part, Heinous Crimes include some type of exceptional individual injury or death; e.g., Murder, assault, sexual molestation, and so on.

 

We need to answer following question to analyse the JJ Act 2021. And the questions are:

Can punishment change human behaviour? Do punishments deter more wrongdoing?  Do punishments actually reform an offender?

My understanding says big No. Increasing the severity of punishment does little to deter crime because it is seen as an end in itself. The problem lies here. The change in the JJ Act 2015 does not seek to change the offender’s behaviour and help him/her to a new path but to put behind the bar and develop him/her into a hard core criminal. There are many empirical data available but I will share few. These data collected with the help of Google.

According to the National Institute of Justice, USA, almost 44% of criminals released return before the first year out of prison. Another report says an estimated 68% of released prisoners were arrested within 3 years, 79% within 6 years, and 83% within 9 years ( www.ojp.gov) . 

Some facts from India:

National Crime Reports Bureau (NCRB) in 2019, the adolescent crime percentages spikes higher when contrasted with earlier years individually. The number of juvenile offences increased from 28677 in 2018 to 29287 in 2019.

8 minors arrested every day for crime against women. Of the 2750 juveniles caught in 2019 for violence against women, 1383 face rape charges. Similarly 1678 of 3258 in 2018, 1737 of 3435 in 2017 and 2054 of 3754 in 2016 were facing rape charges. Crimes committed by juveniles increased to 35.6 % in Delhi after JJ Act 2015. (Source: TOI & NCRB).

 

It is quite clear that the policy makers do not go for wide consultation and some serious resource work before many such an important law, which will be affecting the children directly. The policy document lacks clear vision and developmental path for children committing crimes. The objective of any law, specially for juvenile, should for bringing reform in them and not pushing them towards hard core crime world.

 

We have beautiful programs and schemes like 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao', Kishori Shakti Yojana, Balika Samridhi Yojana, SABLA, Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram, and Adolescent Reproductive Sexual Health Programme (ARSH) etc. The government should act on such programs for creating safe and secure environment for children and building a nation full of healthy, educated and empowered youth.