New Delhi: Implementing a new National Education Policy is one of the most important steps that the Narendra Modi government may be planning over its second tenure in office. However, this has not been able to elicit adequate response from our elected representatives with less than 10 per cent of the members of Parliament bothering to respond to a communication sent by the Union human resource development minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank seeking their recommendations on the Draft NEP.
Sources stated that a letter by Mr Nishank seeking MPs “views, comments and suggestions”, dated July 26 has met with lukewarm response so far as not many of them replied to it.
The letter of the Union HRD minister was accompanied with a printed copy of the Draft National Education Policy 2019 to all MPs.
“I would request you to kindly go through the Draft National Education Policy 2019 and provide your valuable views / suggestions/ comments and inputs to bring out a more convergent, inclusive, participatory and holistic National Education Policy 2019,” Mr Nishank said in the letter.
The current national education policy was put in place almost three decades ago in 1986 during the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress regime.
HRD ministry sources stated that the delayed response is also seemingly due to the fact that Parliament session was extended and it hopes that more suggestions are likely to come in over the next few weeks.
The draft of the new NEP, which was formulated by a panel led by former Isro chairman K. Kasturirangan, proposes vast reforms in the education sector.
The Kasturirangan Committee was set up by the HRD ministry in June 2016 and was originally mandated to submit its report in December 2017.
Over the past several months, the committee has held nationwide consultations with several stakeholders including members of Parliament, students at various educational institutes, academia and even the Sangh affiliates for finalisation of the draft NEP.
Interestingly, a similar draft report prepared by TSR Subramanian panel, convened during the tenure of former HRD Minister Smriti Irani, on the NEP is now effectively considered to be in cold storage.
