Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday advocated developing a hybrid system of online and offline learning to avoid overexposure of schoolchildren to technology, as he chaired a high-level meeting to review the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP).
Modi said the databases maintained by Anganwadi centres should be seamlessly integrated with school records as children move there from anganwadis, and called for their regular health check-ups and screening in schools with the help of technology. Pitching for emphasis on the use of indigenously developed toys to develop conceptual skills in students, he also suggested that secondary schools with science labs should engage with farmers in their area for soil testing, the statement said.
The new policy is being rolled out with the objectives of access, equity, inclusivity and quality, he said, according to an official statement.
Lauding the new education policy, he said from special efforts to track out-of-school children and bring them back into the mainstream and the introduction of multiple entries and exits into higher education, many transformative reforms have been initiated that will define and lead the progress of the country as it enters the ‘Amrit Kaal’.
Modi was apprised that the work of the formulation of the National Curriculum Framework under the guidance of the National Steering Committee is in progress.
In school education, initiatives like quality ECCE in ‘Balavatika’, NIPUN Bharat, Vidya Pravesh, examination reforms and innovative pedagogies like art-integrated education, toy-based pedagogy are being adopted for better learning outcomes and holistic development of children, the statement said.
Referring to multi-disciplinarity in higher education, he said he was informed that the guidelines for multiple entry-exit for flexibility and lifelong learning along with the launch of an academic bank of credit on the Digi locker platform will now make it possible for students to study as per their convenience and choice.
In order to create new possibilities for lifelong learning and centrally involve critical and interdisciplinary thinking in learners, the UGC has published guidelines according to which students can pursue two academic programmes simultaneously.
The National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF) is also at an advanced stage of preparation, while the UGC is revising the existing Curriculum Framework and Credit System for Undergraduate Programme in alignment with the NHEQF, said.
