The newly introduced education policy seems to have well-intended outcomes but that hypothesis will be relevant only if it is implemented as well. Education policy lays particular emphasis on each individual, based on the principle that education must develop not only the cognitive capacities- both the ‘foundational capacities’ of literacy and numeracy and ‘high-order’ thinking and problem solving skills- but also social, ethical, and emotional capacities and dispositions. The National Education Policy envisions an education system rooted in Indian ethos that contributes directly to transforming India, sustainably into an equitable and vibrant knowledge society, by providing high-education to all, and thereby making India a global knowledge superpower.
Skillset India
Concerning the skill set, Indian engineers are undoubtedly at par in certain fields but in certain fields, they are clearly behind. For instance, when it comes to IT, computers and software, the skill set of the engineers are much better than that of the global counterparts. Even in hardware and manufacturing, the skill sets are okay whereas there is a lack of innovation, product design, and product development. In today’s date the engineers need to think something out of the box for finding innovative solutions.
Updated with Latest Technology
Industry and academics are out of sync in the country, since the education system primarily focuses on the theory based approach and most of the academicians do not understand the real needs of the industry to make any significant contribution to the industry’s research and development. In the area of steel and steelmaking, there is some good support from academia for the industry. However, in most other areas industry and academia are not good partners. The faculties need to be connected from what is happening and being updated with the latest technologies.
The new NEP focuses on making education a companion of a student, making it more student-friendly. The focus is on more practical, analytical and observatory knowledge education instead of the spoon-feed learning.
So, the key aspects related specifically to engineering in the NEP are:-
Coding will start from class 6. This is a real boost for the future engineers (software basically) as the basics of engineering will be taught from such a young stage which will ultimately result in making them more tech-savvy and conceptually strong.
Multilingual education would be implemented till class 5. This will help improve the communication skills of the students making them more confident during a conversation. A very important aspect of civil engineering.
Specialization in a single subject will be encouraged during classes 9–12. This will help improve the skills of the students associated with their favourite subject, again making them more productive in every sense. This will help as a guide for a student about what he/she has to do after leaving the school.
Common aptitude test would be taken for those students who fail to get admission through cut-off percentiles.
Flexible entry-exit option to be included in the undergraduate courses giving the students more power to decide their future. Another important ‘feature’ of the NEP.
As we all know that everybody is not an engineer by choice, some dream of becoming something else, for which they have to drop the colleges. But they, at the same time, also want that whatever they have studied yet, for viz. 1 or 2 year, they should be given some credit for it. This new policy will help them justify their demand by highlighting the fact that every year counts. For this, ABC or Academic bank of credits will also be established. As per National Education Policy 2020, the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) has been envisaged to facilitate the academic mobility of students with the freedom to study across the Higher Education Institutions in the country with an appropriate “credit transfer” mechanism from one programme to another, leading to attain a Degree/ Diploma/PG-diploma, etc.,
