State government has decided to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 from the coming academic year. Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (GBSHSE) has declared that examination of 10th std will be held just once in a year starting from next year while the NEP has the provision of holding it in two semesters. Hence, it is for sure that the new academic year is going to be chaotic.
Currently a three-tier 10-2-3 education system is in place. In Goa, primary education is till 4th Standard while secondary level begins from 5th Standard. A drastic change is anticipated due to NEP 2020, which will follow the 5-3-3-4 structure.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
This means the 5th standard will have to be attached with primary schools and nobody seems to have given a thought to this. Although the Board has said that 10th standard students will have to appear for examination, the chances of change in the examination method are very high.
The NEP stresses on values through context, language education, tools in teaching, utilisation of resources and philosophy. The Ministry of Education has recently published a draft of the policy and has invited objections and suggestions from parents, students, teachers, academicians as well as scholars. So, time has not yet lapsed. The people working in the education sector should clearly express the challenges in front of the State government regarding implementation of the NEP.
The Government had appointed committees for the same, which were presided over by minister Subhash Shirodkar and former chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar. The government has reports of these committees and they may have an idea of what to expect. However, the parents are still in the dark till now. The sudden announcement that the NEP will be implemented from this year is only adding to the anxiety of parents.
The changes in the current examination method and education system of 10th and 12th standards are proposed in the new draft. For the students of 9th and 10th grade, subjects such as Humanities, Mathematics and Computing, Business Studies, Physical Education, Art Education, Social Science, Science and Interdisciplinary Studies will be available. The students will have to clear eight subjects a year, meaning a total 16.
Currently the 10th Standard students have to pass in minimum five subjects and the system will be retained for the annual examination. There has been a recommendation to break the traditional structure of Arts, Commerce and Science streams for Class 11 and 12.
The NEP will allow Higher Secondary Students to choose a total of 16 subjects from three streams such as Humanity, Mathematics and Computing, Business Studies, Physical Education, Art Education, Social Science, Science and Interdisciplinary Studies.
As per the current methodology of holding examinations, exams for Standard 11th and 12th are held only once. However, the new draft recommends holding exams twice a year in a semester system. The results of both the exams will be announced jointly.
There is also a provision to have a month-long ‘refresher course’ for the students to revise the concepts they learned last year. The real question is whether there is enough time to think through all the aforementioned factors?
The new academic year starts roughly around June 5. Two weeks of April have already passed. Remaining days are not sufficient enough for the preparations and so, implementation of NEP will have to be postponed. The NEP is based on four pillars which are Access, Equity, Quality and Accountability.
Importance has also been given to students’ psychological development through the ancient ‘Panch Kosh’ concept. In Panch Kosh, relation between body and mind has been considered very crucial for comprehending human experiences. Hence, there is a recommendation for holistic development of students through careful diet, traditional sports, yoga, music, sports, poems and prayers to establish a strong connection with our rich culture.
The focus has been on learning Indianness through the country’s rich cultural heritage and traditions. For that, supplementing textbooks will have to be published.
Work of appointing educational councils to draft new curriculum cannot be done hurriedly. The only option the government has is to postpone the execution of NEP 2020. The new policy can be implemented from 2024-25 academic year and needless to say, preparations for the same should start from now.
