NEP 2020 is a knowledge document of the 21st century: Dharmendra Pradhan at Pune's Symbiosis University

Pune: At a roundtable held at the Symbiosis International University, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan discussed the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020.

“NEP 2020 is a knowledge document of the 21st century,” said the education minister. “It aims to promote all-round development of an individual and aims to make education accessible to everyone,” he added.

The Minister pointed out that India’s academic fraternity plays a major role in ensuring a rightful place for the country in the new world.

“Ubiquity of technology and digital economies have made the world a small village. Today we are at the crossroads of an emerging new global order. How well we harmonize with technology and automation and acquire new skills will define our readiness for the future of work as well as for a leadership role in the emerging new global order. There is a huge opportunity for all of us here, especially for our academic community,” he stated.

The rigidity found in the educational policies of the past was highlighted, and the NEP 2020 was called vibrant and flexible.

The assertive approach that individuals had about their ‘rights' should now be replaced by a focus on their ‘duties’, expressed the minister. “There can be no one better than our teachers’ to drive home this point and shift the focus on performing duties and fulfilling responsibilities,” he added.

The minister claimed that online education was a new reality and teaching fraternity must come forward to develop e-learning content, along with SOPs to ensure online learning is not limited to exploitative market forces and is protective against data imperialism.

The Minister urged that to create global citizens and meet global expectations in line with the NEP 2020, our academic institutions must also ensure that they become ‘instruments of knowledge and empowerment rather than being ‘instruments of materialistic expectations’.