Parliamentary Panel Flags Problems With NEP's Multiple Entry, Exit Model

A Parliamentary group has identified problems with the New Education Policy (NEP 2020)'s execution and suggested ways to speed up the process since a number of educational changes are currently in the implementation stage. The panel worried that multiple entry and departure mechanisms might not work in "highly populated India".

In its report, the Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Thakur-led Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports stated that the current faculty capacities "does not gel" with the demands of implementing multidisciplinary education. On the final day of the special session of Parliament, the report was presented in the Rajya Sabha.

The panel noted that the evaluation method is likely to become problematic when higher education institutions successfully develop a multidisciplinary curriculum, highlighting the difficulties in putting interdisciplinary education into practice.

'Gain 3000 or more students by 2040'

According to the paper, aligning educational materials—especially textbooks for transdisciplinary education—is a difficult process for which institutions are ill-prepared. The faculty's current capacities don't fit the above standards properly. According to NEP 2020, all institutions of higher learning must change into interdisciplinary institutions with a goal of gaining 3,000 or more students by the year 2040.

The panel recommended "reviewing and adjusting the interest rates on loans" to make them more competitive and affordable for institutions, especially for those facing financial challenges, despite the fact that funding for the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) has decreased to zero over the past three years.

The panel suggested that HEFA investigate expanding its funding sources outside government allotments. Some of the recommendations given by the group include collaborations with business sector organizations, philanthropic foundations, and international financial institutions.