The current three-day meeting in Varanasi will discuss a 16-point action plan for implementing the National Education Policy 2020, authorities announced on Friday. On Thursday, the meet, Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam, was officially opened by the prime minister. There are over 300 higher education institution heads participating in the agenda discussion. Sanjay Murthy, the secretary for higher education, claimed that the chief secretaries' conference in Shimla in June, which was attended by Prime Minister Modi, produced a 16-point agenda plan.
"The agenda plan of action was presented in the chief secretaries' conference.... We got the consensus of all the state governments towards implementing the 16-point agenda plan of action,” Murthy told reporters. “Now, this 16-point agenda plan of action is one of the themes or the foundations of the actions that we have proposed to discuss in the next three days,” he added.
According to Sanjay Murthy, there has been a significant effort from November 2021 to consult with more than 300 state institutions, as well as 300 central universities and private universities, on various areas of the NEP implementation. "All this consultation is happening for the benefit of the student who is going to be the taker of this type of initiative that is happening. So we feel that...what will emerge from these three days will motivate as well as allow the universities take a better plan of action for implementation of the National Education Policy for the benefit of students,” he said.
Higher Education Secretary Sanjay Murthy also called for a curriculum which meets the industry's requirement. "I think everyone here is meeting...to revise their curriculum and pedagogy to see what they teach and deliver to students meet societal requirements. So the focus is on employability and entrepreneurship. “Second is you need a capable and competent faculty to deliver that content. And I think the content is developed for the benefit of the teachers....And the third point is how do you leverage technology to see that you are able to deliver it at the least cost. We will hear many examples in these sessions,” he added.
