The Shinde-Fadnavis government on Tuesday set up a working group of ministers (GoM) headed by the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 based on the recommendations made by a task force headed by eminent scientist Raghunath Mashelkar. The GoM comprises the Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and ministers of School Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development, Medical Education Agriculture while the Principal Secretary of Higher and Technical Education Department is the member secretary.
The GoM’s mandate is to periodically review the work of the committees to be established soon on various subjects as per the Task Force’s recommendations and discuss new changes to be made in accordance with NEP. The GoM will also review the actions taken or to be taken by the school education department as per the recommendations of the subject committees. Besides, it will also hold celebrations on the changes to be made in the higher education department as per the NEP.
Dr Mashelkar led task force had made a slew of recommendations including migrating to four year courses from three year one, provide university status to those educational institutions which have completed 50 years, establishment of Research Council for the promotion of research in higher education and decide a policy for fee regulatory authority for public and private educational institutions.
Further, the Task Force had recommended to prepare a policy for polytechnic degree courses, make statutory provisions for the functioning of the foreign universities in the state and formation of a state level committee to provide training to the teachers.
Moreover, the Task Force had recommended filing of vacant posts of teachers, releasing a white paper on the PPP in higher education and establishment of Maharashtra Education Alliance for Technology and National Educational Technology Forum for the application of digital technology. The research in languages should be promoted in all universities.
It had also recommended a policy for admission to engineering degrees of students who studied at polytechnic after 10th and made statutory provisions for the functioning of the foreign universities in the state.
