Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh): ‘It will take at least 15 to 20 years to see fruits of National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 in the country. Barring West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, where execution of the NEP is lagging, its execution in other states is satisfactory. We favour transforming society through education, but don’t favour promoting western culture through educational mode,’ Avanish Bhatnagar (New Delhi), national general secretary of Vidya Bharti—a school educational wing of RSS said.
Addressing a press conference at Samrat Vikramaditya Bhavan of Vidya Bharti, on the sidelines of educational training workshop of teachers of Shishu Mandirs of Malwa region here on Monday, Bhatnagar talked at length about the focus and mode of implementation of NEP on part of non-government organisations like them. He said that Vidya Bharti supports the reports presented during the past 75 years by various intellectuals, committees and commissions for improvement in teaching education and also feel that implementation of them along with NEP-2020 should be done in the country.
‘The impact of NEP is likely to be evident by the year 2030 and after its thorough review to be held in the year 2040,’ he said adding that it was their ideological endeavour to promote ‘mother languages’ rather than English. ‘Due to a stigma of English being useful international language, even those who took their school education from the institutions of Vidya Bharti prefer convent schools but we are also focusing on spoken English. We are running 8 sainik schools in the country in English medium and will soon run another half-a-dozen sainik schools, but would not allow flourishing of western culture in the name of English medium schools,’ he pointed out.
According to Bhatnagar, 25 subjects are focus areas of NEP. 12 of them are already taught in schools. Out of them, 5 subjects are cross-cutting themes which include knowledge of India, value-based education, gender education, social inhibition and use of technology. These 5 subjects are also thrust areas of Vidya Bharti.
‘Our aim is to involve people in the country’s progress and development. To get a degree or to earn huge package should not be the goal. We believe in recognising and promoting our glorious history and culture,’ he elaborated. Bhatnagar also informed that Vidya Bharti is the largest organisation working in the field of school education without getting any government grant since 1952.
