Head, heart & hand guide New Education policy
Pix credit @Gulab_Kataria
By Deepa Kaushik
Bengaluru, May 29: The New Education Policy (2020) is a crucial reform that aims to transform the education system in India, focusing on quality, equity, and access. The University Grant Commission (UGC) recognizes the central role students can play in this transformative process, as they are a pivotal part of the education system. Transforming higher education calls for the collective participation and commitment from all key stakeholders, including vice-chancellors, directors, principals of universities, institutions, and colleges faculty, staff, and most importantly students.
“The NEP 2020 primarily focuses on the 3 edges of the education system which are “Head, Heart, and Hand whereby the head connotes the logical or rational thinking process, the heart reflects the happiness curriculum or peer learning experience, and the hand gives impetus to the skillful or vocational training,” said Himanshu Gupta, the National Youth Awardee (2017). If a person has to acquire eminence, then by increasing his memory, thinking, reasoning, analysis, and decision ability, the ability to take decisions based on policy and implement it is to be developed, this is the core focus area of NEP 2020.
With the goal of enhancing student participation and creating awareness around the various reforms in the higher education system as outlined in the NEP 2020, the UGC has announced a new initiative, “NEP SAARTHI – Student Ambassador for Academic Reforms in Transforming Higher Education in India”. To enhance students’ participation and make them aware of the various reforms of the higher education system, the UGC has launched the “NEP SAARTHI” at campuses of HEIs. The initiatives will bring together students as active participants in the implementation of the NEP 2020.
It has been noticed in the past that when students get involved in implementing changes, it speeds up the process as students get convinced by peers faster. Through students, their parents will also get involved in NEP implementation, said Raj Singh Vice Chancellor, Jain University (Deemed-to-be).
Through this initiative, the UGC aims to foster an environment where students can engage meaningfully and bring students together as active participants to make effective use of the provision of the NEP 2020.
The NEP SAARTHI will act as an ambassador in order to promote and disseminate information about NEP. They will also act as chain agents for collecting student, teacher, and parent feedback on the various success stories or policy loopholes while the education policy gets implemented on the ground. This will also help policy stakeholders and government to effectively and efficiently implement the whole policy across the states. Notably, one major stake that will be resting on the part of the SAARTHI is to provide guidance to students regarding NEP.
In order to catalyze their role, SAARTHI can utilize innovative ways and means to reach out to a larger audience. Likewise, they will be hosting various dialogues and symposiums amongst youth which will provide a kick start to the various discussion and will facilitate youth with a suitable platform where they can hold discussions. Setting up help desks at the college and university levels is a pivotal step that will help in connecting more people.
Erstwhile in order to ensure inclusive governance, UGC has taken the initiative to expand access through online and open distance learning (ODL) programs in more HEIs. To overcome the language barrier being faced by students, massive open online course MOOCs are being translated into Indian languages. Due to this revolutionary step, the students belonging to the tribal belts of India can also take active participation in the mainstream education system. As mentioned by the Union Home & Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, “whether it is technical education, medical education or law education when we do not teach all these in Indian languages, then we are able to use only 5% by limiting the capabilities of the country, but when we teach these subjects in Indian languages, we are able to utilize the 100% capacity of the country.”
As we all know that there is a close relationship between research and the education system in the mother tongue, one who thinks in his own language can do well in research because his/her original thinking ability is developed in his own language.
Conclusively, only education can enable any nation or society to reach the pinnacle of success and young minds are looking up to the policymakers with expectations and hope to take a far-reaching initiative. The young mind does not aspire to only earn degrees and certificates but also to achieve global good.
As said by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the 10th Prime Minister of India, “The importance of education, especially higher education transcends the material benefits it brings to the individual and society. We often tend to focus mostly on the economic benefits of education. That of course, is an important dimension, which must receive our paramount attention. However, the non-material benefit of learning to the learner himself and society as a whole must not be lost sight of.”
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