Education Minister Rakkam A sangma on Thursday said the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 will be implemented in the state from the 2024-25 academic sessions.
Talking to reporters in Shillong, the Education Minister said that several heads of institutions have petitioned the state Government for not implementing National Education Policy 2020 immediately.
“We want to implement at the earliest but since the head of the institutions have petitioned to the Government that we are not ready to implement it in 2023-24 academic session, but, however they have petitioned to the Government that they will be ready for the 2024-25 academic session,” Sangma said.
So far the Education minister had three meetings with NEHU Vice Chancellor, academic council and the head of the institutions of the state along with the officials of the Education department to discuss the matter.
“The head of the institutions of the state have petitioned that they are not ready this academic session, so I had a personal one to one meeting with the head of the prominent institutions in the state, they are also of the view that this session they are not ready to implement National Education policy 2020, so we are communicating to all the head of the institutions to write to us in Black and white then as a state Government we will communicated based on the report of the institution,” he added.
Asked, he said, “We are sending letters to all the heads of the institutions today and tomorrow and by next week they will give us the input about the problems and the issues and about their position in the issue. The department has to decide.”
The new policy replaces the previous National Policy on Education, 1986. The policy is a comprehensive framework for elementary education to higher as well as vocational training in both rural and urban India. The policy aims to transform India’s education system by 2030.
The new Education policy ensures availability of all resources through school complexes and clusters. However, taking about the challenges faced by the state to introduce NEP 2020, he said, “The challenge is when we implement NEP 2020, the multi disciplinary courses has to be introduced by 2030, every institution, should have lots of faculties, infrastructure improvement has to be there and our state institutions we are not prepared well to implement immediately but, however, we are trying our best, early is the better.”
The Minister further refused to scrap the state Education policy, however, the call in this regard is yet to be taken.