Empowering Teachers: Roadmap to success of NEP 2020
Dr. Tejinder Sharma, Professor & Chairman Departt of Commerce, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra
NEP 2020 has many provisions which will bring about sweeping changes in the education system. The provisions of multiple entry and exit to the degree programmes, provisions to study the subjects of choice, transfer of credit, academic bank of credit, multidisciplinary approach to learning, etc. will have deep impact on the entire education system. The earlier system lacked flexibility, restricted free flow of ideas and was unilateral in approach. With the newer provisions, the students will have a multidimensional approach to learning. The scope of curriculum has widened and the activities earlier classified as extra-curricular or co-curricular have been brought within the ambit of the curriculum and the students will get the credit for their contribution in the sports, social and cultural activities. All these are sweeping changes, which need a big change in the content and approach towards learning.
Implementing NEP 2020
In the initial years, the prime responsibility of implementation of NEP 2020 rests upon the governments and the institutions associated with the education system. Governments are making policies and the necessary regulatory framework to implement the policy. The Universities are making the syllabus of the forthcoming degree programmes, incorporating the broad provisions of flexibility, multiple entry and exit, blended learning, research and internship components, etc. Most likely, the admissions for the forthcoming sessions will be made as per the new programme. The inputs in the form of infrastructure and humanware are being developed by the institutions. Many universities are implementing the NEP 2020 in their constituent colleges and then implement on larger segment of colleges, which will minimize the teething issues. The success of NEP 2020 is highly dependent on the commitment of the teachers to implement the same in latter and spirit. No amount of policies, regulation and infrastructure will make an impact on the outcome of the policy unless the teaching community understands the philosophy, objectives and nature of the new policy.
Bottom up approach to implementing NEP 2020
The governments and the institutions need to follow the 'bottom up approach' and not the 'trickle down approach' as it has been followed traditionally. Bottom up approach entails empowering the teaching community in terms of the motivation and the desired skill set so that they give their best in the transaction of teaching and learning. For this purpose, the following steps are suggested: Teacher Motivation, Syllabus to learning, Training for Newer Pedagogy, Accountability and Feedback & Support.
Teachers are knowledge workers and the established yardsticks of motivation have limited applicability on them. Most institutions suffer from the 'disinterest syndrome,' which needs to be replaced with ownership, participation and commitment. This will come only when the value of education is seen beyond the commercial perspective. The traditional approach outline approach towards syllabus needs to be retooled to a broader multidisciplinary discussion on the framework to evoke conceptual understanding and thinking in the minds of the students. The approach of the regulators and institutions also needs to undergo a change in order to imbibe this approach into the system. They need to empower and trust their teachers so that they deliver their very best to their students. Newer knowledge can be taught with newer pedagogy and for this the teachers need to be given state-of-the- art training. Another important dimension of the pedagogy is the examination, which has become too static and forces the students to become rote learners. Accountability of the stakeholders is an important factor that can influence the success of any system. All stakeholders need to understand that excellence in learning should be the prime outcome of the entire system and they should not be over-assertive of their mandate. An open communication between the stakeholders is a pre-requisite for successful implementation of NEP 2020 using 'Bottoms up approach.'
Building Trust
Trusting the teachers is another important factor to ensure proper implementation of NEP 2020. Most of the administrative mechanism revolves around the administrative and authoritarian style of working in the educational institutions. We need to trust the teachers and give them freedom to design their own syllabi, lesson plans, pedagogy and even examination, duly customized for the local needs of the students. Decentralization and freedom at the classroom level is another key factor enshrined in the philosophy of NEP 2020. Migration from the traditional mindset to a trust based functioning in the institutions is a slow process, but NEP 2020 could be a good starter.
To conclude
NEP 2020 is a great opportunity to rebuild our education systems, which are more relevant to the present times. The values of our heritage and the opportunities of today can be synchronized to carve out professionally competent and socially committed class of scholars who can build modern India. With the migration of the students across the globe, Indian education system cannot afford to lag behind the practices followed by the best of the institutions and NEP 2020 framework is a good framework to align the entire system towards a larger education set up. Students passing out of India's schools, colleges and universities need to match with their counterparts from across the globe so that they can be competitive for further studies and professional assignments anywhere in the world. Teachers are the building blocks of this objectives and their orientation to imbibe the genesis of NEP 2020 is the need of the hour.
Implementing NEP 2020
In the initial years, the prime responsibility of implementation of NEP 2020 rests upon the governments and the institutions associated with the education system. Governments are making policies and the necessary regulatory framework to implement the policy. The Universities are making the syllabus of the forthcoming degree programmes, incorporating the broad provisions of flexibility, multiple entry and exit, blended learning, research and internship components, etc. Most likely, the admissions for the forthcoming sessions will be made as per the new programme. The inputs in the form of infrastructure and humanware are being developed by the institutions. Many universities are implementing the NEP 2020 in their constituent colleges and then implement on larger segment of colleges, which will minimize the teething issues. The success of NEP 2020 is highly dependent on the commitment of the teachers to implement the same in latter and spirit. No amount of policies, regulation and infrastructure will make an impact on the outcome of the policy unless the teaching community understands the philosophy, objectives and nature of the new policy.
Bottom up approach to implementing NEP 2020
The governments and the institutions need to follow the 'bottom up approach' and not the 'trickle down approach' as it has been followed traditionally. Bottom up approach entails empowering the teaching community in terms of the motivation and the desired skill set so that they give their best in the transaction of teaching and learning. For this purpose, the following steps are suggested: Teacher Motivation, Syllabus to learning, Training for Newer Pedagogy, Accountability and Feedback & Support.
Teachers are knowledge workers and the established yardsticks of motivation have limited applicability on them. Most institutions suffer from the 'disinterest syndrome,' which needs to be replaced with ownership, participation and commitment. This will come only when the value of education is seen beyond the commercial perspective. The traditional approach outline approach towards syllabus needs to be retooled to a broader multidisciplinary discussion on the framework to evoke conceptual understanding and thinking in the minds of the students. The approach of the regulators and institutions also needs to undergo a change in order to imbibe this approach into the system. They need to empower and trust their teachers so that they deliver their very best to their students. Newer knowledge can be taught with newer pedagogy and for this the teachers need to be given state-of-the- art training. Another important dimension of the pedagogy is the examination, which has become too static and forces the students to become rote learners. Accountability of the stakeholders is an important factor that can influence the success of any system. All stakeholders need to understand that excellence in learning should be the prime outcome of the entire system and they should not be over-assertive of their mandate. An open communication between the stakeholders is a pre-requisite for successful implementation of NEP 2020 using 'Bottoms up approach.'
Building Trust
Trusting the teachers is another important factor to ensure proper implementation of NEP 2020. Most of the administrative mechanism revolves around the administrative and authoritarian style of working in the educational institutions. We need to trust the teachers and give them freedom to design their own syllabi, lesson plans, pedagogy and even examination, duly customized for the local needs of the students. Decentralization and freedom at the classroom level is another key factor enshrined in the philosophy of NEP 2020. Migration from the traditional mindset to a trust based functioning in the institutions is a slow process, but NEP 2020 could be a good starter.
To conclude
NEP 2020 is a great opportunity to rebuild our education systems, which are more relevant to the present times. The values of our heritage and the opportunities of today can be synchronized to carve out professionally competent and socially committed class of scholars who can build modern India. With the migration of the students across the globe, Indian education system cannot afford to lag behind the practices followed by the best of the institutions and NEP 2020 framework is a good framework to align the entire system towards a larger education set up. Students passing out of India's schools, colleges and universities need to match with their counterparts from across the globe so that they can be competitive for further studies and professional assignments anywhere in the world. Teachers are the building blocks of this objectives and their orientation to imbibe the genesis of NEP 2020 is the need of the hour.
