Dr. Joseph Emmanuel, director of academics at the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), stressed the importance of bridging the gap between school education and higher education institutions in order to address the challenge posed by the multidisciplinary education aspect of National Education Policy 2020 on Tuesday.

"The biggest challenge we face now is keeping up with higher education institutions." "The CBSE offers nearly 200 courses at the class 10 and 12 levels, but students are unable to fully benefit from these subjects due to admission restrictions to higher education institutions," Dr. Emmanuel told TOI.

“There is a need for alignment between these two educational tiers, underlining the challenge of students with unconventional subject combinations being unable to find suitable courses at higher education level,” said Emmanuel.

The CBSE academic director was in Indore for the G20 state-level summit on life skills, mental health, safety, and well-being, which was held at Daly College.

He emphasised the importance of CBSE's offerings aligning with the NEP 2020 principles of equity, excellence, accessibility, and inclusivity. "In stage one, we will focus on four key areas: teaching and learning practises, assessment reforms, teacher capacity building, and systemic reforms for evaluating students and schools," Emmanuel said.

"The concept of a holistic progress card will be introduced, emphasising learner, parent, and teacher involvement in a 360-degree evaluation for learning support," he explained.