HRD Ministry renamed Ministry of Education as Cabinet approves National Education Policy

In a major Cabinet decision on Wednesday, the National Education Policy (NEP) has been approved. Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal and I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar will brief media at 4 pm and elaborate on the development. A committee led by Chairman Dr K Kasturirangan formed the Draft National Education Policy 2019 on the foundational pillars of 'Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability, and Accountability.'

While the NEP envisages restructuring the Indian education system, one of its major decision is to rename HRD ministry as the Ministry of Education (MoE). The committee headed by Kasturirangan is of opinion that the step will bring the focus back on education and learning. 

The new education policy will create an independent regulatory body called the State School Regulatory Authority. NEP aims to provide pre-primary education to all by 2025. It aims at compulsory school education for all children in the age group of 3-18 years by 2030. It proposes new curricular with 5+3+3+4 structure. It continues with the three-language formula and adds "The Languages of India" with an aim to preserve all local languages.

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Uproar over Hindi imposition

Earlier when the Draft NEP was released, the Opposition in the southern states targeted the Centre claiming that the central government is imposing the Hindi language on the states. Soon after, the new policy was revised with no mention of Hindi as a compulsory language in the three-language formula and stating that 'students free to choose any language they want'.

The NEP 2019 released highlighted that the three-language formula 'must be better implemented in certain States, particularly Hindi speaking States; for purposes of national integration' and because it would 'help raise the status of all Indian languages'. It added a point called 'flexibility in the three-language formula' stating that 'students who wish to change one or more of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6 or Grade 7, so long as they are able to still demonstrate proficiency in three languages', revising its previous take that Hindi will be the third language in non-Hindi speaking states under the trilingual policy.

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