'NEP a guiding philosophy to make India self-reliant': Education Min Dharmendra Pradhan

The Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on August 24 asserted that formulation of the new National Education Policy (NEP) is a vivid example of cooperative federalism to achieve a common goal of building India as a global hub of knowledge. He was addressing the launch of a booklet highlighting initiatives undertaken in one year since the rollout of the NEP. The booklet was launched virtually. The department of school education has prepared the booklet and literacy, ministry of education, to commemorate one year of the implementation of NEP 2020. 

"NEP is a guiding philosophy to transform the hopes and aspirations of millions of youth to reality and making India self-reliant. Formulation of NEP is also a live example of cooperative federalism to achieve a common goal of making India a global hub of knowledge. When we look back at the progress of NEP, we get more confident about the future of our students," he said.

Taking to Twitter, the Ministry of Education stated, "Hon'ble Shiksha Mantri, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan is launching some major initiatives of NEP 2020 including a booklet on one-year achievement of NEP Implementation."

"Education is not a competition to acquire degrees, but a transformative tool"

Highlighting the directives of a reputed Indian education system, Dharmendra Pradhan said that education is not merely a "competition to acquire degrees but is a transformative tool to leverage knowledge for character building and eventually nation-building". Asserting that the government is determined to work on upgrading schools in the country, Pradhan said that internet accessibility in rural villages is a priority.

"The government is working to facilitate up-gradation of infrastructure in schools, such as ensuring that internet reaches village schools across the country," he said.

'Priya - Accessibility Warrior'

Following the booklet of achievements, the Union Education Minister launched initiatives such as NIPUN Bharat FLN tools and resources on DIKSHA- Virtual School of National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS); alternate academic calendar of NCERT and released "Priya", an accessibility booklet developed by the NCERT and the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.

"Priya -The Accessibility Warrior" is an outcome of collaborative efforts of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and Department of School Education and Literacy. It highlights the world of a girl who met with an accident and lost her ability to walk; the story depicts how she excels in various school activities. She, therefore, takes the pledge of being an accessibility warrior. The comic book is available with Indian Sign Language (ISL) explanatory notes too. 

While launching the virtual school of NIOS, the Education Minister said that the school is a novel model of learning and the initiative highlights the effects of leveraging technology/ innovation to facilitate greater inclusion in education. The first-of-its-kind initiative in the country will provide advanced digital learning platforms through virtual live classrooms and virtual labs. The Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar said that accessibility grants opportunity for growth. He further added that awareness and a sensitised community were the essential fuels driving a revolutionary change.

Image Credit: PTI