Govt interference in education policy should be minimal, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday (September 7) that government intervention in the education policy should be minimal since it belongs to everyone. He urged people to take “collective responsibility in implementing the New Education Policy-2020 in letter and spirit”.

Addressing the inaugural session of the Governors’ Conference on NEP, he said: “Education policy and education system are important means of fulfilling the aspirations of the country. The Centre, state governments, local bodies — all are attached to the responsibility of the education system. But it is also true that the government, its interference in education policy, its impact, should be minimal”.

“As foreign policy and defence policies are of the country, not of government of the day, so is education policy. It belongs to everyone,” said Modi.

The NEP focuses on “learning instead of studying” and is based on critical thinking rather than curriculum with a special emphasis on passion, practicality, and performance, said the PM.

“We are working to make India a knowledge economy. To tackle brain drain, the NEP has paved the way for opening campuses of best international institutions in the country to bring them within the reach of the youth from simple families,” said Modi.

“The more teachers and parents are connected to education policy, the more students will be connected, the more its relevance and comprehensiveness increases,” he said.

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Titled ‘Role of NEP-2020 in Transforming Higher Education’, the conference is being organized by the Ministry of Education.

The NEP-2020 is the first education policy of the 21st century which was announced after 34 years of the previous National Policy on Education in 1986, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

“Whether there is a teacher or a big educationist, everyone is looking at the national policy. There is a feeling in everyone’s mind that one wanted to see this improvement in the earlier education policy. This is a big reason for accepting the National Education Policy,” said the PM.

He said new policy has paved the way for international institutions to set up their campuses in India. The NEP approved by the Union Cabinet in July is aimed at bringing about transformational reforms in school and higher education systems to make India a global knowledge superpower.