Jammu: The National Education Policy (NEP) will play a significant role in making India a “knowledge superpower”, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said on Tuesday after launching several key initiatives under the policy.
He said the NEP will equip students with a wide range of skills required for a knowledge society.
The LG launched various digital initiatives such as e-samarth, feedback, biometric attendance, sparrow and annual transfer portals to bring in transparency and accountability in the Education department, an official press release said.
Under the policy, several agreements were also signed between the government and universities to achieve the desired target.
“The National Education Policy will play a significant role in making India a knowledge superpower. Inter-disciplinary curriculum and multi-disciplinary education are at the heart of the policy to train future innovators and leaders,” he said.
The LG highlighted the transformation taking place in the education sector under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Maintaining that Jammu and Kashmir has taken the lead in the implementation of the NEP, Sinha said future higher education and learning will be more dynamic, adaptable and personalised like a liquid learning model platform to seamlessly blend the ideas from different disciplines to prepare students for varied and comprehensive knowledge in a rapidly shifting world.
The LG also emphasized that teachers and students need to capitalize on the advances in Science and Humanities for reorganizing classrooms and working world experience with focus largely on research and values that provide skills and knowledge relevant for today and tomorrow.
NEP promotes collaborations between disciplines to foster innovation and creativity. In future sustainable technological advances will be driven by people having an interdisciplinary approach, he added.
“Environmental, scientific, technological transformation and globalisation have increased the pace of socio-economic changes. Problem-based learning will make the students familiar with real-world situations and develop thinking and creativity skills,” he said.
The LG said the recommendations implemented in undergraduate programmes in all colleges from the 2022-23 session will bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical skills, provide resources and choice for research and flexibility in completing degree programmes.
He said schools and the education system must strive to prepare students for the real world and they would require at least six skills — curiosity, critical thinking, adaptability, effective communication, teamwork and collaboration — to become more productive and successful in their chosen career.
He said the NEP has put special emphasis on engagement and involvement in both classrooms as well as field study.
He said degree colleges shall be encouraged to start skill development courses identified by the skill sector council under the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).
“These courses shall be taught in partnership with industry with a component of 12 credits taught by the college as professional knowledge and the component of 18 credits taken as professional training from industry. In the initial stage, 50 colleges have been identified to start the skill development courses,” he said.
Sinha also launched a book, titled ‘Implementing National Education Policy’.
Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to LG, speaking on the occasion, highlighted the need for effective utilization of all the resources for preparing the youth to be future leaders.
Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary entrusted asked the educational institutions to empower the students through education and providing them with skills training and advanced learning to adapt to the dynamic needs of the job market. He also called upon the universities to regularly engage in course content revision. J&K will be among the front runners in implementing NEP 2020, right from kindergarten to providing PhDs, he added.
Rohit Kansal, Principal Secretary, Higher Education department highlighted the steps taken by the department towards implementation of NEP-2020. He also spoke on the key features of initiatives launched today.
The occasion also witnessed signing of MoUs between J&K’s Higher Education Department with SKUAST-Jammu, SKUAST Kashmir, Jammu University, Kashmir University for sharing of agro-based skills, and research based knowledge, life skills courses and mentoring of colleges respectively, to better equip the students.
