Lok Sabha Question No. 170 (STARRED), answered on 2016-11-28
Subject: New Education Policy
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: RAYAPATI SAMBASIVA RAO, ANIRUDHAN SAMPATH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 170 TO BE ANSWERED ON 28.11.2016

## New Education Policy

## *170.   SHRI RAYAPATI SAMBASIVA RAO: DR. A. SAMPATH:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the draft New Education Policy aiming to ensure quality education at affordable cost for all is under discussion with various stakeholders and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the details of major changes being contemplated in the New Education Policy;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  has  conducted  a  number  of  workshops  and  conferences  to  solicit views/suggestions/ inputs from various State Governments, educationists and other stakeholders for the New Education Policy and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the time by which it is likely to be implemented?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

(SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR)

(a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the table of the House.

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## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) to (d) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 170 FOR REPLY ON 28.11.2016 ASKED BY SHRI RAYAPATI SAMBASIVA RAO AND DR. A. SAMPATH REGARDING NEW EDUCATION POLICY

(a) to (d): Yes, Sir. The Government initiated the process of formulating a New Education Policy (NEP), for  which  it  carried  out  an  extensive,  time-bound,  multi-pronged  participative  year-long  consultation process  across  33  identified  themes,  through  online  consultations  on  MyGov  platform;  grass-root consultation starting from Village to Block, District, State and Zonal levels on https://survey.mygov.in ; and thematic consultations with experts and through autonomous bodies, such as UGC, AICTE, NCERT, NCTE, AIU, and other centrally funded institutions. Meetings were also held with Government of India Ministries  and  State  Governments.  The  consultation  process  was  one  of  the  agenda  items  in  the  63 rd meeting of Central Advisory Board on Education (CABE) held on 19 th August 2015. Six Zonal Meetings were held in Eastern, Central, North-Eastern, Western, Southern and Northern Zones covering all States and UTs which was attended by Education Ministers and officials of the respective States/UTs. Concerns to be addressed in New Education Policy (NEP) relating to improvement in learning outcomes, shortage of teachers in rural areas, National Achievement Survey (NAS), joyful learning, pre-primary classes and no Detention Policy were also discussed in the 64 th Meeting of CABE held on 25 th October, 2016.

The proposed New Education Policy aims to meet the changing dynamics of the population's requirement with regard to quality education, innovation and research, aiming to make India a knowledge superpower by equipping its students with the necessary skills and knowledge and to eliminate the shortage of manpower in science, technology, academics and industry. Five pillars of NEP would be Accessibility, Equity, Affordability, Quality and Accountability.

The Ministry  had  constituted  a  Committee  for  Evolution  of  the  New  Education  Policy  which submitted  its  report  in  May,  2016.  Thereafter  the  Ministry  has  formulated  'Some  Inputs  for  the  Draft National Education Policy, 2016' on which comments/suggestions were invited from the Government of India Ministries, State Governments, Hon'ble Members of Parliament and other stakeholders up to 30th September, 2016, and several suggestions have been received from various stakeholders. It is pre-mature to contemplate the changes in the NEP. An 'Education Dialogue' was also organized with the Hon'ble MPs to discuss  the  suggestions  and  to  elicit  their  views.  A  Committee  under  an  eminent  educationist  will  be appointed to prepare final draft NEP. The process of finalizing the New Education Policy is likely to take some more time.

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