Lok Sabha Question No. 141 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-14
Subject: New Education Policy
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 141

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 14 th  September, 2020

## NEW EDUCATION POLICY

## † 141.  SHRIMATI MALA RAJYA LAXMI SHAH:

Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state:

(a)  whether th Government has announced New Education Policy and if so, whether it includes Indian Philosophy and values;

(b)  if so, the details thereof;

(c)  whether the Government has made arrangements to provide education in the schools through digital medium and if so, the details thereof;

(d)    whether  students  and  teachers  are  facing  problems in their educational activities as  a result thereof; and

(e)  if so, the details thereof and steps taken/ being taken by the Government in this regard; and

(f)  the details of the steps taken/ being taken by the Government to ensure online education for the students belonging to the economically weaker sections and for the students residing in adverse geographical mountains conditions like Uttarakhand ?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF EDUCATION

## (SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL 'NISHANK')

(a) & (b)  The Government has announced New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 on 29th July 2020. Para 4.27 of the NEP 2020 recommends promotion of Indian Philosophy and values from early school education. It also aims to start course on Indian Knowledge systems. With respect to Higher Education, it plans to establish and strengthen departments in Language, Literature,  Indology,  Art,  Dance,  Theatre,  Education,  Mathematics,  Statistics,  Pure  and  Applied Sciences, Sociology, Economics, Sports, Translation and Interpretation, and other such subjects in all Higher Education Institutes (HEIs). (NEP para 11.7) Moreover, Faculty training and 4-year B. Ed. programmes will also be started in all such areas. (NEP para 15.4 and 15.8)

- (c)   A comprehensive initiative called PM eVIDYA has been initiated which unifies all efforts related  to  digital/online/on-air  education  to  enable  multi-mode  access  to  education.  This  will benefit  nearly  25  crore  school  going  children  across  the  country.  The  initiative  is  a  work  in progress and  includes:
- DIKSHA  the  nation's  digital  infrastructure  for  providing  quality  e-content  for  school education in states/UTs:  and QR coded Energized Textbooks for all grades (one nation, one digital platform)
- One earmarked TV channel per class from 1 to 12 (one class, one channel)
- Extensive use of Radio, Community radio and CBSE Podcast- Shiksha Vani
- Special e-content for visually and hearing impaired developed on Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY) and in sign language on NIOS website/ YouTube

## INDIA REPORT- Digital Education June 2020

The State/ UT Governments have also managed the critical task of providing digital education at the door step of the students. The report can be accessed here:

https://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload\_files/mhrd/files/India\_Report\_Digital\_Education\_0.pdf

## (d)  & (e) PRAGYATA Guidelines on Digital Education

Keeping  in  view  the  availability  of  digital  infrastructure,  guideline  briefs  on  various  modes  of digital  education  including  online  mode  that  depends  more  on  availability  of  internet,  partially online mode that utilizes the blended approach of digital technology and other offline activities, partial  and  offline  mode  that  utilizes  television  and  radio  as  a  major  medium  of  instruction  of education.

The guidelines can be accessed at:

## https://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload\_files/mhrd/files/pragyata-guidelines\_0.pdf

- (f) The Uttrakhand State in PAB for 2020-21 has been allocated funds for Smart Classrooms in 929 schools with an outlay of Rs 2740.60 lakh. Also the total funds of Rs 65.19 crore allocated for the aspirational districts in India.

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