Lok Sabha Question No. 3907 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-24
Subject: Implementation of NEP, 2020
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Smt. Pratima Mondal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3907 ANSWERED ON 24.03.2025

## Implementation of NEP, 2020

3907. Smt. Pratima Mondal:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a) the steps being taken by the Government to ensure the full-scale implementation of NEP 2020, particularly in rural and underprivileged regions;

(b) the manner in which the Government plans to balance regional language-based education with global competency  standards, ensuring that students are competing in both national and international spheres; and

(c)  the  steps  being  taken  by  the  Government to  modernize curricula in colleges and universities, ensuring  that  courses  remain  relevant  to  contemporary  industry  demands  and  technological advancements?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR)

(a): National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) aims to ensure that no child loses opportunity to learn and excel because of the circumstances of birth or background. It has taken into account the concerns of the Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs) which includes female and transgender individuals, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs,  minorities and other categories.  This  policy  aims  at  bridging  the  social  category  gaps  in  access,  participation,  and learning outcomes in school education.

A number of transformative changes have taken place both in school and higher education after announcement of National Education Policy (NEP 2020).

To  create  awareness  and  discuss  ideas  for  NEP  implementation,  a  series  of  workshops  / consultation-cum-review meetings have been held with States/UTs, Educational Institutions, other stakeholders from time to time; such as National Education Ministers' Conference held in Gujarat in June  2022;  National  Conference  of  Chief  Secretaries  held  in  June  2022;  7 th and  9 th Governing Council  Meeting  of  NITI  Aayog  held  in  August  2022  and  July  2024;  Akhil  Bharatiya  Shiksha Samagam 2022, 2023 and 2024; Two-day National Workshop on Higher and Technical Education with Secretaries of States/UTs on 12 th & 13 th  November 2024.

Further, a program is being run with 84 Centrally Funded Institutions for Outreach and Awareness of  Implementation  of  National  Education  Policy  2020.  These  CFIs  in  collaboration  with  State Universities  have  been  identified  for  organising  outreach,  seminars,  conferences  or  conclaves  on

National Education Policy 2020 regularly in collaboration with around 400 State Universities. So far, 3 Workshops for CFIs for Northern Zone, North Eastern & Eastern Zone, South & West Zone have been held on 28.11.2024, 05.12.2024 and 19.12.2024 respectively.

(b): One of the fundamental principles of NEP 2020 is 'promoting multilingualism and the power of language in teaching and learning'. It also promotes multilingualism in education at every level, so that students get the opportunity to study in their own language, and can have better learning outcomes.  Studying  in  one's  own  language  can  provide  a  student  the  natural  space  to  think innovatively without any language barrier.

NEP 2020 also  stipulates  in  addition  to  high  quality  offerings  in  Indian  languages  and  English, foreign  languages,  such  as  Korean,  Japanese,  Thai,  French,  German,  Spanish,  Portuguese,  and Russian, to be offered at the secondary level, for students to learn about the cultures of the world and to enrich their global knowledge and mobility according to their own interests and aspirations. Also  recognising  the  importance  of  Global  Citizenship  Education  (GCED),  NEP  2020  inter-alia stipulates to empower learners to become aware of and understand global issues.

(c): To  make  the  curricula relevant to contemporary  industry  demands  and  technological advancements,  various  initiatives  /  reforms  have  been  carried  out  such  as  National  Credit Framework (NCrF); National Higher Education  Qualification  Framework  (NHEQF);  Curriculum and Credit Framework for Undergraduate Programme; guidelines on Professor of Practice to enable HEIs to work with industry experts. Curriculum is also being updated for academic programmes in alignment  with  'Future  of  Work'  job  requirements  in  the  area  of  Agriculture,  Health  &  Bioelectronics, Banking, Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI), Energy, Logistics, Digital & Creative Economy, AI in Engineering and Manufacturing & Industry. Also, SWAYAM Plus platform has been launched to expand its offerings to identify and include courses aligned with industry needs and to enhance learners' employability.

Four-year  online  Bachelor  of  Science  (BS)  in  Electronic  Systems  has  been  introduced  by  IIT Madras with the key objective to meet the significant and growing demand for skilled graduates in the electronics and embedded manufacturing sector in India. In addition, Bachelor of Science (BS) Degree in Data Science, with options to exit earlier in foundation, diploma or BSc degree level, is being offered by IIT, Madras. In this case one can get an undergraduate degree / diploma from IIT regardless of age, location, or academic backgrounds.

AICTE has also taken multiple steps in this direction by developing model curricula in emerging fields such as Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Robotics, Space Technology, and VLSI Design, with industry stakeholders involved in curriculum revisions. AICTE has also signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with prominent industries and organizations to promote internships, skill development, and faculty upskilling. The council has issued model internship guidelines, making internships  a  mandatory  component  of  the  curriculum.  Additionally,  the  Industry  Academia Mobility  framework  has  been  launched  to  bridge  the  gap  between  theoretical  knowledge  and practical application, encouraging strong industry-academia collaborations.