New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that it is a matter of happiness that no section of the country has stated that the National Education Policy (NEP) has any bias. He said that the goal of the NEP should be to empower the present and future generations to be future-ready.
"After the National Education Policy came, no section of the country said that the policy has any bias. It is a matter of happiness," Prime Minister Modi said while addressing a 'Conclave on Transformational Reforms in Higher Education under National Education Policy', via video conferencing.
"Every country equates education to its national interest and moves forward. The goal is that the education system should keep the present and future generation future-ready. NEP's basis in India is similar. NEP's goal is to enable the youth of the country for future challenges," he added.
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"NEP was approved after extensive discussions over 3-4 years and deliberation over lakhs of suggestions," the Prime Minister added.
"National Education Policy is being discussed across the nation today. People from different fields and ideologies are giving their views and reviewing the policy. It's a healthy debate. The more it is done, the more it will be beneficial to the education system of the country," he added.
Emphasising on the need for critical thinking, Modi said that the current education system focuses on 'what to think' but the new policy will focus on 'how to think'.
"There were no major changes in the education system in the past few years. It had caused a herd mentality in our society, instead of curiosity and imagination," he pointed out.
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The Prime Minister also said that there is a need to lay emphasis on "inquiry-based, discovery-based, and analysis-based ways" to help children learn better.
"With changing times, a new global system has risen and hence it was essential for India to change its education system accordingly. Creating a 5+3+3+4 curriculum and replacing the 10+2 structure was a step in this direction," the Prime Minister added.
Alluding to the mother tongue as a mode of teaching, he said that there is a need to make students global citizens, but at the same time, they should also be connected to their roots.
"We have recommended teaching in mother tongue till at least class 5. The learning power of students is bound to improve if the language they speak in and the language in which lessons are taught are the same."
Inputs from agencies
