The Conversation Series: National Education Policy: Transforming Schooling from Selecting & Sorting to Human Development

The education system in India has an excessive focus on inputs (Infrastructure, teacher salaries, textbooks, attendance) and not enough focus on the outcome – student learning. It has been more about sorting and selection rather than human development. Our procrustean education system is all about standardisation not about encouraging creativity and innovation.

The National Education Policy (nep) 2020 is the first major reform of the education system in over three decades. Will the new nep redress this imbalance and improve learning outcomes? Will the nep help education move away from rote learning to deep understanding? From one-way delivery of teaching to two-way enhancement of learning? From the focus on passing exams to learning for life? From churning out graduates to nurturing talent? Will there be a culture shift from narrow intradisciplinary silos to an interdisciplinary mindset?

Our speaker is a scholar of development economics, with a special interest in education, health, social protection, measuring the quality of public service delivery, and programme evaluation. He will address issues with our education systems, and whether the nep can help transform gains in schooling into gains in learning.

Please follow the link for the pre-read.