National Education Policy: A Take From The Edtech Sector

 

On 29^th July 2020, the Union Cabinet cleared a new National Education Policy (NEP) proposing sweeping changes in school and higher education. The National Education Policy is an ambitious and complex document laying down a road map for the next two decades. While many Edupreneurs and Educational Institutes have lauded the change, few are still speculative about the challenges that withstand in front of us as a nation.

 

Listed below are a few budding Edtech firms, who are sharing their opinion on the new educational reforms in the country.

 

1. EduBrisk

Founded in 2014 by Mr. Saiju Aravind, a life-long Scientist and Educationalist, EduBrisk today provides Educational Solutions to Schools and Students through a revolutionary Digital Platform. During the lockdown they launched their revolutionary educational program ‘Classroom to Virtual Classroom within the next 24 hours’  that will enable schools and freelance teachers go live within 24 hours.

On the educational reforms; Mr. Saiju Aravind, Founder of EduBrisk Knowledge Solutions says, “We lived with an obsolete education system for nearly 3 to 4 decades. Our education system of the mid 20th century was far too removed from the reality and needs of the present one. The curriculum and content were too disintegrated to comprehend and further, it lacked the lustre and festivity of inclusiveness. It was devoid of the true insights of the lifelong learning which ancient India epitomised, nor did it embrace the modern pedagogy leveraged by ICT (AI/ML), data science and neuroscience.  A few generations of learners in India survived by their sheer desire to meet both ends, their competitive mentality and by the support of a few groups of educators, individual or institutional”

 

“A revamping of the Educational Policy was long overdue and it is a great relief that the National Education Policy is finally out in 2020.  Further, it is heartening to see that the policy is also addressing many key concerns mentioned above.  The challenge would be in the effective implementation as mentioned in the policy (Sl 26) itself. Hoping that the Rebirth of Indian Education Service after nearly a century will have the intellectuals, and administrators to inspire a community of Educators and Eduprenuers to implement the NEP 2020 in letter and spirit” – He further adds.

 

2. Classroom.Live

Unthinkable Solutions LLP launched Classroom.live, an education delivery platform that allows teachers and students to connect from the comfort of their homes.  The platform went live in mid-April 2020 and within a few weeks, 40000 students from more than 75 schools & institutions have started using it successfully. Also, Classroom.live performs 1 lakh session screenings per day.

 

Mr. Vipul Sobti, Business Head, Unthinkable Solutions LLP, shares his views on the new policies, "The new education policy approved by the Union Cabinet is designed to make education more pervasive and relevant. The ambitions and well-founded policy expects to increase the gross enrolment ratio to 50% by 2035. Also, students will be allowed to join and exit the education system at multiple points. Furthermore, the rigid boundary between different streams is to be eliminated. This means a student may choose to study physics, home science, and physical education, something which few in India could learn simultaneously in school. With these changes, the new education policy is creating a system of knowledge that is well-rounded and versatile. Students who learn under this new pedagogy will be ready to face the challenges presented by an increasingly complex world. Technology will play a very important role in this new phase of Indian education." 

 

3. Suraasa

Suraasa is a one-stop solution for in-service and pre-service teacher education. To make teachers employable before they get their first job, Suraasa offers a Graduate Level Teaching Qualification Program that aspiring teachers can undertake online or from a centre. Today, 8,000 teachers are on the platform and 300 have undertaken Suraasa’s graduate level qualification. The company also offers high growth opportunities for teachers in the field of international education.

 

Excited about the new reforms, Mr. Rishabh Khanna, Cognitive Scientist and Founder, Suraasa says, “The new Indian National Education Policy, 2020 looks quite progressive and covers a lot of ground when it comes to 21st century teaching and learning needs. The good part is that the policy has come as a plan and not just promise based statements. The difficult part is to jump from the current system to this system and take along millions of stakeholders, many of whom  might need to be completely re-trained. In fact teachers will see the biggest change and will have to transform at both content as well as pedagogy level to survive in this new world order".