In what has been termed as the first educational policy in India in nearly 34 years, the Center's implementation and the cabinet's approval of the National Education Policy 2020 has drawn major flak from the opposition and mixed reactions from the experts as equal as to its major accreditation across the nation.

The implementation of the policy that filled with multiple changes and challenges to the prevailing educational system, both in schools and colleges, has been criticized by the opposition which has been demanding the Center to withdraw the policy. Amid the controversies over a wider change, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has, on Saturday, addressed the nation on the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) for the first time after it was approved by the Union cabinet. 

In his address, the Prime Minister said that the NEP announced by the government emphasizes on making 'job creators' instead of 'job seekers' and stated that the government is making attempts to transform intent and content of education in the nation and the NEP would play a significant role in the inter-disciplinary study which will ensure that the focus is on what the student wants to learn. Modi highlighted that the New Education Policy celebrates both local and global.

The New Education Policy celebrates both local and global. Here is how... pic.twitter.com/gCwvJ1k4dm

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 1, 2020

He further stated that NEP reflects that the nation is shifting from the burden of the school bag to critical thinking. He added that the languages of India will progress and develop further due to the changes brought in the education policy. The Prime Minister was addressing the finale of the Smart India Hackathon during which he said that the role of the student is very important in achieving the goal of giving a better life to the poor. 

On the other hand, the political parties, particularly in Tamil Nadu, had voiced against the NEP which adopts a three-language policy. The NEP says that of the three languages, two must be Indian languages and English won't be considered in the ambit and the NEP also says that the freedom of choosing the two Indian languages should be left to the states, regions, or students. The policy further says that the students can be taught either in their mother tongue, regional language, or local language as the medium of instruction at least till class 5. 

This three-language policy has been on the fray of criticism from the Tamil Nadu political parties which say that the policy would impose the language on the students. On Thursday, the DMK party has demanded that the NEP should be withdrawn as it goes against the interest of students and the Indian constitution. The DMK party has adopted the resolution of calling the ruling ADMK government to say to the Center that there is no place for three-language policy in Tamil Nadu and the two-language policy proposed by former Chief Minister Annadurai will continue. 

The DMK party also urged the ADMK to adopt the resolution against the NEP 2020 as it was against the rights of social justice and state government and the Tamil Nadu Opposition party further stated that the Union Cabinet has approved amid the COVID-19 outbreak and without allowing the representatives to discuss the policy in the parliament. Tamil Nadu Congress party said that the NEP aims to impose Sanskrit on the people of the country. 

Tamil Nadu Congress chief KS Alagiri said that the policy should not be implemented without the discussion in the Parliament. The policy was an attempt to damage the ideas of secularism and he also voiced against the three-language formula. Anbumani Ramadoss, the leader of PMK, which observes an alliance with the BJP, opposed the three language formula and urged to remove the proposal that the students of classes 3,5, and 8 would take school examinations to be conducted by the appropriate authority. 

While most of the state leaders demanded the withdrawal of the NEP, the president of TMC GK Vasan welcomed the NEP and said that the future generation would benefit from it. Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan has also welcomed the NEP's proposal of spending 6% of GDP on education.  According to the reports, the Tamil Nadu government is expected to respond to the policy on August 3. 

On Wednesday, the Modi-led Union Cabinet has approved the NEP. The policy was drafted by a committee of experts led by Dr. K Kasturirangan, the former Chief of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the former Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University. The draft moved last year and it was strongly opposed by the political parties for highlighting the three-language formula. 

The new National Education Policy will be replacing the previous policy that was formulated during the Rajiv Gandhi rule in 1986 and the government has asserted that it won't be imposing any language on the students. The Center would be increasing public spending on education to nearly 6% of GDP from around 4%. The Center said it would expand access to higher education and achieve universal adult literacy before 2035. 
 

To know about the NEP 2020, read our previous article: NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL POLICY 2020: CRUCIAL CHANGES FOR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES! WHAT YOU MUST KNOW?