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The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has driven reforms in India's higher education sector like no other initiative since Independence. NEP 2020, which was part of the Prime Minister Modi’s government, aims to break away from the remnants of the colonial education system and align it with the needs of the global economy and the contemporary world.
In the early 19th century, the British administrator and Member of Parliament, Thomas Babington Macaulay, established a model of a standardised education system which promoted the use of examinations and rote learning. The intention was to produce a colonial workforce. The NEP 2020 breaks away from this model to emphasise multidisciplinary education, and in addition, prioritises the capacity to think critically, to be creative, and to be innovative and collaborative.
Prime Minister Modi has explained the philosophy of these reforms as the need to provide students with skills to equip them for the 21st century: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, curiosity and communication.
Greater Institutional Presence and Opportunities
The results of reforms are becoming more apparent throughout the country. Per the report, the count of Indian universities rose from 723 in 2014 to 1,213 by 2024. For the same years, the number of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) rose from 51,500 to nearly 59,000.
Many of the reforms stem from NEP 2020, new Central Universities, Institutions of National Importance, and the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan and PM-USHA.
With the addition of 23 IITs, 21 IIMs, and 20 AIIMS, India's higher education systems strengthen engineering, management, and medical education. The establishment of Indian IITs in Abu Dhabi and Zanzibar shows India's expanding academic influence.
Liberalisation of Education
The flexibility and choice of the learner is a cornerstone of NEP 2020. The standardisation of rigid academic streams is abolished, and students are encouraged to pursue what is aligned with their interests and what is multidisciplinary.
The Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) is another key player of this policy. With the ABC, students may gain, hold, and transfer educational credits with ease, and it is of service to more than 2,600 institutions, and boasts over 4.6 crore unique student IDs. More than 150 universities adopted the policy and are offering flexible admissions and exit pathways.
The goal of the reforms is to have broader access to higher education. By the year 2035, more that 3.5 crore new higher education seats will be added in order to establish a 50% Gross Enrollment Rate (GER) per the NEP 2020 plan. Enrollment numbers show that progress is happening with an increase in student enrollment, from 4.33 crore in 2021-2022, to 4.46 crore in 2022-2023.
Research, Innovation and Global Engagement
Another important aspect of the policy is research and innovation. India's research framework will be developed with the creation of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation. This will help to improve research and to integrate industry and academic research.
The goal of the MERITE program is to improve technical education and integrate innovation and entrepreneurship. This policy will work to promote integration of the Indian higher education system and make it possible to offer twinning, joint and dual degree programs. In addition to foreign participation in degree programs, many foreign higher education institutions are interested in opening a full college in India. This is a positive step towards India's aspiration of making the country a qualitatively higher education destination in the world.
Education as a Foundation for Viksit Bharat
The reforms complement the aim of the Viksit Bharat@2047 initiative, which intends to make India a developed nation in the centenary of the year of India’s independence.
More and more policymakers see education, skill, research and innovation-based systems as fundamental components of economic growth and global competitiveness. It is expected that entrepreneurship, vocational education, artificial intelligence, digital learning, and industry-academia integration initiatives will prepare students for the multitude of options a technology-based economy will provide. There remain challenges in the unevenness of implementation and the quality of faculty, increased funding for research, and the gulf among the different regions of the nation. However, the magnitude and the focus of the observed changes are encouraging.
There is a general consensus that NEP 2020 is a nation-building policy that will promote the spirit of innovation, research, and entrepreneurship, as well as skilled professions. As India progresses toward the fulfilment of the aims of Viksit Bharat@2047, the success of the policy is expected to play a pivotal role in determining India’s place in the global knowledge economy.
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