The ministry of education organised Shikshak parv from 8th September to 25th September on the theme of National education policy for principals, teachers, parents and students. On 10th and 11th, National conclave on National Education policy was organised. Smt Anita Karwal, secretary, dept of school education and literacy, MOE, Govt. of India spoke about implementation of NEP which would be flexible and innovative in approach. The teachers need to think out of the box and make learning a joyful and experiential process. The process of examination and assessment also needs to be changed. All 60 boards in India would have a standardised system of assessment.
The states and Centre will have discussions, webinars etc and draft implementation plan will be made. The CBSE NEP song was played on theme Nayi Taleem. NEP will focus on the foundational literacy and Numeracy at the preprimary and primary levels. Principals from Haryana and UP spoke about their implementation of Saksham program which improved students competency level.
The emphasis should be on competency based teaching and not rote learning. The learning outcomes are well defined goals decided by teachers. Some schools have started mission Prerna for Teaching Learning material for primary students where they they can see, hear and feel the learning and all senses are used. For this, posters, videos, from Khan academy, NCERT, ICT, smart boards, Diksha app can be used. The outcome of exam is not just knowledge but development of psychomotor skills. So formative assessment must be done and remedial teaching for weak and slow learners is a must.
For primary classes, study from home can be followed where students can be given a week's syllabus along with videos and learning outcomes r well defined. Then on weekend quizzes can be conducted to assess the kids FNL. There can be shikshamitra for every weak student whether a parent, brother, neighbour, or a friend who would provide a gadget or study material for help.
The concept of e pathshala is followed in the state of Haryana where teaching is done through the videos from Khan academy, Pratham, Doordarshan, Aakashvani, mission Prerna, youtube channel, Diksha app, and whats app grp of teachers can provide training to thousands of teachers through NCERT.
Videos on NEP were played at intervals with our prime minister talking about new education reforms.
Art integrated and toy integrated approach be followed as said by Ms Pawan Sudhir from NCERT. At all the levels of education, art forms like the music, dance, visual art, craft, drawing and painting, culinary art, thumb printing, drama, theatre be used for all subjects to make learning joyful and develop creativity, critical thinking, cognitive abilities, and respect for one's culture, tradition, heritage, and environment.
Radio jockeying, photography, poster making, use of toys, puppets, wooden dolls and games provide joyful learning and lead to emotional wellbeing in the kids. Specially for the special needs children, art therapy plays a positive role in enhancing their creative and divine abilities. Games and models develops ethics and values along with collaborative work and experiential learning.
Early child care and education is very crucial as it determines what child would become. Parents play a very important role and schools must involve the parent community in school activities so that children can develop good healthy habits and values.
Classrooms should be multilingual for small children. Inclusive education shd ensure participation of special needs children in all activities. Gender equality be taught in classrooms. Peer learning and collaborative assessment be done.
Brain and physical body development are interrelated. School should be a social space where play way method is used for education. Storytelling and narratives help to develop values in children and bring joy. Outdoor activities bring out the observation and exploration and enquiry based learning.
Physical activities like running, balancing and climbing improve the gross motor and fine motor skills. Games are very important for language development and increases the observation skills.
There is a need for redesigning of progress card which would have the academic, co curricular, extra curricular, uniqueness, psychomotor, cognitive and holistic progress of child. Students should be awarded stars for their behaviour, discipline, achievements in sports and other activities. Child with maximum stars get superstar. Rubrics or descriptors to be used for formative assessment which wd. motivate children and increase their confidence. Self assessment could be used along with peer assessment and teacher assessment. The students must be aware of their strengths and weaknesses.
NEP aims at Holistic development of the child. It allows flexibility, inclusivity and a shift from cognitive learning to Holistic learning. Students can choose Vocational subjects like carpentry, plumbing, masonry, gardening, agriculture, tailoring, designing, home science or food production, etc. Schools should produce a mix of entrepreneurs, skilled jobs, scientists and researchers. Students to be provided practical knowledge thru visit to bank, rural areas, MUN, Vedic Maths, Abacus, museum., for experiential learning.
Use of mother tongue and local regional language for education at early primary levels be allowed as it leads to better learning and understanding in kids.
Integration of subjects be allowed. Stream selection is not important as board does not allow. One can choose combination of subjects of one's choice and there should be flexibility. Holistic development takes place when we combine different subjects and develop values and skills for self employment and employment of others.
The conclave of first day ended by remarks from NCERT director Dr. Senapati saying that every learner is unique. We must use different pedagogy for different learners and process of assessment be changed. Education should be Holistic, inter disciplinary and multilingual, and experiential.
The webinars and discussions were conducted by award winning principals from across the country on the above issues.
The second day of the conclave on 11th Sept started with inputs by chairman of Education Draft policy NEP. There is need of flexible and integrated form of education whereby students can make their own choices about the subjects and should be able to develop values and skills for their future endeavours. Importance must be given to the teachers. From age 3,every child should get highest quality of education. The psychological burden of exam must be reduced and new policy would lead to the biological, physical, cognitive, social and emotional development of every child. 5 +3+3+4system is most suited for children between 3 to 18 years.
All students will learn social sciences, sciences, physical education, music, maths etc. Parents will be involved in all matters. Equity and Inclusion must be there. Principles of trust must be there to. do right things and to the best of abilities. Children must feel happy and joyful. The foundation of schooling must be strong and there should be no distinction between academics, sports, arts and physical education. Education must lead to Holistic development of child.
The minister of education spoke about the NEP to have equity, flexibility, stability and international vision where students study in groups through collaborative learning, and they have to upgrade their skills for their Holistic development.
NEP is focusing on making foundation seeds for new generation,to develop 21st century skills in students, to train teachers for making learning outcomes, multilingual dictionaries, kitchen gardens, museums, community libraries.,
Our prime minister Shri Narendra Modi spoke about getting transformation in old methods of education. The childhood years are crucial years which build up the values and skills in children through fun learning, games, activities, discovery based outings. As kids grow bigger, they must want to learn and develop mathematical thinking and scientific temper. After 3rd class. a child must be able to read 30 or 35 words in 1 minute. Oral fluency must be enhanced. Learning must be beyond classes, related to their surroundings and real world. In Japan students are taken to jungles to see and feel nature,to get attached to their environment and they enjoy a lot. In Gujrat, students are taken to villages to find culture and tradition of people. They engage, explore, express, experience, and excel and have a collaborative learning which is joyful. Students can visit the US station, hospitals, fire station, for experiential learning. Skilled people like potters and artisans can be invited for workshops and exhibitions. Practical exposure would lead to a complete lifelong learning. Syllabus must be reduced. Stress should be on fundamental things, integrated, interdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary approach. It must teach 21st century skills, critical thinking, curiosity, communication, creativity, artificial intelligence, data science and robotics. It is not marks which define a child. It is what they play, when they talk to family, when they go out, all this matters. That is real learning. Students must be taken away from stress and pressure. One main exam cannot determine progress. It should have self assessment and peer assessment Holistic report card be there instead of marksheet which would highlight unique potential, attitude, talent, efficiency, competency and creativity of child. Whichever language the child is comfortable,, can be used. In countries like Japan, Ireland, Finland, Estonia primary education is in mother tongue. All regional languages must be promoted. Teachers have to take kids to this new journey and take it as a mission.
The 360 degree Holistic report card would be a multidimensional card to trace in all learning domains of child. It will be child centric, activity based, project based, group work, Quizzes, role plays, portfolios based tracing the overall personality of child.
The flexibility of choosing different combinations of art and science subjects would make students more confident, competent, productive, skillful, independent and venture into different jobs and imbibe the values, culture, traditions and aesthetics to live a happy life leading to social, emotional and physical well-being.
The practise of vocationalisation would develop skills for students to enable them to earn a livelihood in future eg. carpentry, agriculture, gardening, plumbing, culinary art, textile designing, tailoring, air-conditioning, electrical work.