Syllabus
Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources. Issues relating to Poverty and Hunger.(GS 2)
Source
The Hindu,7/10/2023
Application: Where to place?
When asked about
How does NEP 2020 reflect SDG?
How Higher Education contributes to SDG?
Link between NEP and SDG
Challenges in the Higher Education sector
Content
Status of Higher Education in India
- India has always been a land of scholars and learners. In ancient times also, India was regarded all over the world for its universities like Taxila, Nalanda, Vikramshila and its scholars.
- By independence India had 20 universities, 500 colleges enrolling about 2,30,000 students.
- Since independence India has progressed significantly in terms of higher education statistics.
- This number has increased to 659 Universities and 33023 colleges up to December 2011-12.
- UGC (University Grants Commission) is the main governing body that enforces the standards, advises the government and helps coordinate between center and states.
- India has one of the largest higher education systems in the world that stands second in terms of the higher education network.
- The entire higher education ecosystem in India comprises around 1000+ universities and 42,000+ colleges imparting exceptional education.
Challenges in Higher Education in India
- Severely fragmented higher educational ecosystem.
- Less emphasis on the development of cognitive skills and learning outcomes.
- A rigid separation of disciplines, with early specialization and streaming of students into narrow areas of study.
- Limited access particularly in socio-economically disadvantaged areas, with few HEIs(Higher Educational Institutions) that teach in local languages, limited teacher and institutional autonomy.
- Inadequate mechanisms for merit-based career management and progression of faculty and institutional leaders.
- Lesser emphasis on research at most universities and colleges, and lack of competitive peer-reviewed research funding across disciplines.
- Suboptimal governance and leadership of HEIs,an ineffective regulatory system and large affiliating universities resulting in low standards of undergraduate education.
- The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of India in higher education is only 15% which is quite low as compared to the developed as well as, other developing countries.
- Poor infrastructure is another challenge to the higher education system of India particularly the institutes run by the public sector suffer from poor physical facilities and infrastructure.
- Faculty shortages and the inability of the state educational system to attract and retain well qualified teachers have been posing challenges to quality education for many years.
- Management of Indian education faces challenges of over centralization, bureaucratic structures and lack of accountability, transparency, and professionalism.
NEP and SDG
- The NEP 2020 is the first education policy of the 21st century and replaces the thirty-four year old National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986.
- National Education Policy, 2020 (NEP) envisions a massive transformation in education through an education system rooted in Indian ethos.
- The NEP 2020 is founded on the five guiding pillars of Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability and Accountability.
- It will prepare our youth to meet the diverse national and global challenges of the present and the future.
- The SDGs are a bold commitment to finish what we started, and end poverty in all forms and dimensions by 2030.
- This involves targeting the most vulnerable, increasing basic resources and services, and supporting communities affected by conflict and climate-related disasters.
- “Sustainable Development Goals” (SDG) consist of 17 goals and 169 targets in order to eradicate poverty and realize a sustainable world.
- The NEP 2020 is in line with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG 2030).
- SDG 4 is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.NEP is aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals and aims to transform India into a vibrant knowledge society.
NEP 2020 complying with SDG
| NEP,2020 | Reflection of SDG |
| Holistic and Multidisciplinary Education. | SDG 4.7:By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development. |
| Creativity and critical thinking to encourage logical decision-making and innovationSetting up of National Research Foundation (NRF)Outstanding research as a corequisite for outstanding education and development. | Research provide innovative solutions to solve global issues related to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and SDG 15 (Life on Land). |
| Ethics and human & Constitutional values like empathy, respect for others, cleanliness, courtesy, democratic spirit, spirit of service, respect for public property, scientific temper, liberty, responsibility, pluralism, equality, and justice. | SDG 16: This goal aims to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. |
| Equitable and inclusive education.Special emphasis given on Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs).A separate Gender Inclusion fund and SpecialEducation Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups.Extensive use of technology in teaching and learning, removing language barriers, increasing access for Divyang students, and educational planning and management. | SDG 4.5 Gender equality and inclusionBy 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations. |
| Robust and transparent processes for recruitment of teachers and merit based performance.Teacher Education – 4-year integrated stage-specific, subject- specific Bachelor of Education.Establishing a National Mission for Mentoring. | SDG 4.c Teachers and educatorsBy 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing States. |
| Ensuring Universal Access at All Levels of schooling from pre-primary school to Grade 12. | SDG 4.1 Universal primary and secondary education. By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes |
| Ensuring quality early childhood care and education for all children between 3-6 years | SDG 4.2 Early childhood development and universal pre-primary educationBy 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education. |
| Establishing National Mission on Foundational Literacy and NumeracyAchieving 100% youth and adult literacy. | SDG 4.6 Universal youth literacyBy 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy. |
Convergence of SDG goals and NEP pillars
How Higher education contributes to SDGs?
- A university-inclusive education better protects people against poverty (SDG1), prevents them from hunger (SDG2), supports them for good health and well-being (SDG3), promotes gender equality (SDG5), provides them decent work, which in turn drives economic growth (SDG 8), and reduces inequalities (SDG10).
- Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary systemsof education produce multitalented people who can pursue research, and find innovative solutions to global challenges such as affordable and clean energy (SDG7), sustainable cities and communities (SDG11), climate change and global warming (SDG13), as well as studying their impact on an economy and the earth.
- Introducing Value-Based Education (VBE) will help citizens become responsible towards self, society, and the planet and help our nation achieve “Life on Land” (SDG15).
- Higher education institutions can promote gender equality(SDG 5) and Inclusive Growth by providing equal opportunities for women and men to access quality education and participate in research and innovation activities.
- Higher education institutions can collaborate with other stakeholders to address global challenges more effectively.
Govt initiatives for Higher Education
- Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC): It is an initiative under the Ministry of Human Resource Development that aims at improving the research ecosystem of India’s Higher Educational Institutions.
- National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT):It is a Public-Private partnership model between the Government (through its implementing agency AICTE) and the Education Technology companies of India.
- Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA):It is a joint venture of the Ministry of Education and Canara Bank for financing creation of capital assets in premier educational institutions in India.
- EQUIP(Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Program) :It is a 5-year holistic action plan for the higher education system in India(2019-24).The key objective of the EQUIP is to make higher education accessible to all such students.
Way Forward
- Stakeholders of higher education should be educated and oriented inorder to accelerate the progress towards achieving the 2030 SDG agenda.
- Universities should come out reinvigorated and play a part in the education, innovation, culture, and civic life of their local communities.
- Community health, energy-saving measures, efficient resource allocation, waste reduction, development of local skills, as well as the sharing of services, infrastructure, and facilities with other universities or external partners should become a culture in universities.
- Higher Education Institutions should adopt sustainability as a mantra and incorporate SDGs into their institutional strategies, both in daily administration and in teaching and research.
- Higher education cannot work in isolation; rather it must be directly integrated with socio-economic development where each activity and transaction has meaningful and multiple impacts on SDGs.
- Government must promote collaboration between Indian higher education institutes and top International institutes and also generate linkage between national research laboratories and research centers of top institutions for better quality and collaborative research.
Reference
- SALIENT FEATURES OF NEP 2020: HIGHER EDUCATION (UGC)
- International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research (IJFMR)
- Salient features of NEP (PIB, 1 August 2022)
- Higher Education in India: Challenges and Opportunities (ResearchGate)
Practice Question
Analyze the role of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in aligning education in India with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). How can the NEP 2020 help India achieve its SDG targets? Discuss.