First Education News

Hindi to be made mandatory till class 8, as per the new policy draft of NEP( New education policy)

The key recommendations in the draft report prepared by the nine-member K.Kasturirangan committee on the New Education Policy(NEP), which aims to implement an “India-centric” and “scientific” system of learning in schools are, to stick strictly to the three-language formula with Hindi mandatory till class 8 across the country, ensure a uniform syllabus nationwide for science and maths, develop a script in Devanagari for tribal dialects, and promote education based on “hunar(skill)”, According to the sources the HRD Ministry has handed over its report before its tenures end on December 31, 2018. A member of the committee says they have sought a meeting with the HRD Minister to hand over the report formally. Speaking to a News source, HRD Minister Prakash Javedkar said: “The committee’s report is ready and the members have sought an appointment, I will get the report after the parliament session”. According to the sources, the government has yet not decided the next step for the policy, including placing it in the public domain for further suggestions and feedback. At present, Hindi is not compulsory at schools in many none-Hindi speaking states.

Among the other recommendations made by the committee are:
* Permanent high-power committee on education, headed by Prime Minister, to meet at regular intervals.
* Regulatory mechanism to be strengthened and headed by non-bureaucrats.
* Technical and professional courses to be promoted among SC/ST students.
The committee is learnt to have incorporated suggestions received from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Besides, sources said, the panel held a meeting with Javadekar and representatives of seven states.
Sources said the proposed policy was also discussed during a meeting of the Shiksha Samooh (Education Group) of RSS-linked organisations on December 20, 2018, in Delhi. Last October, referring to the policy in his Vijayadashami address, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had said: “Time is running out in the wait for the implementation of the new education policy.” In March 2015, the RSS Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) had passed a resolution on imparting primary education in the “mother language”.

The last NEP was brought in 1986 and revised in 1992. Based on the NEP, the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) was released in 2005 and expected to be revised after 10 years. However, the NDA government decided to finalise the NEP instead.