A NEW FRAMEWORK TO BOOST NEP

THE Indian higher education system has a crucial role in achieving the twin goals of economic prosperity and socio-cultural development.

- GANESAN KANNABIRAN

It is not new for India to lead the world in such outcomes. After all, Bharat’s ancient higher education centres such as Nalanda, Takshashila and Vikramshila were the forebears of modern universities.

The combined focus on holistic, scientific and value education made these universities global centres of learning. There was a well-knit link between education and economic prosperity, eventually leading to socio-cultural development. However, the Indian higher education system had drifted in recent centuries.

Today, when India is poised to become the third largest economy, the need to link higher education with socio-cultural development has come back on the government’s agenda. The National Education Policy 2020 offers the ingredients for transforming higher education and achieving the milestone of a Viksit Bharat by 2047. Thus, NEP 2020 can link our glorious past with the promising future envisioned by the Prime Minister.

At the time of independence, India had about 20 universities and 500 colleges. Today, it has one of the largest higher education systems with about 1,170 universities and more than 50,000 colleges focusing on teaching and research in almost all fields.