Why was National Education Policy 2020 not discussed in Parliament: Shashi Tharoor

Congress MP and former Human Resource Development minister Shashi Tharoor welcomed the National Education Policy 2020 but questioned why it was not discussed in Parliament first.

Taking to Twitter on July 30, he highlighted the “unrealistic targets” that the BJP government has set with the new education policy, and the challenges it might face in fulfilling them.

The Congress leader opened his address on a pleasant note, welcoming NEP 2020, before moving on to question why it was not introduced in Parliament.

There is much to welcome in what we have seen of the #NewEducationPolicy2020 announced by @DrRPNishank. A number of suggestions made by some of us seem to have been taken into account. However,the question remains why this was not brought before Parliament first for discussion.

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 30, 2020

He then went on to speak about how he had been advocating the revision of the 1986 National Education Policy since the time he was in power and how it took Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government six years to affect the changes.

I've advocated revision of the 1986 National Education Policy since my days in MHRD, to bring it into the 21st century. I am glad the Modi Govt has finally grasped the nettle, even if it took them six years to do so. Challenge is to ensure aspiration is matched by implementation.

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 30, 2020

For instance, the goal of 6% of GDP to be spent on education was first articulated in 1948! Every Govt articulates this target& then comes up against its own Finance Ministry. In the last 6 years, ModiGovt expenditure in education has declined in real terms. How will it reach 6%?

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 30, 2020

Tharoor also highlighted some of the targets set by the Centre, which he felt were unrealistic, and said:

The goals of 50% Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education and 100% in secondary school are laudable, but when you realise it's currently 25.8% in Higher Edn & 68% in Class 9, you wonder if such targets are any more realistic than the Govt's solar-energy commitments at Paris.

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 30, 2020

The NEP should have offered more tangible&realisable targets for research. Total investment on research& innovation in India declined from 0.84% of GDP in 2008 to 0.6% in 2018. There are currently only 15 researchers in India per 100,000 of population,compared with 111 in China.

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 30, 2020

The Centre unveiled the National Education Policy 2020 on July 30. The reforms direct that primary education be imparted in the mother tongue/regional language, lesser focus be given to board examinations, and more emphasis on vocational training.

The reforms that were introduced after 28 years are aimed at making the country’s education system more skill-oriented and contemporary.