Andhra Pradesh-based Central Tribal University Vice-chancellor and National Education Policy-2020 Drafting and Implementation Committee member T V Kattimani opined that the Bommai-led government should have implemented NEP-2020 at primary and secondary education-level initially and it could have been done at the higher education level later.
During an exclusive chat with DH on Thursday, he said, Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh is making sincere efforts to implement it. People associated with higher education are active and they have taken the lead and so, it is being implemented in the higher education level in the state, he said.
He also noted that the success or failure of NEP-2020 is in the hands of teachers and not the politicians or the government.
He said over 2.5 lakh people had been consulted across the country for NEP including religious leaders, non-government organisations, political organisations and people from various backgrounds. "We consulted all stakeholders in various parts of the country including Surat, Kutch, (Gujarat) Mumbai, Ahmedabad. I personally interacted with over 400 vice-chancellors of various universities in the country out of 800."
He also maintained that debate on NEP at a public forum is a much-needed activity.
He said the major objective of NEP is to impart technology-driven education to students of all disciplines.
Citing an example, he said though America's involvement in the manufacturing sector is limited, it runs businesses in many sectors through technology. "For example, roti is prepared by our people, cars are driven by our drivers, fuel stations are run by our people. But Americans run business across the world through technology. Uber Technologies, Inc, commonly known as Uber, American mobility as a service provider based in San Francisco, is the best example for it. The owner of Uber has no car at all but he used technology to earn crores of rupees. NEP aims to teach technical skills to students so that they become employable."
On resources, he said, till now, students and teachers of one institute can avail its infrastructure. Under NEP, resources available in any institute can be used by all students. If a physics laboratory in a government first-grade college in the city is not used by students of that institute, other colleges or schools can use them at their convenient time.
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