Hyderabad: Concerns Over Delays in Implementing New Education Policy
Is the delay in the State government’s decision on implementing the New Education Policy-2020 (NEP-2020) affecting students? Many believe that the lack of action is causing students to miss out on acquiring important and competitive skills.
Academicians in state universities and higher education institutions feel that there is a lack of freedom in the education system. They are concerned about the “excessive dominance and interference of bureaucracy” and the “lack of timely response from the political leadership.” This has been a problem for the past 10 years, hitting the education sector hard.
It’s unusual, even compared to the time of United Andhra Pradesh, to see bureaucrats frequently appearing on stages related to academic activities, capacity building, and new courses. They often advise thinking creatively and focusing on skills that can lead to employment. However, when it comes time to make real changes, they seem to step back.
A former top official from Telangana’s Higher Education sector, who has visited several foreign countries for potential collaborations, expressed disappointment in an interview with The Hans India. He said that not a single proposal he presented was accepted by the State government. When asked why he didn’t make better use of existing resources during his tenure, he explained that it requires approval from the bureaucracy, which in turn relies heavily on the state government for funding.
This situation limits the options available to parents and students who wish to pursue different fields that could be valuable for both careers and academics.
For example, the NEP-2020 allows the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to introduce agriculture from secondary schooling (10+2). But in Telangana, this is not a focus for intermediate education students. A member of the syllabus committee from the Telangana Board of Intermediate Education (TGBIE) mentioned that there are already several government and private agriculture polytechnics in the state for students who want to pursue agriculture after completing their Secondary School Certificate (SSC).
However, under the CBSE and ICSE systems, students studying arts can take science subjects and vice-versa starting from Class X. For instance, a science student studying chemistry and biology can also take a legal studies paper. But in Telangana, the School Education Department and TGBIE have not yet adopted the NEP-2020. They continue to follow the conventional modes of courses at the intermediate level, which prevents students from choosing courses that interest them. As a result, a student from TGBIE intermediate might end up studying similar subjects at the undergraduate level, like B.Sc Chemistry, Biology, or Agriculture.
On the other hand, a CBSE student has the flexibility to study interdisciplinary subjects like xenobiotics and risk mitigation. These subjects integrate areas like legislation, toxicology, pharmacology, biotechnology, and risk management, preparing students for careers as risk assessment analysts in chemical and biotechnology fields.
A former Vice-Chancellor of a state university explained that state universities have the ability to introduce new courses since subjects like toxicology, pharmacology, biotechnology, agriculture, and legal studies are already taught at the undergraduate level. He suggested that introducing credit transfers among Osmania University and other state universities, along with state health and agriculture universities, could help. The University Grants Commission (UGC) allows one or two universities to jointly offer courses. However, the question of who will take the initiative to make these changes remains unanswered.
