NEP 2020: Technology in Education

The government implemented the new national educational policy on 30th July 2020. It introduces several reforms in the field of education which was existing for past 34 years. NEP 2020 introduces far reaching reforms in the existing system of education. It envisages flexible processes, equitable and inclusive learning instead of traditional one. It is aimed at meeting the demands of the present technological age though creation of an autonomous body, the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) - A platform for free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning and administration. 

 

NEP 2020 focuses on various aspects like Equity in Education, Removing language barriers, Universal access for Education, Flexibility of course choice, Skill Development, Vocational Education, Creativity in Education, Technology for Education, STEAM (Science,Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) Education.

As India is transforming towards an ‘Information Intensive Society’, the use of technology in education is gradually becoming an indispensable aid. Instead of in-person learning, digital learning and online teaching are becoming more popular due to its easy accessibility and affordability. Situations like the recent pandemic have given further impetus to this change which has come to stay now.

In NEP 2020, Technology in Education plays a significant role. Some aspects of policy dealing with Technology are mention below:

 

Digital Education - Development of online teaching platforms, E-books, creating digital libraries are bridging the gap between teacher and students. They provide online training for both teachers and students in conducting online classes. Technology-based educational platforms, such as DIKSHA/SWAYAM, will be integrated across schools and higher education. 
A dedicated unit for the purpose of orchestrating the building of digital infrastructure, digital content and capacity building will be created in the MHRD to look after the e-education needs of both school and higher education. 

 

Skill Development courses - courses like STEAM Education help prepare the youth to bring knowledge and skills to solve problems, make sense of information, and them how to gather and evaluate evidence to make decisions. It provides opportunities for project-based learning.

 

Professional Education - must involve critical and interdisciplinary thinking, discussion, debate, research, and innovation. Professional Education should not be limited to the course specialty. The National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), provides a platform for free exchange of ideas on the utilization of technology to reinforce learning, assessment, planning and administration. It suitably integrates technology at all levels of education.

 

Artificial Intelligence - School children will be shown skills like digital literacy, coding, and computational thinking from a young age through teaching contemporary subjects such as Artificial Intelligence and Design Thinking. Further, topics such as artificial intelligence, 3-D machining, big data analysis, and machine learning will be merged with undergraduate education to train industry-ready professionals. All universities will offer doctoral and Masters’ programs in core areas such as Machine Learning. Colleges may also offer targeted training in low-expertise tasks for supporting the AI value chain such as data annotation, image classification, and speech transcription, and much more.

Conclusion

New Education Policy is Technology Driven. Technology for education becomes important to align India’s curriculum to the needs of 21^st century. It is necessary to develop a plan of action for fostering technological proficiencies to provide successful engagement with technology.

In this regard, Ed-tech companies like YantroMitra are uniquely positioned to assist with various goals provided by this policy. The Ed-tech companies can collaborate with educational institutions as well as develop customized online platforms/courses to increase reach among students.

Ms. Aakriti Rathore, a young researcher in the field of Experiential Learning is associated with YantroMitra Learning Technologies Private Limited and is working on enriching its STEAM Curriculum with attractive DIY Activities.