Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Calls for State Collaboration in Education

Union Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan addressed the inaugural session of a review meeting for the Department of School Education and Literacy with States and Union Territories. Minister of State for Education, Shri Jayant Chaudhary, also spoke at the event.

The meeting included officials from the Ministry, Principal Secretaries, Secretaries, and SPD/Directors from various States/UTs, and representatives from NCERT, SCERTs, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Navodaya Vidyalaya, and CBSE.

Focus on Holistic Development:

Shri Pradhan outlined a five-year roadmap for the holistic development of school education across India. He emphasized that education is a key pillar in Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's vision of Viksit Bharat. He called upon States and Union Territories to collaborate to achieve this goal. He noted that in almost four years since the National Education Policy (NEP) was introduced, significant progress has been made in transforming India's education ecosystem.

He highlighted that NEP 2020 stresses the importance of education in Indian languages and mother tongues. He urged stakeholders to carry forward NEP's core principles: Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability, and Accountability in education. "Ensuring an education system which is both rooted and futuristic is our collective responsibility," he added.

Building Technology Readiness:

The Minister stressed the importance of building technology readiness in schools with a holistic approach. He emphasized ensuring critical thinking among students to prepare them for a rapidly changing world driven by technology. "India is a young country and our challenge is to make global citizens for the 21st century world," he said.

Shri Pradhan also spoke about people's emotional connection with their school teachers and highlighted the importance of teachers' capacity building to make the educational ecosystem more vibrant. He mentioned that competency-based education must be augmented to increase employability.

Collaborative Efforts:

He urged both States and Centres to work as a team to strengthen the education ecosystem by replicating and amplifying best practices across all States/UTs. He called upon all stakeholders in States/UTs to work cohesively to strengthen capacities and build a collaborative education system.

Minister of State for Education Shri Jayant Chaudhary described NEP 2020 as an ambitious and progressive policy document. He emphasized improving the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) to 100% and including students from economically and socially backward communities in the formal educational system. He also invited states to participate in other ambitious programs like PM SHRI.

Reviewing NEP 2020 Implementation:

Shri Sanjay Kumar stated that the main aim of the review meeting was to assess NEP 2020's implementation across states. The meeting would align flagship schemes such as Samagra Shiksha, PM SHRI, PM Poshan, and ULLAS with NEP 2020 policies. Discussions would include developing a roadmap for the next five years.
The agenda included discussions on a five-year action plan; a 100-day action plan; progress on infrastructure and civil works; ICT and Smart classrooms under Samagra Shiksha; status/setting up of VSK & 200 channels; finalization of UDISE+ for 2023-24; Best Practices; DIET upgradation as Centers of Excellence; Tobacco Control; and TOFEI guidelines implementation in schools.

The meeting aimed at fostering collaboration between States/UTs to leverage education as a key pillar of Viksit Bharat while ensuring equitable access to quality education across India.