Efforts being made under Modi's leadership to turn India hub of quality education, says Nadda; hails NEP

Sep 21: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief J P Nadda on Wednesday said huge emphasis is being given on education under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and efforts are underway to make India a big hub of quality education. He said the 2020 National Education Policy (NEP) is a product of five years of "tapasya" (hard work) and a product of "Maha Yagna", which will steer the country towards the "Bharatiya" education and help people emerge from the colonial mindset.

"We can say today that huge emphasis is being given on education in the country under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi," Nadda said while addressing a 'Professor Summit' here. "There was a time when we used to talk about spending three, four, five per cent of the GDP on education. We would also say that education was being ignored. But today, to bring Nalanda University back to its ancient glory, PM Modi has allotted Rs 2,700 crore only for repairing the glory that university," he said.

"You must understand that India is going to be a big hub of quality education and we are working in this direction. Therefore, it should be aatmanirbhar (self-reliant) education for aatmanirbhar country," Nadda said. He said that at a time when the country is celebrating 'Azadi Ka Amrit Maohtsav,' we should get out of the colonial mindset and shun the idea that everything in the West is the best. "We have encouraged superficial thinking and somewhere ignored deep thinking, because of which we came to develop a colonial mindset. We should get out of it...We should take pride in our things. We should understand what we have got in our inheritance," he told the gathering. He said PM Modi has offered 2020 NEP to the country after conducting a "Maha Yagna" and there is a "tapasya" of five years behind it.

The NEP was framed after a massive consultation process involving 2.5 lakh gram panchayats and 12,500 local bodies. Discussions were conducted in 575 districts. Out of the 15 lakh suggestions, two lakh have been approved, he said. "The NEP 2020 has been prepared after this 'Maha Yagna'. You are lucky to propagate the education policy that has been formed in independent India with a feeling of independence, which has emerged from the soil of India," he said. He said the 2020 NEP is multi-disciplinary in approach, and effort has been made to emerge from narrow thinking and develop broad thinking. It pays attention to cognitive learning and innovative thinking, Nadda said. "Today, you have got the right to study in your mother language because of our PM Modi. Now education will not be Indian education, it will be Bharatiya education," he said. The NEP will create skilled, confident and practical-minded youth.

It will be good to use the NEP as a powerful instrument, he said. Nadda also talked about the government policy of making 14,500 schools as top model schools. He said that education in 14 engineering colleges in eight states will be imparted in five regional languages. "A special effort is being made for socio-economic transformation. We have to change the narrative," he said and talked about the Centre's YUVA programme to encourage young authors. Effort is also being made to establish our best institutes across the globe, he said.