The NEP 2020 replaces the First national education Policy which come in 1968 led by Smt. Indira Gandhi Government and then in 1986 Shri Rajiv Gandhi Government come second national education policy which is modified in1992 by Shri. P.V. Narasimha Rao. Now after 34 years come new education policy named as NEP2020. In January 2015 Smriti Irani, HRD Minister formed a new committee whose chairman is T. S. R. Subramanian started the working for the New Education Policy, they submit the report, in June 2016.the objective of this committee is to improve the quality of education but this recommendation was not approved by government later on Dr.  Krishna swamy Kasturirangan formed a new committee made up of 9 member They Drafted the national education policy in 2019, this national education policy is finally released NEP2020by Ministry of Human Resource Development, followed by a number of public consultations. T74 Draft NEP was 484 pages.

29th July 2020, The Government of India approved the new education policy after a 34 years gap previously it was known as National policy on education (NPE) in 1986, after some period of time this educational policy modified in 1992. The main focus of NPE was regarding access and equity of education, here the meaning of access is availability and equity means fairness of education. However today the main focus of NEP 2020 is about quality education. The only major improvement since the last policy of 1986 has been the right of children age group 6 to 14 years for free and compulsory education Act 2009 or Right to Education Act which was an Act of Parliament of India in Acted upon 4^th August 2009.

The main purpose of NEP 2020 is to design a vision and framework for both school education and higher education in India. The main focus of this paper is to explain some of the key Changes of NEP 2020.

According to the NEP 2020, propose change the school’s academic structure from (10+2 years) of schooling format to (5+3+3+4 years) format. According to (5+3+3+4 years) academic format in India first 3 years is your preschool which consist of KG, LKG and UKG. After preschool when you go to first class and thereafter second class together. This Five years are going to be your Foundation for your education .After the 3years from class 3^rd to class 5^th will be part of your preparatory or primary schooling, falling by another 3 years i.e. from class 6^th to class 8^th that will be your middle schooling and finally 4 years from your class 9^th to 12^th is going to be your secondary schooling go together it forms (5+3+3+4 years) academic structure. If you notice that your first three years of education (KG, LKG and UKG) have been included the formal education system for the first time.

Now coming to under graduate degree program structure will be available for 3- and 4-years duration. It now has multiple Entry and exit options. Here the means of multiple entry and exit point will explain you with the help of example like if a student chooses to leave the degree at any point during the course of the period, they have the option to return and start whether they left. They will not be required to start the first year of undergraduate course again. Along with multiple entry and exit options students will also receive appropriate certificate for example student will be awarded at diploma for first year undergraduate education, advanced diploma for second year Undergraduate course and bachelor degree for 3 years as well as 4 years courses.

As per new policy NEP 2020 the undergraduate degree program will be credit based. In credit based academic system

1 credit = 1 hours of teaching (Theory)

= 2 hours of practical/field work.

It is a new way that will hopefully provide flexibility in designing curriculum and assigning credit based on the course content and hours of teaching. The higher education institute now will have the option of offering a one year Master degree program under the NEP 2020.Previously if you want to do Master Degree it took 2 years but now the 2^nd year of your Master degree will focus on research based study for those who have completed undergraduate degree of 3 years duration, and for those students who have completed four years of undergraduate degree program with research they will have their Master degree in one year. So basically if you did three year undergraduate course like BBA, B.Sc., B.com etc. so your Master degree will be for two years but in that second year will focus on research so this is an (3+2 years) academic structure and if you did four year undergraduate course like B.Tech so your Master degree will be for one year and that one year will be focus on research so this is an (4+1 year) academic structure.

The NEP 2020 has decided to discontinue M.Phil. (Master in Philosophy) Program. According to NEP 2020 there will be no hard separation between arts and science, between curricular and extracurricular activities etc. NEP 2020 eliminate the harmful barrier between Arts and Science or many different areas of learning. so these are some of the new key changes of the New Educational Policy (NEP) 2020.

Salient Features of NEP 2020: Higher Education

The Fundamental Principles of the Policy

1. Bracketing the unique capabilities of each student, by sensitizing teachers as well as parents to promote each student’s holistic development in both academic and non-academic spheres.
2. According the highest priority to achieving Foundational Literacy and Numeracy by all students by Grade 3;
3. Flexibility, so that learners have the ability to choose their learning trajectories and programmes, and thereby choose their own paths in life according to their talents and interests;
4. Hard separations between arts and sciences, between curricular and extra-curricular activities, between vocational and academic streams, etc. in order to eliminate harmful hierarchies among, and silos between different areas of learning.
5. Multidisciplinary and a holistic education across the sciences, social sciences, arts, humanities, and sports for a multidisciplinary world in order to ensure the unity and integrity of all knowledge;
6. Emphasis on concept clearing rather than mugging up.
7. Creativity and critical thinking to encourage logical decision-making and innovation;
8. Ethics and human & Constitutional values like empathy, respect for others, cleanliness, courtesy, democratic spirit, spirit of service, respect for public property, scientific temper, liberty, responsibility, pluralism, equality, and justice;
9. Promoting multilingualism and the power of language in teaching and learning;
10. Life Skills such as communication, cooperation, teamwork, and resilience;
11. Focus on regular formative assessment for learning rather than the summative assessment that encourages today’s coaching culture.
12. Extensive use of technology in teaching and learning, removing language barriers, increasing access for Divyang students, and educational planning and management;
13. Respect for diversity and respect for the local context in all curriculum, pedagogy, and policy, always keeping in mind that education is a concurrent subject;
14. Full equity and inclusion as the cornerstone of all educational decisions to ensure that all students are able to thrive in the education system;
15. Synergy in curriculum across all levels of education from early childhood care and education to school education to higher education;
16. Teachers and faculty as the heart of the learning process – their recruitment, continuous professional development, positive working environments and service conditions;
17. A ‘light but tight’ regulatory framework to ensure integrity, transparency, and resource efficiency of the educational system through audit and public disclosure while encouraging innovation and out-of-the-box ideas through autonomy, good governance, and empowerment; Outstanding research as a co-requisite for outstanding education and development;
18. Continuous review of progress based on sustained research and regular assessment by educational experts;
19. A rootedness and pride in India, and its rich, diverse, ancient and modern culture and knowledge systems and traditions.
20. Education is a public service; access to quality education must be considered a basic right of every child.

Conclusion

Education is an essential and indispensable element for the all-round development of any society and country and a comprehensive national education policy is formulated by a nation to fulfill this requirement. The New National Education Policy, 2020, approved by the Government of India, is an important initiative in this direction. The success of this new education policy will depend on how it is implemented. Therefore, it can be said that India is the country with the youngest population and India’s future will depend on providing high-quality educational opportunities to these youth.