Open discussion on National Education Policy 2020 organized in Banaras Hindu University
Banaras: An open discussion on National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) was organized today at the Mahamana Auditorium of Banaras Hindu University. Organized in the hybrid mode, with both the online and offline means, the discussion was attended by academicians, academic administrators, teachers, heads of departments, state education board officials, principals, social workers and other stakeholders from across the country. The purpose of this discussion, organized by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) under the Union Ministry of Education and also under the aegis of Banaras Hindu University, was to discuss these schemes extensively on National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) and National Mission for Mentoring (NMM) across the country. The purpose was essentially to prepare a blueprint for its implementation.
Discussions were held on NPST and NMM respectively in two technical sessions of the programme. The first session was presided over by Prof. H. C. S. Rathore, former Vice Chancellor of South Bihar Central University, Gaya and the second session was presided over by Prof. Madhulika Agarwal, Dean of the BHU Faculty of Science. Due to the increasing outbreak of coronavirus, the NCTE Chairperson Santosh Kumar Sarangi and Member Secretary Kesang Yangzom Sherpa joined the program through online medium. During his address, Mr. Sarangi said that training of teachers is very important, both before the appointment and during the job. He stated that through NPST, teachers should be divided into four categories, Progressive Teachers, Proficient Teachers, Skilled Teachers and Head Teachers. A module for assessment of teachers is being developed so that they can be easily classified. So that they can evolve in their career. Apart from this, through the NMM, educational institutions and systems are to be benefited by taking advantage of the experiences of such retired teachers who are active even after their retirement.
During the program, former Principal of Central Hindu School, Dr. N. K. Shahi opined in his address that the accumulation of human and moral values is a continuous process and it is hindered by the change of values along with the change of administration. When one looks at this statement in the context of the National Policy on Education, it becomes extremely important. In fact, from making to implementing such a change is a very long and complicated process and knowing its consequences demands an even longer period of time. Therefore, we have to study every aspect of the National Education Policy very seriously and try to adopt it. Only then will our future generations be able to see the changes that are implicit in the objectives of the National Education Policy. One participant Prof. Anil Singh said that only those people must teach who really have an interest in the field of teaching. Otherwise, people who become teachers by accident cannot fulfill their responsibility with sincerity.
Prior to this, information about NPST and NMM was conveyed to everyone through presentation at the beginning of both the technical sessions. By delivering concise information, Mr. Rishabh Khanna, Ms. Riya and Mr. Neeraj from the NCTE especially benefited the audience.
During his address, Prof. H. C. S. Rathore said that the purpose of this whole effort is to make education more meaningful. He said that the draft NPST has been prepared with great effort, but despite this, he did not agree with its present format. However, there are avenues which allow it to be approved. Dr. Rachna Srivastava, Principal of Vasant Kanya Mahavidyalaya said that the loyalty of the teacher decides the quality of teaching, and not their salary. Dr. Annapurna Dixit of Arya Mahila PG College, participating in the program, asked questions about the evaluation methods, Dr. Rita Singh gave suggestions regarding internal quality. Dr. Mahesh Sharma of the Central University of Tibetan Studies also gave important suggestions regarding the implementation of NPST, and he drew attention to the role of teachers and the changes in the classroom environment after the coronavirus pandemic.
On this occasion, the book ‘MCQ for Field Hockey’ by Dr. Akhil Mehrotra and Mr. Abhinav Singh of the Physical Education Department, was released by the dignitaries. Program coordinator Prof. Sushma said that after listening to many original suggestions, important problems, concerns of the staging colleagues including the participants present in the auditorium and coming out with many measures to solve them from this auditorium itself, she felt that it has been proven that the event was successful to a large extent in its objectives. She said that by giving these suggestions, important concerns emanating from today’s event in the form of a report, the team would be able to fulfill their responsibility of taking the matter of this event to the NCTE and other policy makers.
Dr. Pradeep Chahar conducted the proceedings of the program. On this occasion Prof. Abhimanyu Singh, Prof. Rajeev Vyas, Dr. Dhirendra Kumar Rai, Dr. Abhishek Verma, Dr. Shailendra Singh, Dr. Upendra Kumar, Dr. Neha Pandey, among others, were also present.