VEGA School, Gurgaon Is Delhi-NCR’s Only Future Ready School

New Delhi: VEGA School, leads the way with ‘Problem based learning’ (PBL) teaching methodology to become the first Indian school with progressive future ready learning curriculum & practices that meet the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 compliances for early learning & higher education in India.

VEGA School, leads the way with ‘Problem based learning’ (PBL) teaching methodology to become the first Indian school with progressive future ready learning curriculum & practices that meet the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 compliances for early learning & higher education in India.

With the (NEP) 2020 replacing the previously administered National Policy of Education of 1986, the Ministry of Human Resource Development of India intends to overhaul and update the Indian education system at the foundational learning and higher education level in schools across India. The NEP 2020 policy is geared towards meeting the demands of the new 21st Century post-pandemic world where the needs of the people and the country need to be aligned towards creating an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ in the future. The aim is to make India a global knowledge superpower and to create change-makers who will lead us into the future. The latest National Education Policy (NEP 2020) which came into effect from July this year, will bring about a much awaited sea-change that’s set to take place in the current education system in schools across the country. Right from the curriculum and pedagogy in teaching, to the currently emphasized rote learning practices in most Indian schools.

As Dr. Steven Edwards, Co-founder of Vega Schools (Gurgaon) says, “The NEP 2020 is designed to bring India’s school education at par with some of the most advanced nations. The new age teaching methods at Vega Schools is perfectly in sync with the 4 main pillars of the NEP 2020.” With this policy coming into effect, schools across the country will have to make an immediate switch to comply with these 4 pillars of the NEP and start transitioning towards a teaching pedagogy and education system that is in sync with global learning standards and practices which is future aligned.

In order to meet the new education policy guidelines, schools in India will have to change their current model of teaching, learning outcomes and assessment of their students according to these NEP guidelines: 1) End of rote learning, 2) Curriculum to integrate critical thinking and creativity to inculcate 21st century skills, 3) Community Participation, 4) Assessment reforms.

This policy will bring forth a much awaited change in the way the current and future generation of children in India will learn and study in schools. Embracing these changes in the current education system will be challenging and time-taking for a majority of schools in the country. “It will not be easy for schools to comply with the NEP 2020, but we are proud that thanks to our unique PBL (Problem based learning) teaching methodology we are the forerunner in our NEP 2020 compliance,” says Sandy Hooda, Co-founder of Vega Schools (Gurgaon).

Despite the uphill task ahead for many leading schools across Delhi-NCR, Vega schools – Gurgaon, (ranked as one of the best schools in Gurgaon & awarded among top 5 emerging high potential schools in India 18-19 by Education World) is one such school where the curriculum and learning pedagogy is already aligned with the NEP 2020 guidelines. VEGA School-Gurgaon, is credited for leading the way towards the next generation of education and schools for the children of the new world with its unique and globally recognized ‘Problem based learning’ (PBL) method & school structure that is already NEP compliant across these 4 pillars.

NEP Pillar 1: Curriculum to integrate critical thinking & creativity: The CBSE content curriculum offered at VEGA school (Gurgaon) is imparted via the ‘Problem based learning’ (PBL) pedagogy of teaching and learning techniques to inculcate critical thinking and creativity in the child in order to teach them 21st Century skills right from the foundational learning stages of pre-nursery, all the way up to grade 12. Through PBL, the school and the trained teaching staff aim to equip the students with problem solving capabilities, logical reasoning and critical thinking, honing their decision making skills, ability to gather information, work in collaboration with the team and communicating effectively while using the latest technology for innovation. This kind of experiential and inquiry based learning, driven via discussions and analysis is already well aligned with the NEP compliance guidelines.

NEP Pillar 2: Encouraging Community Participation : One of the unique features of Vega is their social responsibility initiative “SHRAM” which is integrated into the curriculum to foster ‘empathy’ and a ‘sense of responsibility.’ Young leaders and future change-makers are nurtured by giving the students an opportunity to understand societal problems first hand, and see how they can work with the community to solve ‘real-life’ issues by providing community service ideas and executing them via Shram. When learners get involved with the community, they help others expand their worldview, develop leadership skills and see for themselves how their actions can have a positive impact on those around them. Research has also shown that responsible learners are more empathetic, and they also tend to perform better in school and go on to become better leaders. This also helps the child feel they’re part of the community and sets them up to become responsible citizens in the future.

NEP Pillar 3: End of rote learning : It’s a well-known and highly critiqued fact that the rote learning method isn’t a progressive or helpful technique for teaching, despite the Indian curriculum’s heavy emphasis on this. Rote learning in fact inhibits creative learning and leads to stagnation of the learners overall growth. At Vega schools, via their PBL technique, the focus is on knowing the curriculum and also applying what has been learnt and finding newer and better ways of doing things. The PBL approach at Vega makes learning interactive and experiential-based. It helps the child to deal with real-life questions and problems. This hands-on learning also includes arts and sports integrated education, along with a story-telling-based pedagogy. This way, classroom transactions shift towards competency-based learning and teaching. Real life application of concepts learnt is heavily emphasized upon in the PBL way of teaching, and also the need of the hour as stated in the NEP 2020 guidelines.

Dr.Seema Rekha, the parent of a grade 3 student at Vega school says, “Vega school’s approach towards learning is quite different from other schools. The PBL-Problem Based Learning approach not only helped my child to learn in a more interactive way, but it also encourages the learners to satisfy their inquisitiveness through probing, and applying that learning in the real world. I have seen a tremendous transformation in the overall learning & development of my 8 year old over the last three years since we shifted her to the PBL module and away from the conventional rote based learning at her previous school.”

Conceptual learning will also help strengthen a child’s foundational skills, understanding, comprehension capabilities and aptitude as they develop; enabling them to further their chances of establishing successful careers in the future.

NEP Pillar 4: Reforms in Assessment of the Students: NEP 2020 guidelines require ‘Assessment reforms’ with revised learning outcomes (LO’s) whereby the progress of the students are tracked on the basis of qualitative (skill-based) and quantitative (core concepts based) methods. A complete overhaul of the present assessment system is required to ensure fair and accurate analysis of students’ potential. Traditional assessments were based on the conventional method of testing, however in the revised assessment system, the learners should be asked to perform real world tasks based on competency based assessment framework. While the traditional assessment assessed basic knowledge of the curriculum content, the NEP based assessment assesses the learner’s ability to apply knowledge of the content in solving a real life problem. Previously, there was more focus on a learner’s ability to memorize and recall the course content, however, for a holistic development, the NEP 2020 equips the students with problem solving capabilities, logical reasoning and critical thinking with a focus on learners ability to relate data with knowledge.