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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 532
ANSWERED ON 04.02.2026
Effective implementation of the National Education Policy, 2020
532# Shri Tejveer Singh:
Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state:
(a) the details of structural reforms made recently in higher and school education to ensure the efficient
implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020;
(b) the details of the new initiatives related to digital education, skill integration and the multiple entry–
exit system; and
(c) the concrete progress made so far in enrolment, learning outcomes and employment-oriented
education as a result of these policy reforms?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
(DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR)
(a) to (c): After announcement of National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), a number of
transformative changes have taken place both in school and higher education for its implementation.
In School Education several initiatives have been taken such as PM SHRI (PM Schools for Rising
India) for upgradation of schools; Samagra Shiksha for providing quality education with an inclusive
and equitable classroom environment for all children; National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading
with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat) for ensuring foundational literacy and numeracy
by Grade 3; Vidya-Pravesh–Guidelines for Three-month Play-based School Preparation Module; PM
e-VIDYA to unify all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to enable coherent multi-mode
access to education; launch of National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF FS) and
Jadui Pitara for play-based learning teaching material tailored for children between the age group of 3
to 8 years; NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement) 1.0,
2.0 and 3.0; Vidya Samiksha Kendra; Integrated Teacher Education Programme; National Digital
Education Architecture (NDEAR) for creating a unifying national digital infrastructure to energise and
catalyse the education ecosystem; implementation of a scheme “New India Literacy Programme or
ULLAS” targeting all non-literates age 15 years and above, etc.
In Higher Education, various initiatives / reforms have been carried out such as National Credit
Framework (NCrF) and National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF) in conjunctionwith guidelines / regulations like Curriculum and Credit Framework for Undergraduate Programme;
Multiple Entry and Exit in Academic Programme offered by Higher Education Institutions;
Transforming HEIs into multi-disciplinary Institutions; pursuing two Academic Programme
simultaneously; Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR ID) of individual student
which will act as lifelong identity to track their educational journey and achievements from, pre-
primary to higher education; introduction of PM-Vidyalaxmi scheme to provide financial support to
meritorious students inter-alia enabling collateral free, guarantor free loan through a simple,
transparent and student-friendly and entirely digital application process; revised regulation of ODL /
Online Education; re-envisioned Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Program to build competencies
in faculty for better teaching; permitting up to 40% credits in regular courses using SWAYAM
platform; launch of new SWAYAM Plus portal with aim to enhance skill and upskilling and reskilling
of existing manpower employed in different sectors; Integration of technology in administration of
HEIs from admission to grant of degree through SAMARTH; guidelines on Professor of Practice to
enable HEIs to work with industry experts; guidelines for supernumerary seats for admitting students
from abroad in Indian HEIs; Academic collaboration between Indian and Foreign HEIs to offer
Twinning, Joint Degree and Dual Degree Programmes; Regulation for permitting Foreign HEIs to setup
campuses in India; enhanced reputation of the Indian HEIs in international ranking; embedding of
Indian Knowledge system in the education etc.
Under PM e-VIDYA, DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing) is the one nation, one
digital education infrastructure. All states/UTs have been onboarded in DIKSHA. This digital
infrastructure is artificial intelligence based and is highly scalable. This infrastructure is also being
utilized for creating Energized Textbooks (ETBs) and presently 7,497 ETBs are published on DIKSHA.
There are total of 3,74,460 e-contents available on DIKSHA and eContent available in 135 languages
(128 Indian + 7 Foreign Languages).
SWAYAM Prabha is a national initiative that delivers quality educational content through a network
of DTH television channels, ensuring continuous learning for students, especially in remote and rural
regions. Currently, the platform hosts over 94,000 hours of educational video lectures online. The
SWAYAM Prabha DTH network has expanded to 200 school-education channels, offering 1,04,737
video programs totaling 31,034 broadcast hours in 45 languages.
Employability Skill module has been included as a part of Job Roles/SWAYAM courses in the
curriculum which includes Communication Skills, Self-Management Skills, Information and
Communication Technology Skills, Entrepreneurship Skills, and Green Skills.
Under Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) by NITI Aayog, Atal Tinkering Labs have been established in
schools to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), robotics, electronics,
and 3D printing.The regulatory frameworks for Open and Distance Learning (ODL) and Online Education have been
revised to ensure quality and parity with regular programmes. As of now, 126 HEIs are offering nearly
802 online programmes and 121 HEIs are running around 1699 ODL programmes.
Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM) launched in collaboration with
IIT Madras, hosts content curated by premier institutions and is available free of cost with the approach
of “Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime” Learning. More than 4400 unique courses
have been delivered with cumulative enrolments of more than 5.64 Crores. To support skill
development, the SWAYAM Plus portal has also been launched, focusing on upskilling and reskilling
the workforce. At present, over 480 Courses across 16 sectors are available on the platform.
Union Budget 2026-27 has announced setting up of 5 University Townships in the vicinity of major
industrial and logistic corridors and 1 girls’ hostel in every district through Viability Gap Funding
/capital support to encourage enrolment of girls in STEM institutes/ courses.
For realizing the vision of "Make AI in India and Make Al work for India", the Government had
approved establishment of three Centres of Excellence (CoE) in Artificial Intelligence (AI) with a total
financial outlay of Rs. 990.00 Cr over the period of FY 2023-24 to FY 2027-28. Ministry of Education
approved three academic institutions for establishment of three Centres of Excellence (CoE) – CoE of
AI in Health at IISc Bengaluru, CoE of AI in Agriculture at IIT Ropar and CoE of AI in Sustainable
Cities at IIT Kanpur. Further, a new Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Education announced in Budget
2025-26 for a total outlay of Rs. 500.0 Cr, is being led by IIT Madras.
The UGC has notified the “Guidelines for Multiple Entry and Exit in Academic Programmes offered
in Higher Education Institutions”. The guidelines create possibilities for students to learn at their own
pace, while changing the Higher Education Institution as per their preference, convenience, or
necessity. The flexibilities enable freedom to exit in between a programme of study, for any reason,
and resume it later or continue the rest of the study in another HEI or leave it altogether with an
appropriate qualification.
According to Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE +) 2024-25, India’s
school education system saw measurable improvements across key educational indicators. The
academic year 2024–25 has seen a notable reduction in dropout rates across the Preparatory (from 3.7%
to 2.3%), Middle (from 5.2% to 3.5%), and Secondary levels (from 10.9% to 8.2%) as compared to
2023-24. Student retention improved across all levels in 2024–25. The foundational level increased
from 98.0 percent to 98.9 percent. The preparatory level increased from 85.4 percent to 92.4 percent.
The middle level increased from 78.0 percent to 82.8 percent. The secondary level increased from 45.6
percent to 47.2 percent. The academic year 2024–25 recorded an increase in the Gross Enrolment Ratio
at the middle and secondary levels. The middle level rose from 89.5 percent to 90.3 percent. Thesecondary level rose from 66.5 percent to 68.5 percent. This growth reflects enhanced access to
education and increased student participation in higher grades.
“PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024” was conducted across India on 04.12.2024, to understand the
baseline performance in development of competencies among the students at the end of the
Foundational, Preparatory, and Middle stages (Grades 3, 6, and 9 respectively). Nationwide over 21.15
lakh students and 2.70 lakh teachers from more than 74,229 schools across 781 districts from all
States/UTs participated in the survey.
In higher education, an annual web based ‘All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE)’ is a
comprehensive data source on higher education. AISHE 2022–23 (provisional) reports rise in number
of University / University Level Institutions and Colleges from 760 to 1213 and from 38498 to 46624
respectively, as compared to AISHE 2014-15. Enrolment in higher education has risen from 3.42 crore
in 2014-15 to 4.46 crore in 2022-23, with female enrolment from 1.57 crore to 2.18 crore. The
enrolment of SC students is 69.13 Lakh in 2022-23 as compared to 46.07 Lakh in 2014.15. The
enrolment of ST students has increased to 28.72 Lakh in 2022-23 from 16.41 Lakh in 2014-15. Total
STEM enrolment stands at 99.76 lakh. Number of faculty has also increased from 14.73 lakh in 2014-
15 to 16.64 lakh in 2022-23, with number of female faculty increased from 5.7 lakh to 7.36 lakh. Overall
GER has improved from 23.7 in 2014-15 to 29.5 in 2022-23.
The Ministry of Education also implements the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) to
impart on-the-job training and enhance the employability of youth.
AICTE is actively strengthening skill development by embedding it into technical education. It partners
with industries and institutions to offer online skill courses aligned with the regular curriculum, along
with skill-focused programmes, compulsory internships, and vocational degrees such as Bachelor of
Vocation (B.Voc). These initiatives are designed to build students’ practical abilities and improve
employability. Based on self-reported figures from AICTE-approved institutions, diploma placements
grew from 1,80,866 in 2023–24 to 1,91,801 in 2024–25. Undergraduate placements also increased
significantly, from 4,10,843 to 4,71,227 during the same period. Additionally, AICTE has signed MoUs
with leading industries and organisations to support internships, skill-building, and faculty upskilling,
including hands-on exposure to Industry 4.0 technologies.
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