Parliament Question: New Education Policy, 2020

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 110 ANSWERED ON 08.12.2025 New Education Policy, 2020 *110. Dr. Gumma Thanuja Rani: Shri M K Raghavan: Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state: (a) the current status of implementation of the New Education Policy (NEP), 2020 in the country along with the States that have adopted and implemented the NEP, State-wise; (b) the challenges faced in the implementation of the NEP, 2020 particularly in rural areas; (c) whether it is a fact that there is opposition to adoption of the NEP, 2020 with concerns over increasing Government interference in the autonomy of educational institutions and if so, the details thereof; (d) whether the Government of Kerala has agreed to implement the NEP in the State and if so, the details thereof; and (e) whether there is any provision in the said policy for States opting not to implement the NEP and if so, the details thereof alongwith the steps taken by the Government to engage with stakeholders to address their concerns regarding the implementation of the NEP, 2020? ANSWER MINISTER OF EDUCATION (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN) (a) to (e): A statement is laid on the table of the House. *****STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) TO (E) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 110 FOR REPLY ON 08.12.2025 ASKED BY DR. GUMMA THANUJA RANI AND SHRI M K RAGHAVAN, HON’BLE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT REGARDING NEW EDUCATION POLICY, 2020 (a): 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, a series of significant initiatives have been undertaken in line with the vision of NEP 2020 such as:- Samagra Shiksha, an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre- school to class 12 aims for improving school effectiveness measured in terms of equal opportunities for schooling and equitable learning outcomes. The structure has been modified from 10+2 to 5+3+3+4 corresponding to Foundational, Preparatory, Middle and Secondary stages. The scheme is in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal for Education (SDG-4) and has been fully aligned with the recommendation of the National Education Policy 2020. PM POSHAN Scheme: Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) Scheme has been revamped and extended to cover students of Balvatika in addition to students of Classes I-VIII in Government and Government-Aided Schools. In a pivotal move, setting up of School Nutrition Gardens (SNG) are encouraged in all schools and to further strengthen community participation, a special initiative named ‘Tithi Bhojan’ has been initiated. National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF FS) was launched on 20th October, 2022. Based on this, Learning Teaching Material (Jadui Pitara) and Textbooks for classes I and II have been released. National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) was released on 23rd August 2023. Under NCF-SE, the curriculum has been aligned with the National Education Policy 2020, emphasizing the 5+3+3+4 design of schooling. This framework addresses the entire educational journey from the foundational to secondary stages. Textbooks for classes 3 to 8 as per NCF-SE (2023) have been released. National Mission for universalizing Foundational Literacy and Numeracy called National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN BHARAT) was launched on 5th July 2021. Vidya Pravesh (VP), a 3 Months Play Based School Preparation Module was developed and launched on 29th July, 2021. The module is of 12 weeks with developmentally appropriate instruction for the children entering of Grade I to bolster a child’s pre-literacy, pre-numeracy, cognitive and social skills. Vidya Pravesh is now an annual calendar and more than 4.2 crore children in Grade I have been benefitted from VP. Norms and standards for 4-year integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP) has been notified vide gazette notification dated 22.10.2021 by NCTE. From 2023-24 to 2024-25, 64 institutions granted recognition for 4-year integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP) with an intake of 6,100. Vidya Sameeksha Kendra (VSK) was launched on 06.09.2020.National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) launched on 21st August 2019 and extended to cover teachers at all levels of schooling including training of master trainers for ECCE. PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) was set up on 8th February, 2023, to fulfil the objectives of setting norms, standards, guidelines and implement activities related to student assessment. PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan was conducted on 4th December 2024 covering the entire spectrum of schools, including Government Schools (Central and State Government), Government-Aided Schools, and Private Schools across all 36 States and UTs. The primary aim of this nationwide survey was to assess the foundational, preparatory, and middle stages of schooling by assessing sampled students in Grades 3, 6, and 9. National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) defines the work of teachers and makes explicit elements of high-quality, effective teaching in 21st century schools that will improve educational outcomes for students. NCTE has developed a guiding document that outlines the competencies that teachers should possess to effectively perform their roles. NPST guiding document released on 9th March 2024 and is now available in 22 Indian Scheduled languages and Braille Version & Audio format. National Mission for Mentoring (NMM) is about the creation of a large pool of outstanding professionals willing to provide mentoring to school teachers. The ‘Bluebook on NMM’ was released on 9th March 2024 and is now available in 22 Indian Scheduled languages and Braille Version & Audio format. Under PM e-VIDYA, DIKSHA 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). DTH Channels of SWAYAM PRABHA have been expanded to 200 channels and are for School Education, meant to support and reach those who do not have access to the internet with a total of 92,147 Video Contents equals 30585 hours of telecast received from States/UTs/ABs in 30 languages. PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme was launched on 7th September 2022 with an aim to develop more than 14500 selected schools as exemplar schools that offers leadership to other schools in the neighbourhood, showcasing all the initiatives of NEP 2020. ULLAS (Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Adult Education, aligns with NEP 2020 and aims to provide educational opportunities to the non-literates of aged 15 years and above. A dedicated Mobile App was launched on 29.07.2023 for registering learners and volunteer teachers and also enable teaching learning process by providing access to primers in 26 languages. More than 3.09 crore Learners and 46.52 lakh Volunteer Teachers (VTs) have been registered. Till date, 5 States/UTs i.e. Ladakh, Goa, Mizoram, Tripura and Himachal Pradesh have been declared fully literate. District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) are being developed as centres of excellence in a phased manner in the next five years for strengthening teacher training.A series of transformative reforms and initiatives have also been undertaken in the Higher Education sector under the vision of NEP 2020. In the area of academic frameworks and standardisation, significant steps have been taken such as the implementation of the National Credit Framework (NCrF) and its Standard Operating Procedure to enable seamless integration of academic, vocational, and experiential learning across levels of education. Further, National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF) aims to standardize qualification levels across academic and vocational streams for equivalence and comparability. The introduction of the Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR ID) provides students with a lifelong academic identity to track their learning journey from pre-primary to higher education. Over 2600 universities and HEIs have been onboarded on the ABC portal, and more than 4.50 crore students are already registered. To improve access and affordability, the PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme has been launched, enabling meritorious students to avail collateral-free, guarantor-free education loans through a simple, transparent, and digital process. Additionally, 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. To promote multilingual education, the Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak Scheme, as per the Budget announcement 2025–26, has been envisaged to provide textbooks across various school and higher education subjects in 22 Indian languages in digital format over the next three years. Further, UGC allows that students can write the answers in local languages in examinations even if the programmes is offered in English medium and promote translation of original writing in local languages and use of local language in the teaching-learning process at universities. 41 Institutions are offering Engineering Courses across 10 States in 12 regional languages. CUET conducted in 13 Languages and participated by around 240 Institutions. JEE (Mains) and NEET (UG) conducted in 13 languages involving about more than 30 lakhs students. Digital education has been strengthened through the integration of the SWAYAM platform, which now allows up to 40% of total programme credits to be earned through online courses. A total of 404 universities have adopted SWAYAM, with more than 5 crore cumulative enrolments and around 10 lakh certifications per year. To support skill development, the SWAYAM Plus portal has also been launched, focusing on upskilling and reskilling the workforce. Over 4.65 lakh students have registered so far. To boost research and innovation, the Government has established the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), which seeks to harness the research potential of universities and colleges, support academic research, and facilitate translational research in emerging technologies and national priority areas. The ANRF aims to mobilize ₹50,000 crore during 2023–28, including ₹14,000 crore from the Central Government, with the remaining sourced from public sector enterprises, the private sector, philanthropies, and international bodies, through various funds such as the ANRF Fund, Innovation Fund, and Science and Engineering Research Fund.Also, Prime Minister Research Fellowship (PMRF) is being implemented for improving the quality of research in various higher educational institutions in the country. With attractive fellowships, it seeks to attract the best talent into research thereby realizing the vision of development through innovation. 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 has been announced in Budget 2025-26 for a total outlay of Rs. 500.0 Cr. Promoting internationalisation of education, the Government has enabled the setting up of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions (FHEIs) in India. 13 Letters of Intent have been issued to FHEIs from Australia, Italy, United Kingdom and USA to set up their campuses at various places in India including Bengaluru (Karnataka), Delhi NCR, Mumbai (Maharashtra) and Chennai (Tamil Nadu). Among these, University of Southampton, UK commenced its courses in August, 2025 at its campus in Gurugram, Haryana. Under International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) Regulations 2022, approvals have been accorded to 5 universities from UK, Australia and Northern Ireland for operating offshore branch campuses in GIFT City SEZ, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Among these 5 universities, Deakin University, Australia commenced its courses in July, 2024, and University of Wollongong, Australia commenced its courses in November, 2024. In addition, Indian institutions are also establishing a global presence, with IIT Delhi’s campus in Abu Dhabi and IIT Madras in Tanzania. These steps support the goal of making India a global hub for education. Additionally, regulatory provisions now allow for Twinning, Joint Degree, and Dual Degree Programmes through academic collaboration between Indian and foreign HEIs, with 103 institutions currently offering such programmes out of 230 eligible universities. India’s standing in global rankings has significantly improved, with 54 Indian HEIs featured in the QS Rankings 2026, as compared to 11 in 2015. The QS Subject Rankings for 2025 included 79 Indian HEIs, an increase of 10 from the previous year's 69, reflecting a 14% growth in the number of higher education institutions. As per QS Asia ranking 2026, 294 Indian Higher Education Institutions features. To promote industry-academia collaboration, the Professor of Practice scheme has been introduced, facilitating the engagement of around 18,216 domain experts across 526 HEIs. Efforts are also being made to strengthen cultural and traditional knowledge systems, with the systematic integration of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) into higher education curricula to promote Indian values, heritage, and indigenous knowledge. IKS Scheme has been extended from 2025-26 to 2029-30 with a financial outlay of Rs. 405.78 Crore to bridge the gap between scientifically evidenced and researched tradition Indian knowledge systems and contemporary knowledge systems. (b) to (e): Education is subject of concurrent list and both Central and State government work collaboratively to ensure comprehensive, and progressive enhancement of overall quality and growth within the education sector. NEP 2020 does not intend to take away the powers of the State to legislate on education and rather it requires careful planning, joint monitoring, and collaborative implementation between the Centre and States for execution of the policy.To create awareness and discuss innovative ideas for NEP implementation, a series of workshops / consultation-cum-review meetings have been held with States/UTs, Educational Institutions, other stakeholders from time to time. Implementation of NEP 2020 was discussed in National Education Ministers' Conference held in Gujarat in June 2022; National Conference of Chief Secretaries held in June 2022; 7th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog held in August 2022; Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025; 9th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog held on 27th July 2024; Two-day National Workshop on Higher and Technical Education with Secretaries of States/UTs on 12th & 13th November 2024; Two-day Vice Chancellors’ Conference of Central Universities in Kevadia, Gujarat on 10th & 11th July 2025 to focus on Central Universities’ role as drivers of educational transformation and their contribution to Viksit Bharat @2047, review progress and set the future roadmap; A National Workshop on Multidisciplinary Education & Research University (MERU) under Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM USHA) from 30th April to 1st May, 2025 to discuss topics like UGC Regulations for NEP Implementation, Clustering and Collaboration for Multidisciplinary Education, Holistic Education through Integration of Skilling and Industry Connect, etc. National Conference on Curricular and Assessment Equivalence and Improving Learning Outcomes was organised on 02.07.2025. The Conference witnessed participation of over 250 senior officials. Key highlights included the launch of the PARAKH Dissemination Portal, presentations on State-level best practices, deliberations on frameworks for Board equivalence, and strategies for enhancing learning outcomes in alignment with the objectives of NEP 2020. NEP 2020 provides different timelines as well as principles and methodology for its implementation. Accordingly, Ministry of Education, State Governments, education-related Ministries, the regulatory and implementing bodies of school and higher education such as University Grants Commission, All India Council for Technical Education, National Council for Teacher Education, National Council of Educational Research and Training, Central Board of Secondary Education, Universities/Colleges/Schools etc. have started taking initiatives for implementation of NEP 2020. ****