Academics across Amritsar hail National Education Policy

Tribune News Service

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Amritsar, July 31

The New Education Policy — 2020 approved by the Central Government has received a positive response from most academics in the city. With focus on practical education and reducing burden on students, some senior academics have praised the move calling it a welcome change.

Among other recommendations of the New Education Policy, the one that stands out is the move to introduce regional language (mother tongue) as the medium of instruction up to Class V. This recommendation will relieve the students of the undue stress. — Kulwant Singh Ankhi, president of the Amritsar Vikas Manch

Kulwant Singh Ankhi, president of the Amritsar Vikas Manch, and retired educator, said the new policy was expected to discourage cramming or rote learning through repetition and promote teaching by focussing on practical aspects.

“Among other recommendations of the New Education Policy, the one that stands out is the move to introduce regional language (mother tongue) as the medium of instruction up to Class V. This recommendation will relieve the students of the undue stress. It is also a step towards saving our regional languages from extinctionbyv giving them their due importance,” he said.

He said another important recommendation to give students a free hand regarding subjects of their choice from Classes IX to XII will help reduce the academic stress. “In the present system, students interested in science subjects had to study History, Political science, Geography etc, without adding any value to their academic pursuit,” he said.

Renu Sharma, a government school teacher from city, too said the standards of education are also expected to improve as the investment in education has been raised from 4.43 to 6 per cent of the total GDP.

“This academic year has already paved way for educational reforms and with the New Education Policy, government must ensure that the implementation of the recommendations is quick and without any glitches so that students can reap maximum benefits out of it without any hassle,” she said.