5 years of NEP: Centre launches digital initiatives for career guidance, language learning

As the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 turns five, the Union Ministry of Education on Tuesday launched several digital initiatives for career guidance and language learning.

One such digital initiative by the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL) is the TARA (Teacher’s Assistant for Reading Assessment) app designed by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay. The app aims to assess and improve reading fluency among Class III to Class VIII students.

Researchers from IIT, Bombay, had teamed up with language experts and teachers to create a mobile app to measure oral reading fluency automatically using speech processing and machine learning technology.

The app uses audio recordings of children reading passages aloud and generates key ORF metrics, including words correct per minute. The app has already been adopted by 1,200 Kendriya Vidyalayas.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the digital initiatives during the inauguration of Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam (ABSS) 2025 to commemorate five years of the NEP 2020. He unveiled projects more than Rs 4,000 crore, including new initiatives, campus inaugurations and foundation stone laying.

Developed in collaboration with the Wadhwani Foundation and PSSCIVE (a constituent unit of NCERT), career advisor app aims to provide personalised career guidance to school students across the country.

“It offers access to 1000+ career pathways, including detailed information about job roles, educational requirements, skills needed and future prospects. It features an intelligent recommendation engine that suggests career options based on students’ interests, aptitudes and values, making the guidance truly tailored to each user,” the ministry said.

Another major launch is Bhasha Sagar. The application helps to learn any Indian language without having the need of learning English in between. It will also have an AI-based conversation facilitator using which users will be able to communicate with other language speakers in real time.

Set to be implemented from academic year 2025-26, under alignment with the NEP 2020, IIT, BHU, and IIT, Delhi, have revamped their curriculum.

IIT, BHU, has introduced a new age curriculum designed to offer flexibility and promote multidisciplinary learning for BTech students. The curriculum allows flexible movement between a second major and a minor and includes a semester-long internship in industry, research or start-ups to provide hands-on experience. It also features a flexible entry, exit and re-entry policy.

IIT, Delhi’s, revised structure emphasises flexibility, hands-on learning, environmental sustainability and emerging technologies like the AI and ML.

Nod to varsities

Letters of Intent were presented to foreign universities for establishing their campuses in India

These include Western Sydney University and Victoria University in Australia, which will establish their campuses in Greater Noida and Noida, respectively.

La Trobe University, Australia, will offer undergraduate courses in Business (Finance, Marketing, Management), Computer Science (AI, Software Engineering), and Public Health at its soon to be established campus in Bengaluru.

Ranked 51 in QS World University Ranking, University of Bristol, United Kingdom, will establish its campus in Mumbai