Union Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan addressed today’s inaugural session on the 2nd day of the National School Education Ministers’ Conference. Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel; Chief Minister of Goa Shri Pramod Sawant; Union Ministers of State for Education and Skill Development, Education Ministers of State Governments Chairperson of Steering committee for developing a new National Curriculum Framework, Shri K Kasturirangan and senior officials from Ministry of Education and State Governments attended the conference.
On occasion, Shri Pradhan said that school education is the foundation of a knowledge-based society. The National education policy (NEP) is a knowledge document that aims to promote overall development and make Education accessible.
The Minister said that we are in the age of Amrit Kaal. The following 25 years are crucial to establishing India as a knowledge economy committed to global welfare, he added. We are a civilization that believes in Vasudhaiv Kutumbukam, and we must realize that we have responsibilities for our nation and that of the world.
The Minister urged that as we prepare for the opportunities and challenges of the 21st century, we must leverage technology to strengthen our education & skilling ecosystem. Yesterday, during the visit to various education and skilling institutions, he added that we all got a glimpse of multiple dimensions of 21st-century futuristic education systems.
The Minister highlighted the 5+3+3+4 approach of NEP covering pre-school to secondary, emphasis on ECCE, teacher training & adult education, integration of skill development with school education and prioritizing learning in the mother tongue, which are steps for preparing global citizens of the 21st century.
The Minister informed that the Government is establishing PM Shri schools that will be fully equipped to prepare students for the future. These state-of-the-art schools will be the laboratory of NEP 2020. He solicited suggestions and feedback from all our states/UTs and the entire education ecosystem for creating a futuristic benchmark model in the form of PM Shri schools.
The Minister stressed that experience and knowledge sharing from all state Education Ministers in structured and outcome-based discussions at the conference today would lead one step further towards transforming the learning landscape, in line with the NEP 2020. He expressed confidence that the deliberations in this conference will go a long way in strengthening the education system across the country.
Addressing a conference Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Bhupendra Patel clearly stated that, realizing the need to constantly redefine and redesign the teaching and learning process, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has changed the 34-year-old education policy and has given the new national education policy to the country considering knowledge as the best treasure as per our culture. The entire nation is joining hands under the leadership of the Prime Minister to realize the goal of the National Education Policy to provide equal and high-quality education to all.
The CM added that Education, health and security are critical factors in developing any nation, state or society. Providing inclusive and equitable Education in place of stereotyped and outdated Education is the need of the hour. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given this New Education Policy with the commitment to provide such timely Education to the children and future generations of the nation.
During the eight-year tenure of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, many new initiatives have been taken in the country; New Education Policy is one of them. As a result of this policy, the nation’s youth will also get higher Education in their regional language. Expenditure on Education in the country has almost been doubled; at the same time, enough emphasis has been placed on skill development, and the skills of 1.34 crore youth of the country have been enhanced.
Chief Minister also expressed confidence that this two-day conference organized in Gujarat under Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav of education ministers and academics from across the nation will strengthen the education sector more efficiently.
Education Minister of Gujarat Shri Jitu Vaghani was delighted that Union Minister of Education Shri Dharmendra Pradhan and Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel for giving Gujarat a chance to host this National Conference and taking a lot of pride in it. He said that The ‘National Conference for School Education Ministers’ program would be an essential step toward bringing the education sector to a new high with the help of technology, effective implementation of new education policy and realizing the vision of our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi of New India.
Minister Shri Jitu Vaghani further said that the National Education Policy is a policy that experts have carefully studied. With its implementation, we will be able to see a new change in society. National Education Policy – will prove to be an essential document for the future of the country and the new India. Thus implementation of such a policy is the responsibility of all of us. Education is our most significant responsibility to society, and the new education policy will be a golden step in fulfilling this responsibility with complete allegiance.
In her introductory remarks to give the perspective of the conference Secretary, School Education, Government of India, Smt. Anita Karwal, said that to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, a multi-pronged and holistic approach needs to be taken to ensure that children receive the proper support. She informed that a comprehensive learning recovery plan (LRP) had been prepared, which delineates the action to be undertaken by each stakeholder, indicative, annual calendar of activities, existing interventions which can be utilized and additional support with funding as a one-time measure. The states and UTs may follow interventions in their Project Approval Board proposal:
- Learning Enhancement Program (LEP) for all students.
- Teacher Resource Package (TRP)
- Oral Reading Fluency Study (ORF)
- Information and Communication Technology facility to Block Resource Centers: ICT facilities at the BRC level
- Strengthening of Cluster Resource Centers- Mobility support to CRCs
On the side-lines of the conference, Union Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan and Education Ministers of States/UTs, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MoS Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Electronics & Information Technology; Smt. Annapurna Devi, MoS for Education; Dr. Subhas Sarkar, MoS for Education and senior officials of the Ministry of Education visited Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK), Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG), National Forensic Science University (NFSU) and International Automobile Centre of Excellence (SACE) on 1st June 2022.