The National Education Policy (NEP) is not a document of a few pages, but has a lot of new features for the benefit of students, stated Union Education and Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday, 21 January.
Though education is in the concurrent list of the states, the Centre expects Tamil Nadu to accept the NEP, he said.
Pradhan said this while addressing the 34th convocation of Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
He added that the Union government is open to ideas and new methods when it comes to the NEP.
Language connect
Pradhan recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphatically said that all should learn their mother tongue and the NEP will help students learn, read, and write in their mother tongue during the foundational years.
Our languages may be different, but our spirit is one. pic.twitter.com/Zj7EKgCWn1
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) January 21, 2023
He added that the government has asked the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to publish books in all Indian languages from this academic year onwards.
The holistic development of the children will be better if they study in their mother tongue and India’s education sector focuses on employability, empowerment, and enlightenment, Pradhan stated.
At the forefront
Calling technology a new disrupter, the Union minister said that millions of people use mobile phones. “Internet and smartphones are basic requirements today, and we were dependent on foreign technologies like Android or iOS. However, IIT Madras has developed technology for the indigenous 5G a few days ago,” he pointed out.
An appeal to the Avinashilingam family.@AvinashilingamW pic.twitter.com/FsKII0Ov9m
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) January 21, 2023
Referring to COVID-19 vaccines, Pradhan said, “Indians have taken the vaccine, but no one in the world got their certificate within a few seconds after taking it, like it happened in our country. It is such type of technology we are developing in India.”
Highlighting women empowerment, the Union minister said, “Tamil Nadu is much more ahead of the rest of the country and the state has the highest number of working women in the country. India is the mother of democracy and Tamil Nadu is the epicentre.”
Also Read: Experts slam NEP for saying eggs, meat cause lifestyle disorder
Discussions with students
During India’s G20 Presidency this year, he said, “I expect discussion and deliberation to take place about this at the university.”
Later, replying to a question on decreased budget allocation for the NEP, the Union minister said that it was wrong information.
India’s youth is confident, driven by purpose and has a great vision for our country.
Loved the spontaneous interactions with students of @AvinashilingamW today afternoon. For our #NariShakti and our #AmritGeneration, sky is the limit. pic.twitter.com/NIBx94ZECo
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) January 21, 2023
“The government and Finance Ministry are extending full support to the new education policy, and in the next budget more funds will be allocated,” he stated.
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