The Banaras Hindu University (BHU) conducted an open discussion on National Education Policy 2020 on January 12 in hybrid mode with participants from across the country. Those attending the event included academicians, academic administrators, teachers, heads of departments, state education board officials, principals, social workers and other stakeholders.
The discussion was organised by BHU in collaboration with the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) under the Union ministry of education. Its aim was to deliberate extensively on NEP programmes like the National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) and the National Mission for Mentoring (NMM) across the country and prepare a blueprint for implementation.
Two technical sessions were held on NPST and NMM respectively. The first session was presided over by HCS Rathore, former vice-chancellor of South Bihar Central University, Gaya and the second session was presided over by Madhulika Agarwal, dean of the BHU faculty of Science.
Owing to a spike in COVID-19 cases, NCTE chairperson Santosh Kumar Sarangi and member secretary Kesang Yangzom Sherpa joined the programme through the online medium.
During his address, Sarangi said that training of teachers is very important, both before the appointment and during the job. He stated that through NPST, teachers should be divided into four categories – Progressive Teachers, Proficient Teachers, Skilled Teachers and Head Teachers. A module for assessment of teachers is being developed so that they can be easily classified; this will also help them evolve in their career.
Apart from this, through NMM, educational institutions and systems are to be benefited by taking advantage of the experiences of retired teachers who are active even after their retirement.
Anil Singh, participant and professor, stressed that only those who really have an interest in the field of teaching must teach. People who become teachers by accident cannot fulfill their responsibility with sincerity, he added.
Another participant, former principal of Central Hindu School N K Shahi, said, “We have to study every aspect of the National Education Policy very seriously and try to adopt it. Only then will our future generations be able to see the changes that are implicit in the NEP.”
Annapurna Dixit of Arya Mahila PG College participated in the programme, and asked relevant questions about the evaluation methods. Mahesh Sharma from the Central University of Tibetan Studies also gave important suggestions regarding the implementation of NPST, drawing attention to the role of teachers and the changes in the classroom environment after the coronavirus pandemic.