● A new study by Professors Without Borders’ research fellow Kaustubh Dighe examines the implications of the National Education Policy 2020 on higher education institutions and the policy’s potential outcomes.
● The National Education Policy (NEP 2020) aims to create a more competitive national university system and incorporate cultural heritage into the teaching curriculum. The NEP 2020 proposes increased national investment into higher education to centralise policies, advance academic research, and create universities on-par with their European and American counterparts.
● The report examines how the NEP 2020 has a likely chance of leading to an increased and diverse socioeconomic enrolment in higher education due to the decrease of commercialised higher education institutions. Furthermore, the NEP 2020 will create more competitive Indian higher education institutions, thereby lessening the ‘brain-drain’ and establishing a higher academic rigour for students and professors.
PROFESSORS WITHOUT BORDERS PRESS RELEASE 8 JANUARY 2020 | London
‘The Future of Higher Education in India: An Analysis of the National Education Policy 2020’ by Kaustubh Dighe is the latest report from Professors Without Borders.
This paper examines the reforms proposed by the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) in India. The policy constitutes a drastic change to India’s higher education institutions, as it is the first significant reform to higher education in three decades. The reforms aim to distance the education system from a ‘westernised’ concept and create an education system more closely tied to the country’s cultural roots. The cultural reforms constitute one component of the reforms, which aim to create a more competitive higher education sector. Furthermore, the NEP 2020 aims to increase Indian higher education institutions’ competitiveness by promoting academic research, standardising and centralising the regulatory authorities for higher education institutions, expanding and diversifying the educational curriculum for employability, and improving access to higher education by reducing tuition fees.
After examining the NEP 2020, the report concludes which potential outcomes may arise from the policy. Notably, the reduction of commercialisation in higher education institutions and the greater emphasis on education quality create a more employable student body. Furthermore, the new shift in focus to academic research leads to newfound competitiveness on par with other global institutions. The paper finds that these reforms will decrease the number of Indian students who attend foreign universities. While the policy does not directly address the phenomenon of outbound students, the NEP 2020 aims to promote India as a ‘global study destination,’ thereby lessening young students’ inclination to study overseas. The analysis concludes with how the logistics of implementing the NEP 2020 and the implications of a successful implementation.
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Kaustubh Dighe has been a research fellow with Professors Without Borders since 2019 and is currently pursuing his law degree at the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law in India. He is passionate about advocacy and working towards the establishment of basic human rights, including the right to quality education. He believes that the right to quality education is an inalienable fundamental right of each and every person.
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