The union Education Ministry is planning to set up “PM Shri Schools”. The schools will be the laboratory of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. They will be fully equipped to prepare students for the future. It is to replace the 10+2 Schooling System with a new education system 5+3+3+4. 5 years in the Foundational stage, 3 years in the preparatory and middle stage and 4 years in the secondary stage. Here is the age wise breakdown of the different levels of the new school education system.
- Foundational Stage (play or activity based) pre-school/Anganwadi class 1, 2 (for ages 3 – 8) – In this stage, 3 years of preschool or Anganwadi followed by class 1 and class 2. This stage will focus on the development of language skills.
- Preparatory Stage (focus on language development and numeracy skills) (for ages 8 to 11, and classes 3 to 5) – This stage focus on teaching and learning would be play and activity-based and classroom interactions.
- Middle Stage (for ages 11 to 14, for classes 6 to 8) – This stage of school education will focus on critical learning objectives, which is a big shift from the rote learning methods used in our education system for years. This stage will also work on experiential learning in the sciences, mathematics, arts, social sciences and humanities.
- Secondary Stage (for ages 14 to 18, for classes 9 to 12) – Two phases of classes 9 and 10, 11 and 12 will be covered in this stage. In this stage, students will have access to a variety of subject combinations that they can choose as per their skills and interest areas instead of being strictly divided into arts, science and commerce categories. This stage will access critical thinking and flexibility.
- The aim of PM Shri Schools is to achieve ‘universal foundational literacy and Numeracy’ in primary schools by 2025. For this, the ministry of Human Resource Development shall set up a National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy.
- The policy states that universal participation in schools shall be achieved by tracking students and their learning levels to ensure they are enrolled and attending school and have suitable opportunities to rejoin or catch up at school in case they have dropped out or fallen behind.
- This policy (NEP) is made by a panel of experts led by former ISRO chief K. Kasturirangan has discussed the issues and changes that will happen in the Indian education system from school to college to employment.
NEP envisions a system in which schools and higher education institutes allow students to pick and choose subjects based on their interests and abilities. This means that an engineering student must also be able to study economics or design at the same institute.
