As India approaches the Union Budget 2026, the spotlight is on the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, with experts calling for a focused drive towards executing its ambitious goals. Nikhil Barshikar, Founder and CEO of Imarticus Learning and Chairman of the Advisory Council at Imarticus School of Finance & Business, has praised NEP 2020 for its comprehensive framework but emphasised the urgent need for scaled execution in both schools and higher education.
In his pre-budget remarks, Barshikar stated, “NEP 2020 is a well-designed and forward-looking policy that provides India with a clear, coherent framework across schools and higher education.” He acknowledged that the policy had successfully outlined the fundamentals of education, ranging from foundational learning and teacher development to the creation of multidisciplinary universities, credit mobility, and global integration. However, he emphasised that the real opportunity lies in translating this policy framework into action.
Referring to the challenges in India’s school education system, Barshikar pointed to the critical shortage of teachers. “In schools, the challenge is capacity and delivery. India still faces an estimated 1 million-plus teacher vacancies, even as the system serves over 250 million students,” he said. Bridging this gap, according to Barshikar, will require significant investment in teacher recruitment, continuous professional training, and the expansion of digital teaching infrastructure. He particularly stressed the need for a focus on early-grade education, where improving learning outcomes has the highest long-term impact on student success.
Turning to higher education, Barshikar highlighted the considerable distance between NEP 2020’s ambitions and the current reality. “In higher education, the distance from NEP’s ambitions is visible in the numbers. Gross Enrolment remains around 28%, well below the 50% target, research spending continues to stay under 1% of GDP, and the number of truly multidisciplinary, globally benchmarked universities remains limited,” he observed. He called for a targeted push in the upcoming budget to accelerate implementation, particularly in three areas: enabling foreign universities to operate meaningfully in India, strengthening credit transfer and mobility for students, and supporting the emergence of universities that focus on research, technology, and employability.
Barshikar concluded by asserting that while policy clarity is already in place, the success of NEP 2020 will ultimately depend on execution, funding, and institutional capacity. “Policy clarity exists; outcomes will now depend on execution, funding, and institutional capacity,” he said, underlining the importance of the upcoming budget in driving the next phase of educational transformation.
