NEP 2020 to bring paradigm shift in education ecosystem — Prof. Patnaik

DIMAPUR — Vice Chancellor of Nagaland University, Prof. Jagadish Kumar Patnaik, on Monday, said that National Education Policy 2020 is set to bring about a paradigm shift in the education ecosystem in the state of Nagaland.

“While the entire country is geared up to implement the policy, Nagaland is also not lagging behind. There has been a concerted effort on the part of each and every stakeholder to contribute one’s bit to bring the policy to reality,” the Vice Chancellor said.

In a status report of Nagaland University vis a vis NEP 2020, Patnaik said that the serious and dedicated contribution in this direction has been from the administrators representing the government, civil society and school and college teachers.

“There is no doubt that we in Nagaland are going step by step covering each component of the policy. For example, we were exempt for the last two years from the national entrance test for admission to the undergraduate programme,” he said.

The vice chancellor said that Nagaland University has already implemented the academic bank of credit (ABC), which is one of the important aspects of the digitisation process to enable multiple entry and exit by the student at different levels.

“Multiple entry and exit system offers the student the flexibility to take a break from academia and engage in some hands-on training through employment and get back to academics again. This system is, in fact, one of the key highlights of the policy,” Patnaik said.

He also went on to state that Nagaland University’s Academic Council has approved the implementation of the Four-Year Undergraduate Program (FYUP) with effect from July 2023.

This decision, he informed, has been taken after a series of interactions and consultations with the stakeholders for implementation at the college level – the principals, higher education commissioner, director and others.

There have been efforts on the part of the University to attend to each and every issue relating to the implementation of the FYUP, he added.

“By bringing the Indian knowledge system into the curriculum, we help our children understand our rich tradition but also take it to the world stage. For example, a course on Naga Cuisine will not only make the younger generation educated about its importance but also can reach the world through entrepreneurship and start-up.

 “A course on the much-variegated nature of Naga art and culture can help our children to know about each other’s customs and traditions. The cultural mosaic of Nagaland consisting of sixteen tribes shall be enriched with research and innovation undertaken by the academic community,” the academician said.

Maintaining that the NEP 2020 underscores the importance of local language and literature, the vice chancellor also informed that to revive Naga languages and literature, the university has established a Centre for Naga Tribal Language Studies.

“Many colleges are offering Ao and Tenydie languages at the undergraduate level. These courses will have more takers with the encouragement from NEP 2020.

“The whole idea is to take advantage of the transformation of the education ecosystem and enable our children relevant to the job market. By implementing this policy, we can make our children not only job seekers but job creators as well,” Patnaik added.