National Education Policy implementation depends on teachers, says Nagaland official

Our Correspondent
Kohima, July 12 (EMN): Teachers and educationists should play a crucial role for effective implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in Nagaland, said Commissioner and Secretary, School Education, and State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Kevileno Angami.

Addressing the one-day seminar on ‘Creating curricular connection in the classroom vis-à-vis multi-disciplinary approach (NEP 2020)’ organised by the Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE) at Capital Convention Centre in Kohima, on Tuesday, she challenged the gathering to move forward and adapt to changes.

“The policies and dialogues will just be on paper and in the workshop rooms if it’s not implemented. Therefore, you have to play a very critical role. Society is dependent on you to bring about this change for adaptation and the smooth transition from the old to the new,” she said. “As teachers and educationists, one has to nurture the children to become problem solvers and be able to take responsibility in the future.”

“It is not just academics anymore. Creativity and ability to take up opportunities and the ability to change challenges into opportunities are the attributes which we have to bring in children. We are to create and provide holistic education to our children,” the official added.

‘The current education system follows a curriculum-based on hard-core subjects. But NEP 2020 has changed the structure and approach to education. It focuses on a multi-disciplinary approach as well as talks about the integration of arts, sports, skill-building, and problem-solving into the curriculum,’ she continued.

Chairman of NBSE, Asano Sekhose stressed on the need to re-orient the teachers. ‘The NEP 2020 laid emphasis on core essentials, experiential learning and strengthening of foundational literacy. It encourages interactive teaching-learning and reduced textbook learning. It also focuses on a multi-disciplinary approach and flexibility of choices of subjects at the secondary level,’ she said.

‘The NEP opened new ways for teachers to adapt to them and they have to do it differently to let the students learn and develop. The present education is as such that teachers are providing students with notes but there is a need to give room to students for them to develop and do well. In this regard, the teachers need to do a lot more,’ Sekhose pointed out.

Maintaining that the pandemic has exposed the challenges in imparting knowledge in the absence of ‘teachers and classroom connections’, she lauded the teachers for their effort and for exploring all possible ways to teach students during the pandemic.

Advisor of Education and Skills Practice, KPMG in India, Dr. Neena Jha, who conducted the session on ‘Creating curriculum connection in the classroom’, said that learning does not stop at teachers teaching in the classroom. ‘But learning is always two ways. Teaching is the only profession in the world that touches humanity. The focus has been that every transformation has to come through teachers. With NEP 2020, it brings into focus the quality education and teachers who are to bring out that quality. Only highly motivated teachers can achieve that,’ she told the gathering.