Role Edtech Can Play In Enabling the Implementation of NEP The policy mentions that the relationship between technology and education is bi-directional
By Pankaj Agarwal •
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The New Education Policy (NEP) of India is very well thought of and is very comprehensive. The 60 page-long policy document is underpinned with a vision to transform India into a global knowledge superpower by building the best education system globally. The policy has nicely dissected the learning stages in a child's journey and has made meaningful recommendations. The policy is also well aligned with our Prime Minister's Digital India campaign to transform the entire nation into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.
When I was reading the document, I constantly told myself, "This is good but the challenge will be in implementation. We need to bring smart and dedicated minds in this domain who can help. We need to adopt smart technologies to help us achieve the multiplier effect."
Education technology (EdTech) will play an instrumental role in policy implementation by making it easy:
1. To make education more learner-centred, discussion-based and enjoyable by enabling a personalized learning environment.
2. To do regular formative assessment in classrooms without taking away too much of teaching time.
3. To prevent children from dropping out and to achieve universal participation in school by tracking students' learning levels and providing suitable opportunities to those who need remediation.
4. To make classrooms smart by using digital pedagogy and thereby enriching the teaching-learning process and evaluation process.
5. To empower teachers in teaching better by automating the administrative tasks and by providing them with necessary teaching resources and data points when they need them.
One of the core principles of the NEP is a "light but tight' oversight and regulatory system to ensure integrity and transparency of the educational system in pursuit to increase the learning outcomes. Edtech is the only way to make that happen given the scale of India. The good news is that the policy does mention that the relationship between technology and education is bi-directional which to me is a sign that the willingness of adoption of edtech solutions will be high going forward.
The policy also outlines the creation of a National Educational Alliance for Technology intended to provide a platform for use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration, and so on. With this alliance at the center and all edtech solutions around it, I am very confident that we can make significant progress in all the five foundational pillars of NEP—access, equity, quality, affordability and accountability.
