New Education Policy draft adds Hindi as Mandatory Subject till Class 8

A nine-member K Kasturirangan committee on the New Education Policy (NEP) prepared a draft report with key recommendations such as adhering strictly to the three-language formula with Hindi mandatory till Class 8 across the country, ensuring a uniform Science and Maths syllabus nationwide, developing a script for tribal dialects in Devanagari, as well as promoting skill based education. NEP aims at implementing an “India-centric” as well as a “scientific” system of learning in schools.

However, the government is yet to make decisions such as whether to place the recommendations out in the public domain for further suggestions and feedback.

It is expected that the syllabus for Maths and Science will be same in all states but they can be taught in any language. However, subjects under Social Science will require local content.

The proposed NEP plans to develop a syllabus for upto Class 5 in local languages, such as Awadhi, Bhojpuri, Maithili, etc., in areas where they’re used.

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For the education system to be India-centric, Devanagari will be developed as a script for tribal dialects that either have no script or are written in the Roman script due to the influence of missionaries.

Many non-Hindi-speaking states do not have Hindi as a compulsory subject till date. However, after the NEP’s implementation, it’ll be mandatory for schools to teach Hindi till Class 8.

Some other recommendations made by the committee include:

• Permanent high-power committee on education, headed by Prime Minister, to meet at regular intervals.

• Regulatory mechanism to be strengthened and headed by non-bureaucrats.

• Technical and professional courses to be promoted among SC/ST students.

According to sources, the committee incorporated suggestions received from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) while the panel held a meeting with Javadekar and representatives of seven states.

The members of the committee include former ISRO chief Kasturirangan, Mumbai-based educationist Vasudha Kamat; Union MoS K J Alphons; Princeton University professor and mathematician Manjul Bhargava; Baba Saheb Ambedkar University of Social Sciences-Indore ex-Vice-Chancellor Ram Shankar Kureel; Indira Gandhi National Tribal University-Amarkantak Vice-Chancellor T V Kattimani; former director of UP Intermediate Education Krishna Mohan Tripathy; Guwahati-based academician Mazhar Asif; and, educationist M K Sridhar.

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