India will lead the world in the Amrit Kaal - Shri Dharmendra Pradhan

New Delhi: Union Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan addressed the inaugural session on the 2nd day of National School Education Ministers' Conference today. Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel; Chief Minister of Goa Shri Pramod Sawant; Union Ministers of State for Education and Skill Development, Education Ministers of State Governments Chairperson of Steering committee for developing a new National Curriculum Framework, Shri K Kasturirangan and senior officials from Ministry of Education and State Governments attended the conference. 

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Pradhan said that school education is the foundation of a knowledge-based society and National education policy (NEP) is a knowledge document that aims to promote all-round development and make education accessible to everyone.

The Minister said that we are in the age of Amrit Kaal. The next 25 years are crucial to establish India as a knowledge economy that is committed to global welfare, he added. We are a civilisation which believes in Vasudhaiv Kutumbukam and we must realise that we have not only responsibilities of our nation but also that of the world.

The Minister urged that as we prepare for the opportunities and challenges of the 21st century, we must leverage technology to strengthen our education & skilling ecosystem. Yesterday, during the visit to various education and skilling institutions we all got a glimpse of various dimensions of 21st century futuristic education systems, he added.

The Minister highlighted 5+3+3+4 approach of NEP covering pre-school to secondary, emphasis on ECCE, teacher training & adult education, integration of skill development with school education and prioritising learning in mother tongue which are steps for preparing global citizens of the 21st century.

The Minister informed that the Government is in the process of establishing PM Shri schools which will be fully equipped to prepare students for the future. These state-of-the-art schools will be the laboratory of NEP 2020. He solicited suggestions and feedback from all our states/UTs and the entire education ecosystem for creating a futuristic benchmark model in the form of PM Shri schools.

The Minister stressed that experience amd knowledge sharing from all state Education Ministers in structured and outcome-based discussions at the conference today will lead one step further towards transforming the learning landscape, in line with the NEP 2020. He expressed confidence that the deliberations taking place in this conference will go a long way in strengthening the education system across the country.

Addressing a conference Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Bhupendra Patel clearly stated that, realizing the need to constantly redefine and redesign the teaching and learning process, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has changed the 34 year old education policy and has given the new national education policy to the country considering knowledge as the best treasure as per our culture. Entire nation is joining hands under the leadership of the Prime Minister to realize the goal of the National Education Policy to provide equal and high quality education to all.

The CM added that, Education, health and security are key factors in the development of any nation, state or society. Providing inclusive and equitable education in place of stereotyped and outdated education is the need of hour. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given this New Education Policy with the commitment to provide such timely education to the children and future generation of the nation.

During the eight year tenure of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, many new initiatives have been taken in the country; New Education Policy is one of them. As a result of this policy, the youth of the nation will also get higher education in their regional language. Expenditure on education in the country has almost been doubled, at the same time, enough emphasis has been placed on skill development and the skills of 1.34 crore youth of the country have been enhanced.