The new education policy is aimed to make India a knowledge superpower, said the speakers during a daylong seminar on “In-service Teacher Training As Reflected In New Education Policy” at Central University of Kashmir here.
The program was organised by Department of Teacher Educationof the varsity, to discuss the policy. The speakers said the policy was aimedto meet the changing dynamics with regards to quality education, innovation andresearch, aiming to make India a knowledge superpower by equipping its studentswith necessary skills and knowledge.
Vice Chancellor of the Central University of Kashmir ProfMehraj ud Din, who was chief guest on the occasion, said the policy has laidspecial emphasis on providing quality school education.
“The higher educational institutions including varsities getthe products from the schools and higher secondary institutions, so it becomesimperative to further improve quality teaching and education in the schools,”he said.
He said it has been found that near about 10 crore studentsin pre-primary schools were not capable to join the primary schools. “Thechildren are not capable of reading, writing and learning elementarymathematics,” Prof Mehraj ud Din Mir said.
He said the committee has also recommended that thecurriculum should suit the native language of the children. “Children are able to understand basicsbetter in mother tongue,” he said.
Dean School of Education, Dr Syed Zahoor Ahmad Geelani saidthe policy has already been published and the Government has sought suggestionsand modifications from the masses, particularly the teaching community.
“The policy has laid huge emphasis on the teacher educationand if we want to bring change in the education scenario, then we have to bringadequate change in teacher’s education,” Dr Geelani said.
He said the Department was contemplating to organise aworkshop to discuss and deliberate the policy and send recommendations to theconcerned quarter.
Senior Assistant Professors, Dr Muhammad Syed Bhat and DrFirdous Ahmad Sofal also spoke and presented their papers on the policy.
Many new initiatives have been recommended in the policy,such as elimination of social category, gender, and regional gaps,internationalizing higher education, introducing technological integration ofeducation at all levels, and strengthening open and distance learning. Theseinitiatives have been taken to enhance participation of under-representedgroups.
“If the reforms included in the policy are implemented,students, teachers, and educational institutions would get the right atmosphereto bring about an education revolution, which in turn would help in building arobust educational eco-system,” the speakers said.