Former Prime Minister of India, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi introduced one of the most important education policies in India, the National Education Policy 1986. Similar to the NPE 1968, this one too aimed to promote education amongst the Indians. In the list of education policies, this one offered a deeper vision and touched upon some important areas with defined timelines for action.
The Need and Goals of National Educational policy 1986
This policy was formulated to improve and equalize educational opportunities within the nation. Besides, it also aimed at addressing the unique needs of the learners (including the special and marginalized students). It envisioned an educational structure that could support the all-round development of the country. And focused on the quality of education imparted within the institutions.
Through a common school curriculum, the government aimed to popularize the use of educational technology. And it emphasized more on the teaching of Mathematics, Sports, Science, Physical Education and education for international understanding.
Unlike the previous policy in 1968, the NPE 1986 came up with a clear target group and aims. Let’s discuss this in brief before we look at the key features of the policy.
Targets of the National Educational Policy 1986
- Universalization of elementary education.
- To reach 70% of the target group (0 to 6 years) to be covered under all services by the year 2000.
- For Early Childhood Care and Education facilities, a minimum of 2.50 lakh centers are to be established by 1990, 10 lakhs by 1995, and 20 lakhs by 2000.
- Improve the preschool education component through integrated child development services.
- Work on the improvement in the quality of education.
- To retain children in schools (up to the age of 14 years).
- Minimum levels of learning to be laid down for all stages of education.
Here’s a look at the key features of the National Policy of Education, 1986:
Quality Improvement and Student Retention
The first and foremost step under this education policy was to get all children under 14 years of age into schools. For this, it aimed at improving the school environment, student handling, and teaching methodologies (online teaching and offline teaching). It intended a no-failure policy at the elementary school level. And also introduced arrangements for non-formal education for out-of-school students.
The government opened Navodaya Vidyalayas and primary schools in remote areas. In addition, it also made arrangements for motor handicapped children either in normal schools or at district headquarters.
Structure of Education
As suggested by the Kothari Commission, the uniform pattern of 10+2+3 was the proposed structure for nationwide schools. This structure included 5 years of the primary stage to be followed by 3 years of the upper primary.
NPE 1986 aimed to achieve the aims of free and compulsory education for all by the year 1995. And it focused on extending the schooling facility within a distance of one kilometer.
Removal of Disparities and Special Measures
Another important aspect of this policy was the accessibility of good quality elementary education for all. It aimed at promoting the holistic development of students through better quality schools. The policy focused on creating opportunities for non-formal education (part-time), till the time full-fledged schools were set up.
Focus on Retention in the Mainstream System
Most of the education policies in India considered the task of retaining students within the mainstream system. NPE 1986 too came up with an idea to shift the focus from enrollment to retention. For this, it suggested surveys (house to house) to check the regularity of attendance and relevance of schooling.
It suggested creating non-formal centers (similar to the educational alternatives like online schooling) for students who are not able to attend full-day school. For regulating attendance, teachers and the members of the village education commission were expected to follow up with the families of the absentees who miss school for 2 to 3 days at a stretch.
Provisions for the Girl Child
Support services for girls included incentives to encourage the education of the girl child and those of the weaker sections (such as the SC’s, ST’s, minorities, etc.)
Especially for the girl child, two sets of free uniforms, free textbooks, attendance initiatives and stationery, etc. were to be given free of cost. Apart from this, students attending elementary school were also given free transportation facilities in the state roadways buses.
Operation Blackboard
The Purpose:
- To provide minimum essential features in primary schools.
- Help schools with material facilities and learning equipment.
- Achieve the results within a predetermined time frame.
To ensure minimum essential facilities in primary schools the operation blackboard was launched with clear goals. It proposed the below-mentioned assistance for the schools under the operation.
Two large rooms, necessary toys and games material, charts, maps, blackboards, and learning material to be provided. The resources required for the construction of buildings etc. were to be supplemented with other schemes. All in all, the policy aimed at making optimum use of the available material.
OB also covered the needs of special students and planned procuring the material/equipment as per their unique needs. Operation Blackboard was a great initiative in this policy to address the issue of school drop-out rates (60% between I to V and 75% between I to VIII)
Delinking Degrees from Jobs
This legendary step of manpower planning created a new trend of reducing the importance of degrees from jobs. It focused on re-designing job-specific courses to help the right candidate with the required skillsets to take up a suitable job. The policy opposed undue preference to graduate candidates. Instead, it promoted the vocationalisation of education.
New Programme of Non-Formal Education
To help students maintain continuity in their academic journey, the policy suggested a strong support system through the involvement of voluntary agencies and Panchayati Raj institutions. There was a planned approach to support the program by training teachers and instructors. The idea was to make learning student-centric to help the learner progress at his/her individual pace. The centers of NFE were provided necessary equipment such as audio-visual aids, VCR, TV, etc. to improve the instructional delivery. This policy also addressed the issue of re-entry into the formal system by setting norms to map the scholastic achievements (such as Mathematics and language). Evaluation centers were to be established for the certification and evaluation of learners. The best part was the idea of creating a joyous learning environment that promoted mutual respect and fostered a love for learning. Here’s a look at the ideas for NFE:
- Open schools (similar to modern-day online schools).
- Vocational and technical courses for students out of the non-formal system.
- Scholarships
- Non-formal courses
- Non-formal education centers
- Arrangements through testing centers to know the equivalent stage of education
- Public Libraries
How did the NPE 1986 help in restructuring the Indian education system?
NPE 1986 was amongst the most visionary education policies in India. It helped in the reorganization of education across various levels. And largely helped in streamlining a common educational structure to an extent.
What Went Wrong?
Examination reforms under the NPE were not very convincing. It did talk about creating a scientific evaluation system. However, there was no concrete input to reform the general examination pattern. Despite its vision to focus on continuous evaluation, it lacked the direction to make this change within the system.
In other words, we can say that it did not succeed in giving a concrete shape to some of its recommendations. And like other education policies in India, this one too suffered in implementing its recommendations because of the ongoing resource crunch. With some ongoing issues like the shortage of funds, coordination between stakeholders, participation of state governments, and general quality concerns this policy could not be a complete success. Some ideas like laying down the minimum levels of learning etc. were also not clear to many stakeholders. However, some aspects like the operation blackboard and non-formal education, etc. did promise a lot of improvement at the ground level. Despite the performance, there was still scope for the next big change that happened in the year 1992 with a POA (Plan of Action).
Final Thoughts on this Education Policy:
NPE 1986 did aim at eliminating the disparities from the education system. However, it did not materialize its aims of standard education opportunities across various groups of the society. And also failed to revamp the examination system through relevant reforms.
This policy contributed to the chain of educational reforms in India. And it was again scrutinized again in the year 1992.
We will take up the details of this ‘Plan of Action’ in the year 1992 in our next article. Read the next piece of information to understand how this POA helped in addressing the voids of this educational policy.
