Local in Education Policy Discourse in India

The Prespective , 2024

Education has a vital role in fostering national growth and upholding ethical standards through the establishment of a just and impartial social framework. Before British colonialism, the educational system in India mostly focused on religious instruction. The process of modernising and westernising Indian education started during the colonial period of British India. The British colonial administration in India had a substantial influence on the educational framework of the nation. The British rulers introduced Western-style schooling to further their interests and exert control over the Indian populace. Nevertheless, this era also saw the rise of nationalist groups aimed at reclaiming Indian identity and advocating for native education. Education played a crucial role in developing and promoting nationalism in India throughout its early stages of nation-building. Amidst the Indian struggle for freedom, the need for national education was purportedly acknowledged. To strengthen India’s national identity, the independence movement aggressively advocated for the advancement of native education while voicing disdain for the British educational system. Nevertheless, one may claim that the British Government’s Commission on Education made incremental advancements throughout the THE PERSPECTIVE International Journal of Social Science and Humanities An Online, Peer-Reviewed, Indexed and Refereed Journal, ISSN: 2582-6964 A Quarterly, Bi-Lingual Research Journal Published in English & Hindi Volume: 4-5, Joint Issue: 16-17, November, 2023 – April, 2024 43 The Perspective International Journal of Social Science and Humanities colonial era. Following the attainment of independence, the Indian government underwent a substantial transformation through the execution of several commissions. The commissions placed a higher emphasis on advancing national interests while also taking into account the requirements of society. The National Education Policy-2020 (NEP-2020), implemented in the 21st century, aims to promote global involvement by incorporating advanced fields of science and information technology that are significant in the present day. This discourse seeks to analyse the historical backdrop of national education in India, with particular emphasis on the newly enforced National Education Policy of 2020.

Policy Futures in Education, 2024

This special issue of Policy Futures in Education invited authors to consider and reconsider the global-local relationship in education policies. Collectively, the articles in this special issue reflect the dominant perspectives among scholars and practitioners interested in research on globalisation and education, where studies investigated how intertwined worldwide discourses, processes, and institutions affect local educational practices and policies. They underscore both structural and agency processes and the cultural divergences that emerged locally as local institutions and players recontextualise and remake these global policies and discourses. Most articles begin with the narrative of how intergovernmental organisations such as UNESCO, the OECD and the World Bank contributed to disseminating worldwide discourses on human capital and lifelong learning for economic development, which are reflected in many national education policy documents. In line with the dominant perspectives on globalisation and education, the authors largely frame globalisation as a realm of reality with agency that interacts with and transforms another realm of existence, the local. They then demonstrate how the local dimension is and can also be agentic in that local governments, institutions, and people did not adopt these global initiatives wholesale; they adapted and transformed these initiatives to suit the local contexts and needs, resulting in various local variations. Overall, the collection of papers highlights how the global-local relationship is a multi-layered process involving diffusion, adoption, and adaptation.

2024

ABSTRACT: Despite their mammoth infrastructure none of the modern Indian educational establishments could make a mark among the top 150 institutions of the world. Nor have they been successful in producing any landmark fundamental or applied research. Even the graduates churned out by them are unemployable, unproductive, irresponsible, self-centred and greedy shirkers with a highly colonial attitude and mind-set. The contemporary Indian education unabashedly and unflinchingly disseminates the colonial conviction that the West is wiser, more just, and more humane and has the panacea for every ill. It being Indian only in its location shows scant respect for Indian culture and traditions. While the system was Anglo-centric earlier it is Anglo-American-centric now, be it the issue of cultural-ethos, curriculum, medium of instruction, teaching materials and methods, testing, qualifications of teachers and learners or funding of education. The modern education creates a mind with the hallmark of imitation and mimicry and it successfully generates a feeling of inferiority, erases memory and cultures, introduces an alien conceptual vocabulary, produces a shadow/ shallow mind whose creativity is smothered with dullness. Through new types of funding/fellowships the Indian minds are being neo-colonised. How the National Education Policy 2020 seeks to transform the imitative mind to a thinking mind rooted in Indian culture and ethics is the theme of this paper. Pros and cons of all the above issues will be discussed with proper reference points from ancient Indian educational history. KEY WORDS: Colonial Legacy, Critical Thinking, Curriculum, Decolonisation, Ethos, Evaluation, Funding, Learners, Macaulay, Medium of Instruction, National Education Policy 2020 (NEP2020), Teachers, Teaching methods.

T he im p o rta n ce fo r decen tralizatio n w as reflec te d in the D irectiv e P rinciples o f S tate Policy (A rticle 40 o f the C onstitution) w herein "T he state shall take steps to organize village Panchayats and endow them with such pow ers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units o f self-governm ent." The Directive Principle was largely ignored for decades. The process o f centralized governance was underpinned by an ideology o f planned developm ent and a bureaucratic system o f controls and regulation, inherited from a colonial government. T here w ere sporadic initiatives during this period to introduce dem ocratic decentralizatione s p e c ia lly fo llo w in g th e rev ie w o f th e C o m m u n ity D e v e lo p m e n t P rogram m e in the late 1950s' by the Balwant Rai M ehta Com m ittee. The co m m ittee's recom m endations were based on its evaluation that in the ab sen ce o f dem ocratic decentralization no m eaningful and sustained d evelopm ent could be expected. The first considered response to the C onstitutional D irective on decentralization, at the Central level, cam e during the late 1980's in the form o f the 64th Constitutional A m endm ent Bill. T his Bill was finally adopted in 1992 as the 73rd A m endm ent to the C onstitution (along w ith the 74th A m endm ent relating to U rban local g o v ern an ce). It is a fact that the 73rd and 74th A m endm ents to the C onstitution follow ed im m ediately upon the econom ic crises o f 1990-91 and the stabilization and structural adjustm ents, packages adm inistered. T he constitutional m andate for democratic governance at the local (village, m u n ic ip a l) le v els as em b o d ied in the 7 3 rd and 74 th A m en d m en ts acknow ledges that □ Centralized governance stifled local initiative and participation; □ Top dow n planning led to a dependency am ongst the citizens, and, that growth C ontinued to exclude large groups in society (wom en, dalits, tribal); □ G ood governance (accountable, transparent, corruption free) is only possible when citizens have opportunities to participate in and practice dem ocratic decision m aking in so far as such decisions affect the quality o f their lives. v/' S ch o o l E ducation under Local-G overnance M any o f these reforms have been undertaken under the overt agenda o f Decentralization or devolution o f control and were designed to provide fo r increased autonomy at the level o f the local schools. With the increasing decentralization o f fiscal, political, and administrative responsibilities to lower-levels o f government, local institutions, and communities, the idea o f participation has taken on greater value, emerging as a fundam ental principle in the promotion o f the local governance o f schools. Greater local participation serves the two main thrusts o f the neo-liberal agenda, which is driving for greater decentralization. The reduction o f the state and the expansion ofprivate sector activity are forcing to realize the need fo r good governance through decentralization and participation from the bottom level. The goals f o r greater lo ca l p a rticip a tio n in school governance are managerialist effectiveness and efficiency depends mainly on the type o f empowerment at the local level. This book exam ines India's experience in prom oting decentralization at local level and broader participation through the establishm ent o f local school governance structures, the m odel was designed with the expressed aim o f contributing to the dem ocratic transform ation o f India from the b o tto m level. By exp lo rin g th e th e o ries o f actio n u n d erp in n in g the specification and interpretation o f these policies in practice, w e are able to assess the extent o f transform ation and the nature o f participation in school governance in India. M ore specifically, it exam ines w hether local participation is lim ited to m anagerial effectiveness o r extends to a shifting o f the focus o f control over school governance to parents, com munity, w om en, dow ntrodden people and tribes. C ase study m ethod is used to explain each aspect o f local selfg o v e rn a n c e in e d u c a tio n in the n ew e ra o f g lo b a liz a tio n o r n e o liberalization period o f India i.e. 1991 onw ards. T he im portant aspects o f the process are like capacity building o f teachers at local level, participation b y th e lo c a l c o m m u n itie s , e ffe c tiv e n e s s o f p a r tic ip a tio n b y th e m arginalized com m unities and w om en, im pact o f participation o f local com munity. T he outcom es o f decentralization policies in som e parts o f the states are veiy successful. It is to believe that the new policy o f local se lf governance will lead to the good perform ance at the local level. The case studies have shown the im provem ent at the grass root level despite m any lacunas. T he im provem ent is m ainly visib le in case o f g irl's education, teacher com m itm ents and SC and ST participation, w om en m ovem ent etc. The book is based on the changed policies o f education since 1991 i.e. era o f globalization w hich experienced w ithdraw al o f state control and em pow erm ent o f locals for self-governance and im provem ent in elem entary education. All case studies discussed are conducted by the author and tried to call out the best practices and successful case studies P reface vii in im plem enting the local governance for the im provem ent o f elem entary education in India. The book will be useful for all those who desire to u n d erstan d m ore about the perform ance o f local s e lf g o v ern an ce in im proving the elementary education in the new global era.

isara solutions, 2022

National Education Policy 2020, announced by the Government of India on July 29, 2020, revolves around the flexible, practical, multidisciplinary, multilinguistic education for all, at all levels, by implementing many reforms, interventions and a nationwide institutional set up. This study aims to review different aspects of the policy in comprehensive manner and analyse its impact. It's designed as descriptive study of the policy based on qualitative analysis of the secondary data. The study finds that NEP is a long tenure policy that has the potential to impact every individual and household's life. If implemented rightly, it will change the status of India in global competitiveness and capability building. The study will be particularly helpful to the students, researchers, academicians and professionals seeking an analytical comprehensive summary of the National Education Policy 2020.

Foreword and Acknowledgements This study has its genesis in a piece of documentation I undertook in 2005-06 for the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF). The objective then was to document the experiences of Bodh Shiksha Samiti, an AKF Partner in its work with Panchayati Raj Institutions in the blocks of Thanagazi and Umren, Alwar district, Rajasthan. Many interesting developments had occurred as a result of Bodh’s patient but intense work over 5-6 years with rural communities in these two very challenging blocks. The documentation gave us an opportunity to unearth those illustrative stories of community involvement for change in children’s education. They are referred to in this document. The experience of documenting Bodh’s work with Panchayats led me to ask many questions regarding democratically elected institutions such as the Panchayats, and the education of children. These questions were often of a fundamental nature, and they went thus: Who does the institution of school actually belong to? Who should take decisions regarding its functioning? Should this be done centrally by the state in terms of deciding what children should learn, how they should learn, who should teach them, what the role of local communities should be in these tasks, and so on? Are alternatives to the state driven model possible? If Panchayats were indeed created on the rationale of local self governance (which figures prominently in the Indian Constitution), then surely they have a role to play in the lives of young children and their development. At least this is what the term ‘governance’ should imply. If one follows this strand of thinking further, the question regarding who owns or is responsible for the education of children opens up considerably. The local then jostles for space with the regional and the national in terms of control over the educational process. Decisions about what kind of knowledge, whose knowledge, history, culture etc must be included in the educational experience of the child do not have easy answers – they can be contested. After all, as some would argue, one of the chief tasks of education is the preparation of the next generation. For this to happen, the key questions will continue to be: what should children learn? Who should decide this? How should they learn? These questions are at the heart of the debate on education. In a larger sense, the questions we have asked above are intimately linked to the idea of societal progress. But how this progress should be driven and who should be involved in it, are questions that will help us determine the nature, scope and direction in which this ‘progress will happen’. We believe that Panchayats, as the local institutions of people, are located at the heart of these questions, both in an overall sense and also with regard to the specific task of educating children. It is interesting to note what the founding fathers of the constitution had to say with regard to the role of local self governance (see page 5 of this document) in nation building – the contrasts in their positions cannot be missed. This study explores these questions conceptually, and then situates them in the context of two Indian states – Kerala and Rajasthan, both with varied histories and socioeconomic contexts. The experiences of decentralized governance are examined in relation to children’s education, and an attempt is made to place the experiences and developments in perspective. Thanks are due to the New Education Group-Foundation for Innovations and Research in Education (NEG-FIRE) and Marita Ishwaran in particular, for agreeing to support this study. It is the first research commissioned by the Foundation for Innovations and Research in Education. Manish Jain from NEG provided us valuable feedback and helped us sharpen our reflections. Upendranadh, my colleague and co-researcher, played a key role in the conceptualization of this study as well as in undertaking field visits and writing up portions of this document. The many hours we spent in reflecting on concepts and experiences were useful in expanding the thinking behind this exercise. I wish to also thank M.N Sudhakaran and Madhusudhanan (Trichur) and Shiju (Wayanad), who arranged for field visits in both the districts of Kerala, and who spent many hours with us, providing their inputs. Yogendra from Bodh Shiksha Samiti and Rohit Dhankar from Digantar kindly agreed to host us in Alwar and Baran districts respectively. Their staff took time from their pressing schedules to accompany us to various locations and set up the interactions with teachers, government officials and Panchayat members. If this small attempt generates more thought on better ways to educate children, it will have served its purpose. Sheshagiri K.M Bengalooru January 2009

Journal of Knowledge Management

Purpose Given that the policy is rather comprehensive and detailed, this paper aims to identify some of the key features and discuss the mechanisms by which the benefits of the policy might reach all sections of society. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, we analyse India’s new education policy (NEP) and discuss how it might impact education and employment in India and the neighbourhood. Findings This paper believes that the NEP (2020) is likely to alter the educational landscape of India and make education accessible to all sections of society. In addition, the impact of this bill will be felt in the Indian workplace. Research limitations/implications This paper would urge the policymakers, educationists and corporate leaders to conduct research on the benefits of the NEP in two phases. In the short run, they could study the implementation – in the long run, all three stakeholders should track the changes in the quality of graduates being produced as a result of the new pol...

journal of Education;RAVINDRABHARTI UNIVERSITY

Change is the eternal law of nature. With the passage of time the educational aspects get also changes with changes in social systems, economy, political and other country-wide circumstances, availability and use of resources and desires of community. Reforms in educational system occurs by these results simultaneously. Curriculum is the soul of teaching-learning process. While effective teaching-technology proves to be helpful for making teaching-learning interactive, the need-based curriculum as per the aspirations of the learner provides a strong foundation for the desired learning outcomes. The learner has always been the focal point in the preamble, development and implementation of the curriculum. Crow and Crow has well stated "Curriculum includes all the learners experiences in and outside the school that are included in a programme which has seen devised to help to develop mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually and morally." Education commission's and committee's constituted time to time in India recommended curriculum reforms in the school curriculum keeping in mind the erstwhile social scenario and learner's aspirations. NCERT made notable changes in school curriculum since year 1975 through the National Curriculum frameworks. In addition to this the Secondary Education Commission (1952-53), Kothari Commission (1964-66), National Education Policy (1968), New education policy (1986) and POA-1992, efforts were made to reorganize the curriculum at every level and to innovate it according to socio-educational needs. Professor Yashpal Committee (1993) indicated towards significant changes in the school curriculum in 21 st century by advocating "Burden-free education" at elementary level. The NCF-2005 succeeded in laying the latest and organized foundation of curriculum in modern India. In the recent years the concept of 'Localization' has been emerging in school curriculum. National education policy-2020 advocates the inclusion of regional issues in the Indian school curriculum. Mahatma Gandhi's work experience and experiential learning theory (Nai-Talim) has been revived today after almost nine decades, when the concept of "Vocal for Local" has come forth to strengthen 'Localization' in the curriculum. The main objective of this qualitative study is to analyse the curriculum reforms in India: In context to Vocal for local.

Journal of Positive School Psychology, 2022

National Education Policy 2020 is the first education policy of the 21st century that envisions worldwide access to good quality education. It proposes to revamp and revise all educational organization features, including its regulation and governance. It seeks to ensure goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Agenda (SDG4), which contemplates comprehensive justifiable quality education promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. Incorporating liberal schooling into the existing education system is a remarkable move allowing for the need to endorse creativity and novelty. This kind of restructuring, both at the level of school and higher educational institutions, might have an intense influence on the quality of education, gross enrolment ratio, employability research, and internationalization in the future. Therefore, the policy aims to transform India's educational landscape from local to global leadership with equity, quality, inclusion, and access. In this article, the holistic, transformative insight of the National Education Policy has been elucidated with a spotlight on reforms in School Education and Higher Education and accentuated the implications of technology interventions for innovative teaching-learning.

PERSPECTIVES ON, 2010

There exist many actors within the realm of education policy planning and implementation, namely: the policy makers; the national, local and regional institutions engaged in the dissemination and interpretation of these policies; and the educational institutions that implement these policies at the ground level (schools). While schools are largely perceived to be at the receiving end of these policies, they are also held most accountable for any failures in effective implementation. The systemic factors, including: differences in local and regional institutions; the organizations that make decisions around functions, accountability and resource allocation; and the immediate environments surrounding the schools, are often ignored. This paper highlights institutional differences that affect policy implementation in two mega cities of India, namely, Mumbai and Delhi. The paper suggests that policy reshaping rarely considers the feedback from the bottom up; rather, policies are revised largely based on global and national agenda shifts rather than in response to on-the-ground impact of their implementation. The paper argues for a more reciprocal relationship between policy and practice, identifying the need for practice to influence policy in a mutually reinforcing process. Further, the paper argues that innovation at the local level of policy implementation is a critical mechanism by which such a reciprocal relationship can be established.