Union Budget 2021 | Education Sector: Nirmala Sitharaman announces 15,000 schools under National Education Policy
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For the effective implementation of the National Education Policy, 15000 schools will be strengthened initially. These schools will mentor and work as a model for the NEP implementation across the country.
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Finance Minister further added, 100 new Sainik schools will be established in collaboration with NGOs and private organizations.
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For other policies under NEP that will be considered by the government can be found in Annexure 5.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam announced that more than 15,000 schools would be qualitatively strengthened under the National Education Policy (NEP). Presenting its third Union budget 2021 post-COVID-19 pandemic, he added, "100 new Sainik schools will be set up in partnership with NGOs, private schools, and states. We would be introducing the legislation this year to implement the setting-up of the Higher Education Commission of India."
Nirmala Sithraman further announced in Budget 2021 that the NEP 2020 Center will establish higher education in Ladakh and establish a central university in Leh.
"The Budget proposals for 2021-12 rest on six pillars: health & well-being, physical & financial capital & infrastructure, inclusive development for aspirational India, reinvigorating human capital, innovation & R&D, Minimum Govt & Maximum Governance," Sitharaman said before presenting the first set of the Union Budget 2021.
The year 2020 was one of the catastrophic years in terms of education, the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools and colleges to shut down and online learning methods were needed. Last year, the government allocated Rs 99,300 crore to the education sector. They introduced a New Education Policy (NEP) aimed at the universalization of pre-school to secondary education. In this policy, the government has announced that students will not be forced to study any particular language. The '10+2' structure will also be replaced by the '5+3+3+4' model. It proposes a 4-year, multidisciplinary bachelor's degree in an undergraduate program with multiple exit options. These will cover professional and vocational fields.Not only this, the NEP 2020 government changed the policies for future teachers and teacher education. To become a teacher, a minimum of 4 years of Bachelor of Education is required by 2030. Also, the teacher recruitment process will be made transparent.