HIGHER and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil has decided not to insist on implementation of National Education Policy (NEP) by State Universities at Under Graduate (UG) level in academic year 2023-24. However, it was made clear that autonomous colleges, deemed-to-be universities and PG courses will have NEP from current academic year. Earlier, the Maharashtra Government seemed adamant on implementation of NEP from this very year. In fact, Chandrakant Patil had convened a meeting on April 21, 2023, where he had asked universities to start the implementation process by April 30, 2023.

 

Committees were constituted to implement the measures mentioned in the NEP. Of the two committees constituted, one was led by Dr Ujwala Chakradeo, Vice-Chancellor of SNDT University, Mumbai, and another by Dr Ravindra Kulkarni, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Mumbai University (recently appointed as Vice-Chancellor of the same university).

The Dr Chakradeo Committee was given four tasks - to establish Group University or autonomous colleges that would confer degrees, to draft a roadmap to implement the principles of the NEP 2020, status of university to be given to the educational institutions which have completed 50 years of existence and set up Centres of Academic Excellence for teaching and learning.

 

The committees submitted their reports. The Higher and Technical Education Ministry had recommended certain changes in guidelines of NEP. The guidelines focussed on syllabus and credit system. Patil had asked universities to plan academic schedule and grading system accurately by taking necessary educational measures for the implementation of the New Educational Policy. Since the National Education Policy is comprehensive, skillful, characteristics of the policy, procedures and efforts being made by the Government to bring all elements in the education sector were discussed. In fact, Higher and Technical Education Department, under the leadership of Vikaschandra Rastogi, Principal Secretary, conducted workshops in universities to explain the content of NEP to be implemented.

 

According to highly placed sources in the Department, the universities took a long time in preparing for implementation. This higher official told ‘The Hitavada’, “The Department convened several meetings where either Vice Chancellors or their representatives were called to give the presentations. But they gave excuses. The minister noticed these issues and he decided not to insist on implementation of NEP.” Though it was not mandatory for UG level, all the autonomous colleges, deemed to be universities in State will have to go with the changes suggested by NEP from academic year 2023-24. Patil has warned universities to be ready to implement NEP from the academic year 2024-25.