The NEP’s vision is to make India competitive in the field of Strategic education
Vijay GarG
NEP is fostering inclusivity and merit-based research to address security challenges and encouraging multidisciplinary practices
Nelson Mandela once commented, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Over the past few years, there has been a notable shift in the landscape of education, emphasizing its pivotal role in shaping individuals physically, intellectually, and morally. Education is seen as a liberating force, breaking the chains of darkness and bigotry. Recently, there has been a concerted effort to integrate real-life experiments of democracy, environmental awareness, globalization, and governance into the framework of the new education system.
The intellectual establishment plays a crucial role in providing theoretical rationale and strategies for educational advancements. It is imperative to explore how innovations in higher education can drive positive changes, instil confidence among the masses, and disseminate the latest global research and developments in education. This discourse aims to delve into the multifaceted aspects of the evolving higher education system, emphasizing the need for inclusivity and growth.
The strength of any higher education system lies in creating internal dynamism to ensure inclusive growth. Even a well-designed system is influenced by the individuals who make a difference. Human and financial relations are intricate matters that require constant monitoring by competent authorities. In India, universities are encouraged to improve their performance by transitioning towards a more merit-based, peer-reviewed research approach, aligning with the goal of establishing a highly efficient and inclusive educational apparatus.
The New Education Policy (NEP) has provided a framework to analyze and address multidimensional issues in the education sector, offering opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds. These guidelines aim to meet the key demands of higher education while maintaining a synergy between various stakeholders. The constant monitoring of the education sector by authorities is crucial for growth, especially in changing circumstances.
Acknowledging the gravity of challenges faced by higher education, it is essential to address concerns related to competition, comparison, and personal greed, which may lead to manipulation and shortcuts. The right to freedom of expression in democratic societies has been debated extensively, and recent developments in the academic world present new challenges and competition.
The efforts by the University Grants Commission (UGC) have introduced fair practices and policies consistent with present circumstances. Reforms in the examination system are aimed at ensuring that only talent prevails, fostering an environment that supports academic excellence.
The NEP’s emphasis on exploring domestic underpinnings, gender sensitization, and addressing the concerns of marginalized communities through Special Education Zones is commendable. Provisions such as Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERUs), the National Research Foundation, the National Educational Technology Forum, and the Indian Institutes of Translation and Interpretation create an environment for students to excel globally. These initiatives also highlight the importance of social responsibility.
The NEP encourages a new approach that provides a clear path for students interested in Security Studies, offering opportunities to learn new techniques. The provisions under NEP ensure the collaborative creation of ideas, providing insights into even the most complex issues.
At various educational levels, the NEP’s approach involves mentors fully engaging in new techniques and developing challenging strategies to meet the needs of all students. To enhance students’ standards, there is an imperative need for self-academic orientation and excellence, fostering problem-solving and inquiry-based learning activities. Introducing a new syllabus can provide a deeper insight into strategic and security-related affairs, offering a roadmap for foolproof encountering strategies. This approach addresses issues such as the rise of terrorism, its causes, and the funding nexus between organised crime and terrorism.
The NEP’s vision is to make India competitive in the field of Strategic education, attracting aspiring academicians and students. By providing multidisciplinary fervour, students will have wider exposure and opportunities for comparative studies, enriching analytical and theoretical rationale for crisis management in India.
As India faces myriad security challenges, there is an urgent need to address these issues on the international stage. The NEP’s input will undoubtedly make each discipline richer in content and varied in ideas, providing a holistic educational experience. Even science students will be exposed to the nuances of international, national, socio-political, and economic issues through multidisciplinary practices. The ingenious display of this government’s approach demonstrates a pure genius that promises to reshape the educational landscape.
Vijay GarG Retired Principal Educational columnist malout
2)” Face Examinations Without Fear”
Vijay GarG
If you are a student and are restless and nervous about the Board examinations, you are probably overcome with anxiety and fear. You find it almost impossible to concentrate, worrying that you might forget whatever you have studied so far. In a booklet titled Letter to a Student, Swami Purushottamananda discusses the crucial problem of examination fear.
He says fear of exams is the biggest enemy of students. Under its stress, some even fall physically ill. The word ”examination fever” has been coined in this context. Even students who have put in long hours of study become nervous at the time of exams. So, the Swami says, don”t lose heart, you can definitely gain control of the situation. To get out of the fear psychosis, Swami Purushottamananda requests students to ask themselves what they would gain by feeling afraid. For, fear brings sickness. But by being bold and brave, even an average student can do reasonably well in exams. But if a student shelters fear, it will deprive his mind and body of strength. “The only results can be this: You will ”forget” all that you have studied while writing the exam. It is this fear that makes you write confused answers”. He says, “Root out the fear complex lurking in your mind by combining self-confidence with disciplined study; have faith in your own strength and faith in your studies… The strong conviction that you would write the exams well, with a calm mind, is self-confidence. If you can develop this, fear vanishes and enthusiasm springs up in its place”.
Students can draw inspiration from the encouraging words of Swami Vivekananda, who had great faith in the power of faith. He exhorted the youth to first have faith in themselves. He said: “The history of the world is the history of a few men who had faith in themselves. That faith calls out the divinity within. You can do anything. You fail only when you do not strive sufficiently to manifest infinite power”. On different occasions Swamiji emphasised that “whatever you think, that you will be. If you think yourselves weak, weak you will be; if you think yourselves strong, strong you will be”. He would say: “Never say, ”I cannot”, for you are infinite. Even time and space are as nothing compared with your nature. You can do anything and everything, you are Almighty”.
Vivekananda”s prescription for success is: “To succeed, you must have tremendous perseverance, tremendous will. ”I will drink the ocean”, says the persevering soul, ”at my will, mountains will crumble up”. Have that sort of energy, that sort of will; work hard, and you will reach the goal…”. He further said: “If there is one word that you find from the Upa-nishads, bursting like a bomb-shell upon masses of ignorance, it is the word fearlessness…. Strength is life; weakness is death. Strength is felicity, life eternal, immortal; weakness is cons-tant strain and misery…”.
For students who cultivate fearlessness, and who face the exams boldly, success is waiting round the corner. True, sometimes, unfortunately, even the most hardworking and dedicated of students find that the results are not good. However, even in the worst-case scenario of failure you should not think that it is the end of the world. Swami Vivekananda has taught that there is success and failure in every work. In fact, failures make us even wiser. Constant practice makes one perfect, so no one should lose heart in the process of trying.
For “tomorrow is another day” with fresh hopes and opportunities, and you should look forward to taking up new challenges and responsibilities.
Vijay GarG is Retired Principal Educational columnist.
