DNA Explainer: What is National Education Policy, NEP 2022 and how it aims to de-link degree from education

On Thursday, the Union Minister of State Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh said that the National Education Policy, NEP 2020 seeks to de-link degrees from education and livelihood opportunities.

clarifying his remarks, Singh said that linking degrees with education has taken a heavy toll on India's education system and society as well and one of the fallouts has been an increasing number of educated unemployed.

While addressing students and youth at the Krishna Mahavidyalaya at Thakurdwar in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, Singh said that NEP 2020 also supports the Start-Up ecosystem, and promises to open new career and entrepreneurship opportunities for students and youth in India.

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When was NEP 2020 introduced? What are its benefits? 

For the unversed, NEP 2022 was introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reorient India's education policy as per global benchmarks. Many, including Singh, have described it as the biggest path-breaking reform in India since independence, calling it not only progressive and visionary but also in keeping with the emerging needs and requirements of 21st-century India. 

How does NEP 2020 help students? 

NEP 2020 gives due priority to the students' inherent talent, knowledge, skill, and aptitude, rather than focusing only on degrees, Singh said. 

The Minister said NEP-2020 is having provisions for multiple entry/exit options thus providing academic flexibility to the students. He said this will have a positive impact on the students related to the availing of different career opportunities at different times, depending upon their intrinsic learning and inherent aptitude.

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How Uttar Pradesh is turning into a start-up hub?

Singh also urged the students and the youth to explore livelihood opportunities in the booming start-up sector in the country. He informed the gathering that only in August this year, the Uttar Pradesh government injected Rs 4,000 crore into the state's start-up corpus for employment generation and economic activity.

The fresh infusion of capital has been made to constitute the maiden 'UP Innovation Fund' that will be mandated to provide seed capital to start-ups, the minister said. Singh noted with satisfaction that the Uttar Pradesh government plans to have at least one incubator in every district by 2023.

As of now, there are 47 incubators in 20 districts, the statement said. Singh told the youth of Moradabad that Uttar Pradesh is catching up fast in the start-up race and there are more than 6,500 start-ups already registered in the state.

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Singh said Noida has turned out to be the most preferred destination for start-ups followed by Ghaziabad, Agra, Lucknow, and Gorakhpur in the Purvanchal region, and now is the time for the innovative minds of the western UP to take a lead in the start-up movement.

He said the green and farm-rich belt of the western region can be a fertile ground for agri-tech and dairy start-ups. The minister promised all support from the Ministry of Science and Technology to support the start-up ecosystem.