Page 163 - Reliance Foundation School Koparkhairane - School Magazine - Zenith 2020-21

National Educational Policy 2020

The 21st century is the era of knowledge. This is the time for increased focus on learning, research, innovation.
This is exactly what India's National Education Policy, 2020 does. It mainly focuses on the quality of education in
India. These attempts have been made to make our education system the most advance and modern for students
of our country. The NEP approved by the Union Cabinet replaces the 34-year-old National Policy on Education
and is aimed at paving the way for transformational reforms in school and higher education systems to make
India a global knowledge superpower. The aim of the new policy is the universalization of school education by
2030. The current 10+2 system in the school will be replaced by a new 5+3+3+4 curricular structure
corresponding to ages 3-8, 8-11, 11-14, and 14-18 years respectively.3 to 6 years is the age group that has been
recognised globally as the crucial stage for the development of mental faculties of a child. This policy also
introduces 10 “bagless lectures a year”, where students of 6th-8thgrades will now get opportunities to learn and
work as interns under people of different professions. This will also help children grow their practical knowledge
apart from bookish knowledge. Technical skills like coding, web development, etc. will also be taught in middle
school level which will help children build their logical reasoning and the ability to think out of the box at such a
young age. For higher education like masters, PHDs, etc., around 100 universities will be setup so that Indian
Adhya Kombrabail - XII C Apoorv Rane - X B students don't have to spend a lot more money as compared to other foreign universities and can study from the
universities in India. Proper laws and norms will be made by the government when these universities will be
permitted and framed-up in India. Over 7.5 lac students from India travel abroad for further studies which causes
An Account of a Basketball Player a “brain drain” in our country. The policy, accepts these flaws and is trying to take some actions on it.

Today, due to any reason if student is unable to complete his/her course, then he/she is considered as drop out.
It was a fine morning in the month of October, and a very special one at that. It was my first ever basketball
But not anymore, because that student will have multiple exit options i.e., the student shall be certified and
tournament, for which my team and I had prepared for four months.
credited for the extent of studies which he/she have already completed so far. Any policy's effectiveness depends
The long-awaited day had arrived. on its implementation and execution. Such implementation will require multiple initiatives and actions, which
will have to be taken by multiple bodies in a synchronized and systematic manner. Therefore, the
We were all extremely excited, although with a hint of nervousness. We would be playing against teams who had
been playing professionally for 6-7 years. implementation of this Policy will be led by various bodies like the MHRD, NTA, NCERT, CBSE, CISCE, State
Boards, and other such education related bodies. It took 34 years for this policy to come on paper and therefore, it
However, we did believe in ourselves and our hard work. After the opening ceremony, we tied our laces, pulled up will take time to be executed. The NEP may not be perfect and up to the mark, but it will at least rectify and
our socks and stepped onto the court for our first match. resolve some of the major flaws of the previous education policy. Hence, it is our responsibility to support this

There was cheering all around, excitement buzzing like electricity in the air. The match started, and as the clock policy and adapt ourselves with such “Winds of Change”.
ticked by, both teams scored points. Our hard work paid off and we won the first and second matches. The third Riyansh Sachdev - XI A
match was an intriguing personal experience. I didn't believe I was a very good shot. That match proved me
wrong. I shot a silent shot from a rather long distance and won the match because of that.

Our fourth match was against a vastly experienced team, and whilst intimidated, we didn't lose hope. We did lose
that match, but we went down fighting. Our fifth match was the following morning with the defending, 3 time-
champion team. It was a humiliating defeat, and lost that match without scoring even once. We felt ashamed and
our morale was down.

The most important match, however, was yet to come. Our 6th match was the most important one in order to
clinch the third position. We were incredibly nervous.

The match was dead in the afternoon, at 2 O'clock. The sun beat down on us in a torturous, fiery blaze. The
match started, we played and tried our best, but lost by impossibly close margins.

It was heartbreaking. We all cried that day. We did, however, go down fighting. We made them struggle for the
win, and that made us happy. After just four months of practice, we were able to play on par with professional
teams and make it to the top four because of our determination and self-confidence. Despite the loss, we learnt a
lot, and that was our greatest success.

Nishtha - XI C Riddhi Das - IX A Kinshuk Sarkar - X C
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