New Policies & Approaches continues...

The national policy on education introduced in 1986 was preceded by

a ‘comprehensive appraisal of the existing educational scene’ and a national

debate. The new policy took note of the deficiencies of the policy of 1968 and tried to inject new perspectives in critical areas of education and

specified strategies to achieve the goals.

Thrust Areas of New Education Policy

Let us look at the introductory statement of the National Policy on

Education, 1986, which says:

“Every country develops its system of education to express and

promote its unique socio-cultural identity and also to meet the

challenges of the times. There are moments in history when a new

direction has to be given to an age-old process. That moment is

today.”

The new education policy was aimed at giving a new thrust and direction

to education in the country. The uneven development of education which

resulted in huge disparities between rural and urban India was a major

challenge faced by the Government. Educational infrastructure was

abysmally poor in the rural sector. Further, the quality of education

imparted in the rural schools, mostly run by state governments or local

bodies, was unacceptably poor. These schools did not have essential

facilities. Children had no incentive to go to school. Even after

implementation of the 1968 education policy for almost two decades,

elementary education remained as neglected as ever.

To be continued....