Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan defends NEP 2020, slams Congress on education system

Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan criticized Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, accusing her of highlighting the country's educational past marked by corruption and governance deficits.

Pradhan emphasized that the NEP 2020 represents a decisive break from this troubled history. In a post on his X handle, he said that NEP 2020 is not just an educational reform but “an intellectual decolonization that India had awaited for a long time.”

He described it as a policy that is of the people, by the people, and for the future of the people.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also praised the NEP 2020, calling it India’s intellectual renaissance and a pathway to a self-reliant, globally competitive nation through education and innovation.

Responding to Pradhan's post, PM Modi said, “Union Education Minister Shri @dpradhanbjp highlights how India’s education sector has undergone a historic transformation in the last decade. NEP 2020 is more than a reform; it is India’s intellectual renaissance, paving the way for a self-reliant, globally competitive nation through education and innovation.”

Sonia Gandhi had earlier accused the Modi-led government of following an agenda that led to "damaging consequences" in education, citing ‘3Cs’—centralization, commercialization, and communalization—plaguing Indian education.

Pradhan countered these claims, saying that the education system has improved under the Modi government.

“The country that experienced monumental neglect of education by previous governments is aware of the facts. While nations globally reimagined education, India’s educational framework remained stagnant, with its last major update in 1986, amended in 1992,” he argued.

Pradhan criticized past education policies, noting how corruption and governance deficits were prevalent, with public universities starved of funds and unregulated private institutions turning into degree mills.

He also recalled the deemed university scandal of 2009, where 44 private institutions were granted university status without proper evaluations.

He pointed out that political interference in education had been rampant, and agencies like the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) had been used for control rather than promoting excellence.

Pradhan also highlighted how textbooks often ignored the contributions of key revolutionaries such as Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad, and Veer Savarkar while curating historical narratives that suited partisan interests.

He claimed that India’s rich cultural and intellectual traditions were systematically sidelined.

Defending the NEP 2020, the minister described it as a transformative policy backed by the most extensive democratic consultations in India’s history.

“Based on the five pillars of access, equity, quality, affordability, and accountability, the NEP 2020 is a policy of the people, by the people, and for the future of the people,” he said.

Pradhan explained that one of the key objectives of NEP 2020 is to correct structural inequities inherited from centralized and elitist frameworks.

He cited impressive figures, with the enrollment of Scheduled Castes (SC) increasing by 50%, Scheduled Tribes (ST) by 75%, and Other Backward Classes (OBC) by 54% since 2014-15.

He also emphasized that women’s empowerment lies at the core of these reforms, with female enrollment rising by 38.8%, crossing 2.18 crore in 2022-23.

Female enrollment among Muslim minority students grew by 57.5%.

Girls' performance in board exams has steadily improved, and women’s PhD enrollment in higher education has risen by 135%.

Women now account for 43% of STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine) students, breaking barriers in traditionally male-dominated fields.

Additionally, female representation in the teaching workforce has increased to 44.23%, up from 38.6% in 2014.

Pradhan also noted a significant increase in government expenditure per child, rising by 130%, from Rs 10,780 in 2013-14 to Rs 25,043 in 2021-22.

This reflects the government’s focus on early childhood education. He mentioned how modern infrastructure, holistic pedagogy, and support systems are improving government schools, resulting in fewer dropouts and better learning outcomes.

Pradhan highlighted that NEP 2020 incorporates future-oriented elements such as coding from middle school, multidisciplinary problem-solving, and innovation hubs in rural areas.

Over 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) are fostering grassroots-level innovation, with plans to add 50,000 more ATLs with broadband internet connectivity in schools over the next five years.

In higher education, sustainable revenue models have alleviated universities from financial dependency.

India now boasts 11 universities in the QS World Rankings top 500, a significant improvement.

Research publications have increased by 88% since 2015, and India has climbed to 39th place in the Global Innovation Index, up from 76th in 2014.

Pradhan also addressed the sensitive issue of language, asserting that the NEP has restored the primacy of Indian languages and knowledge traditions.

He mentioned that more than 8,000 higher education institutions have adopted Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) curricula, and through the Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak Yojana, 15,000 textbooks in 22 Indian languages will be published, enabling students to express themselves in their native tongues.

Finally, Pradhan highlighted the government’s commitment to social justice through the enactment of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Act, 2019, which ensures reservations for teaching positions in central educational institutions, ensuring a more equitable and inclusive system.

Pradhan concluded by asserting that the NEP 2020 marks the beginning of a new era in India’s education system.

“The decade ahead will witness an educational renaissance that honors India’s past while embracing the future. India’s education system has finally broken free from colonial shadows and ideological captivity. It stands poised to fulfill the dreams of millions of Indians,” he said.

“This is not merely an education reform. It is the intellectual decolonization that India has awaited for a long time, which will catapult India into the comity of developed nations,” the minister concluded.