Ludhiana educators flag NEP ‘loopholes’ during admission season

A professor in an aided college of the city on condition of anonymity said that the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 will be implemented from this year in the new academic session, but there are issues associated with its functioning at the ground level

The application for admission in different education institutions had started on May 23 throught the centralised admission portal. However, many educators are of the believe that the portal has failed to fulfil its purpose, and highlighted the loopholes associated with the National Education Policy to be implement from the new academic year.

Panjab University has still not given the syllabus for vocational courses like fashion designing and functional English. (HT File)

A professor in an aided college of the city on condition of anonymity said that the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 will be implemented from this year in the new academic session, but there are issues associated with its functioning at the ground level. “The subject combinations have changed altogether and have become extremely challenging on part of the teachers. There are many professors who have not been in favour of the NEP,” the educator added.

Panjab University has still not given the syllabus for vocational courses like fashion designing and functional English. “These are skill oriented courses. Earlier, we used to have nearly 100 students willing to opt these courses with 30 seats, but now we are unsure about the criteria and the syllabus, the professor added.

The teachers have also claimed that some students are not being able to fill the online forms effectively.

Another professor said students have approached us as they were not being able to fill the admission forms. We are now calling the students in our college to help them out with the application process. The burden on students as well as teachers have also increased. “At first, they are required to pay fee at the portal and then at the cybercafe, increasing their financial burden,” the professor added.

A member of Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union (PCCTU) Varun Goyal said that the students are now being able to earn online credits. So, the ones who are tech-savvy would avoid attending the online classes. Also, the colleges with a strength of less than 3,000 students would be merged by 2030. “What about the small colleges situated in rural areas? In case these colleges are merged, a student would have to travel 15 to 20 km to attend a college, causing inconvenience. The right to admit a student should be with the colleges and universities, rather than the government, Goyal added.

PCCTU district president Chamkaur Singh said, “No matter how many courses are being offered under the NEP, the strength of teachers in the college would determine the overall implementation.”