NEP reposes faith in ability of teachers in nation building: Tribal varsity VC

Mangaluru: The National Education Policy that considers teaching faculty as the cornerstone is striving to ensure they engage in academic work alone. Providing them better salary and job security after putting them through a performance based probation period will ensure they are up to the task of shaping the demographic dividend that India has in abundance, noted TV Kattimani, vice-chancellor, Central Tribal University, Andhra Pradesh.
Delivering the key-note address on ‘NEP 2020: Pragmatic education policy for aspirational India,’ organised by the Mangalore University with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the Centre for Education and Social Studies, Bengaluru, on Monday, Kattimani said that with accent on research, career progression of teachers depends on their research and not seniority alone. “Only those engaged in academic activities can flourish,” Kattimani said.
Admitting there is debate in academic circles on the duration of probation period for teachers, he said it is imperative for teachers to prove their academic worth during this time before they are assured of their jobs. This thrust is essential in that teachers need to be multi-dimensional and discharge their role in shaping the future generation, he said.
PS Yadapadithaya, vice-chancellor, Mangalore University, who inaugurated the seminar, said NEP 2020 that aims at ensuring continuity in academics with the ‘5+3+3+4’model will add value in that the nation has a new vision after 34 years since the last NEP was formulated. It focusses on competency based higher education while aiming to strengthen the grass roots education with a mix of online, conventional and experiential learning paradigm.
NEP also mandates higher education institutions to play their role in strengthening primary education by adopting government and aided schools in their vicinity, he said, adding the 40-year-old university will adopt 10 such institutions in a 5-km radius. Efforts will also be made to expeditiously fill up vacant teaching posts, he said. A task force will be set up at the university to implement the various salient features of NEP, he added.