India's National Education Policy is one of the big factors in the mahayagna (great exercise) of nation building, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday, adding that the NEP will help in creation of a New India.
“How far we will go in the future, how much height we will achieve, it will depend on what kind of education we are giving to our youth and what direction we are giving,” Modi said, addressing teachers and students on the completion of one year of the new education policy.
In the last one year, teachers, principals and policymakers of the country have worked very hard in implementing the policy on the ground, he said.
The prime minister asserted that the youth in the country is ready to bring a transformation. “We have seen how the COVID-19 changed the situation. But our students adapted to these situations quickly and online education is becoming the order of the day,” Modi said.
Elaborating on the benefits of the NEP, the prime minister said the new policy assures the youth that the country is now completely with them and with their aspirations.
"The students can now take up and leave a stream as per their wish," he said, adding that the multiple entry-exit options will free students from being stuck in one course. This will remove the fear of students who wonder if their decision to select a particular stream might be wrong, he claimed.
Modi said the Artificial Intelligence (AI) programme which has just been launched will make the youth future-oriented and open the way for an AI-driven economy.
Highlighting that the NEP also gives importance to mother tongue and local languages, Modi said he was happy that 14 engineering colleges in eight states are going to start studies in five Indian languages—Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Bangla.
“The new programmes under NEP have the potential to change India's future,” Modi said.
