Impact of National Educational Policy on English Studies

After India's Independence in 1947, the Indian government sponsored variety of programs to address the literary problems in both rural and urban areas of the country. India's first Minister of Education, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, strongly requested the Central government to take the control of education, so as to bring uniform education system across the country. In order to modernise India's education system the Union government established the University Education Commission (1948–1949), the Secondary Education Commission (1952–1953), university Grants Commission (UGC) and the Kothari Commission (1964–66). The Resolution on Scientific Policy was adopted by the government of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The Nehru government sponsored the development of high-quality scientific education institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology. In 1961, the Union government formed the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) as an autonomous organisation that would advise both the union and state governments on formulating and implementing education policies.

 

National Education Policy (NEP), 1968

Based on the report and recommendations of the Kothari Commission (1964–1966), the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi announced the first National Policy on Education in 1968, which called for a "radical restructuring" and equalise educational opportunities in order to achieve national integration and greater cultural and economic development. The main target of the National Education Policy (NPE) is to promote education among the people in India. The policy covers education from elementary level to colleges in both rural and urban areas. All education boards in India like CISCE and CBSE are based on this policy. The policy focused on learning of regional languages, outlining the "three language formula" to be implemented in secondary education - the instruction of the English language, the official language of the state where the school was based, and Hindi, Language education was seen as essential to reduce the gulf between the intelligentsia and the masses (NEP 1968). Although the decision to adopt Hindi as the national language had proven controversial, the policy called for use and learning of Hindi to be encouraged uniformly to promote a common language among the Indians. The policy also encouraged the teaching of the ancient Sanskrit language, which was considered an essential part of India's culture and heritage. The NPE of 1968 called for education spending to increase to six per cent of the national income.

National Education Policy (NEP), 1986

Later in 1985 the government of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, introduced a new National Policy on Education in May, 1986. The new policy gave "special emphasis on the removal of disparities and to equalise educational opportunity," especially for Indian women, Scheduled Tribes (ST) and the Scheduled Caste (SC) communities. In order to achieve that kind of social integration, the policy called for expanding scholarships, adult education, recruiting more teachers from the SCs, incentives for poor families to send their children to school regularly, development of new institutions and providing housing and services. The NPE called for a "child-centred approach" in primary education, and launched "Operation Blackboard" to improve primary schools across the nation. The policy expanded the Open University system with the Indira Gandhi National Open University, which had been created in 1985 (NEP 1986). The policy also put forth the creation of the "rural university" model, based on the philosophy of Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, to promote economic and social development at the grassroots level in rural India. 1986 education policy expected to spent 6%of GDP on education.

National Education Policy (NEP), 1992

In 1992, the National Education Policy of 1986 was modified P V Narasimha Rao government. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh adopted a new policy in 2005, based on the "Common Minimum Programme" of his United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Programme of Action (PoA) in 1992 under the1986 NPE, proposed to conduct a common entrance examination at all India level for the admissions into the professional and technical programmes in the country. For admission to Engineering and Architecture/Planning programmes, Government of India vide Resolution dated 18 October 2001 has laid down a Three – Exam Scheme (JEE and AIEEE at the National Level and the State Level Engineering Entrance Examinations (SLEEE) for State Level Institutions – with an option to join AIEEE). These entrance examinations raise the admission standards in these programmes and helps in the maintenance of professional standards. As there is only a single entrance examination to get into these programmes across the country, it reduces physical, mental and financial burden on students as well as on the parents. (NEP, 1992)

 

National Education Policy (NEP), 2019

Again on 31st May 2019, the Committee for Draft National Education Policy chaired by Dr K Kasturirangan submitted its report. Unlike the National Education Policy (NEP) of previous years NEP 2019 does not start with the focus on 6 to 14 but gives most importance to "Access for children aged 3 - 8 years to a flexible, multifaceted, multilevel, play-based and activity-based education." According to NEP 2019, a new National Research Foundation will be set up through an Act of Parliament, as an autonomous body of the Government of India, to fund, mentor, incentivise, and build capacity for quality research across the country in all disciplines, primarily at universities and colleges, both public and private.

Impacts of  National Education Policy (NEP) 2019 on English Studies

The National Education Policies were successful in improving the standards of education system in India. Through the various schemes of NEP the poor people in rural India was able to afford education for their children. These policies have not just made quality education affordable for all people across the country but it was successful in bringing changes to each discipline in particular. Especially the NEP 2019 mainly focuses on bringing multidisciplinary approach in learning from school levels to research levels in colleges and universities across the country.

English Studies have always been a major concern among the people in India. English Studies was introduced as an academic discipline in schools and colleges in India during the British rule. There were many disputes in India on teaching English language to students after the independence as the language reminded people of the colonial past. On the other hand many people said that English should be taught to children as it is an international language. And also English will act as a medium through which people can communicate in a country like India where there is a multiplicity in languages. Even India's first Prime Minister considered 'English as a window to the outer world.' Now on looking into the position of English Studies in India, it has got a privileged position in two most important examinations in India - the Civil Service Examinations (CSE) conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and University Grants Commission's National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) in English.

The publication of Gauri Viswanathan's Masks of Conquests: Literary Study and British Rule in India (1990), which is on the ideology and practice of English studies in British India, threw a light on the social and cultural functions of English studies in India. This trend gained momentum in two seminars organized in Delhi and Hyderabad under the aegis of the UGC and the British Council in 1988 and 1991 respectively. And later on there were many publications on the same path which include The Lie of the Land: English Literary Studies in India (1992) by Rajeswari Sunder Rajan, Provocations: The Teaching of English Literature in India (1993) by Sudhakar Maratheetal, Rethinking English: Essays in Literature, Language, History (1994) by Svati Joshi and Subject to Change: Teaching Literature in the Nineties (1998) by Susie Tharu.

On 26th January 1965 English was declared as one of the official languages of India by the parliament. From then English occupied a prominent place in India as a language. English emerged as an academic discipline in India in the end of the 19th century. The emergence of English as an academic discipline happened mainly because of the social issues. As English will act as a medium through which people can communicate in a country like India where there is a multiplicity in languages. And so English became a part of academic curriculum from schools to colleges across the country. Not just that economic elite such as big companies used English as a test for entering into elite class and also for the jobs controlled by them. Speaking English became a criterion to determine whether someone is "educated" and also it was a requisite for getting jobs into big companies. That is English was seen as a part of elitist and cosmopolitan identity.  And ultimately this resulted in the ignorance of the people who educated non-English speaking people. Mainly in the Government schools the mode of communication and teaching is in the regional language. So, the educated poor people are unable to get into the well-paid jobs. So as a result there is an imbalance in seeking jobs based on societal hierarchies. In order to avoid this problem NEP 2019 has come up with three- language formula (P4.5.6.) (NEP,2019). The learning of three – language formula was implemented in the NEP 1986 but it was not implemented properly and so NEP 2019 has given special emphasis on this formula. According to this formula, multilingual communicative abilities will be promoted across the country. This formula should be stressed particularly in Hindi-speaking states, for the purpose of national integration they should also offer and teach Indian languages from other parts of country. This will increase the status of Indian languages and also will increase the opportunities for language teachers across the country. The literature of those languages should also be taught in universities & colleges as it will enlarge the range of opportunities for graduating students. With the implementation of this formula English will be taught in schools and colleges, so that the students can get into multi-national companies and also can give competitive exams like TOEFL, IELTS etc without any particular training. According to the present scenario of our country in the field of education, majority of students opts for professional courses and there is a decline in the number of students joining English literature in universities & colleges, as there is lack of job opportunities in English. When there is an increased demand for language teachers in schools & colleges, there will be a hike in number students joining English literature in colleges & universities. 

NEP 2019 has come up with various ways to improve education in India. Their main focus is to have a multidisciplinary approach in schools as well at university & colleges and also to promote the learning of languages by the students making it compulsory that students should know three languages (NEP, 2019). NEP 2019 also puts special emphasis on the matter that schools should teach arts subjects along with sciences & social sciences. From the school level itself students will understand that art subjects including languages are also prominent. Learning language is important like learning science subjects. So the students won't have any kinds of alienation in learning languages. By improving the status of subjects like English from school level we are giving prominence to that subject. English shares an indispensible part in economic, social and political life of the people in the country, so its very important to understand that language.

NEP 2019 also comes up with the various ways in which language has to be taught to students particularly to school students. Based on their policy, 'Approach to language learning and teaching' (P4.5.11) languages should be taught in a fun & interactive style with an emphasis on functionality and interaction (NEP, 2019). Along with it, NEP 2019 is planning to set up 'New Educational Technology Forum' with the aim of proving new & improved teaching methods to teach students and to make classes very interesting. It will also make the students more interested in learning various languages including English, mainly focusing on the communication sides of it. When teaching styles are interesting to the students, they will have more passion to learn & understand the language. NCERT along with SCERT will be doing it in the same manner. There should not be any kinds of prejudices in teaching English in Indian classrooms. Thereby there are chances for more students opting to do English Literature in colleges.

In the beginning when English became a part of the academic curriculum, the major focus was on the British literature both in schools & universities and many students demanded for the implementation of Indian literature in the curriculum. According to NEP 2019 there should be an 'Incorporation of relevant excerpts from great works of Indian literature throughout the curriculum' in schools & colleges. (P4.5.13) (NEP, 2019). That is the works written by great Indian writers like Tagore should be included in their course. In this way students will get an exposure in Indian English writers & Indian literature. This will give an importance to Indian writers & also to Indian literature. In short English Studies in India will be inclusive of all kinds of Literature coming under it. So we can also keep pace with latest developments happening in this field. English is the language of research works in major fields of study. The study of English language and translation from world literature in addition to vernacular literature should be taught in the Indian classrooms.

On looking in particular to the education in universities & colleges, many don't offer programmes on English Literature. In case if they have English programmes, it will be associated with other disciplines in the form of double major or Triple Major programmes like English Literature, Communication & Journalism (ECJ) etc. English can be well complemented with disciplines like Psychology, Media Studies etc. When doing so only some sub topics in English Studies will be focused in particular. Based on NEP 2019, all undergraduate programmes shall have a special focus on language education. Institutions will be funded to teach languages (NEP, 2019). So with the implementation of this policy more universities & colleges will be offering programmes in English. When English programmes are offered in connection with other disciplines there more chances for securing the career. There should be more writing based courses in English like critical writing, research paper writing etc. NEP 2019 also says that universities should provide research in various languages in India. So, there will be opportunities for many scholars to do research in English Studies.

NEP 2019 also encourages institutions to have tie - up with foreign universities (P12.4.3) (NEP, 2019). Indian institutions can collaborate with foreign universities, where the students can partly in India and also in the main campus of that foreign university, and vice versa. Thereby standards of learning English can be raised in the country.  The duration of under graduate and post graduate courses are different in different country, so MHRD will be signing MOU's with many countries. This will provide mutual recognition to the degrees awarded by both countries. A proper implementation of this is going to benefit a lot of English scholars. This will also benefit students in terms of research (P12.4.4) (NEP, 2019).  If Indian institutions ties - up with universities in Europe and U.S, then scholars will be getting exposure to British and American literature in a complete sense along with Indian literature. The scholars will also be exposed to the recent developments happening in English Studies across the globe. Other than that, it also helps in improving the spoken English.

In NEP 2019, they have put emphasis on teaching English as part of Adult Education. Like the youngsters in India, it's very important for the older people to read and understand English (NEP, 2019). Thereby we can increase the number of people who can read and write English.

NEP 2019 is planning to establish National Research Foundation (P.14.17) for focusing on the research advancements in each discipline in India (NEP, 2019). So through this, research done in the field of English will be taken care and special emphasis will be given on the thesis produced. More universities in the country should offer research programmes & facilities for English scholars. Through this we can enlarge the English departments across the country. Universities should offer research on wide variety of areas coming under English Studies like linguistics, translation studies etc. By encouraging scholars to do research on various sub topics in English we can widen the English discipline in India. NEP 2019 is also promoting interdisciplinary approaches, Culture studies, Film studies and Media studies can also be dealt under English Studies. Earlier, British English literature was the main focus of interest among the research scholars. Later it became American literature, commonwealth literature, and indianization of English department.

NEP 2019 has come up with lots of innovative things and it has complimented a lot for the development of English Studies in India.  The only recent behind the decline in the number of students opting for English Studies is the lack of career opportunities. But with the implementation of NEP 2019 we can hope to see a change. When scholars get to know there are lots of opportunities in this field, they will be opting English Studies as part of their higher education.

 

 

 

 

 

CITATIONS

B Tasildar, Ravindran. English Studies in India: Some Reflections on the Present Scenario. http://journals.du.ac.in/humsoc/pdf/6DU-journal.pdf. Accessed on 14th August 2019.

English Studies in India. Shodhganga. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/32978/6/06_introduction.pdf. Accessed on 13th August 2019.

Jyoti. Emerging trends in English Studies in India: An overview. https://www.slideshare.net/ijelsresearch/emerging-trends-in-english-studies-in-india-an-overview. Accessed on 15th August 2019.

"NCERT" (PDF). National Council of Educational Research and Training. Accessed on 12 August 2019.

National Education Policy, 2019.  https://mhrd.gov.in › sites › mhrd › files › Draft_NEP_2019_EN_Revised. Accessed on 12th August 2019.

Organizer. Highlights: The much-awaited Draft National Education Policy (NEP) 2019. https://www.organiser.org/Encyc/2019/6/10/National-Education-Policy-Highlights.html. Accessed on 12th August 2019.