Union Cabinet today (Jul 29) has approved the new National Education Policy (NEP). The cabinet has also approved renaming of the HRD Ministry has Education Ministry.

The new National Education Policy (NEP) will replace the existing National Policy on Education which was originally formulated in 1986 and last modified in 1992.

The draft National Education Policy (NEP) was amongst the first documents to be released by the NDA government after it assumed office again on 30 May 2019 after its stunning reelection victory. It was placed in the public domain on 1 June 2019 inviting suggestions from public.

The comprehensive 484-page draft comprised of four parts: dealing with “School Education,” “Higher Education,” “Additional Key Focus Areas,” and “Transforming Education,” with an addendum, and 14 appendices.

The new NEP is expected to work towards modernise the education sector in the country and do away with age-old stereotypical norms in the field, making various unusual streams of education accessible to students.

Among various changes that the new NEP is expected to bring is also reduction in content load in school education curriculum as it has been the complaint of students for a long time.

"The draft NEP is based on the foundational pillars access, affordability, equity, quality, and accountability," Times Now reported citing the draft NEP Document released earlier.