NEP child: Envisionin the holistic learners of the India of 2040

Hello from the future. We are engaging with you from a future that is anywhere between 10 years (2031) to about 20 years (2040) from the present. The trailblazing National Education Policy (NEP) was released in 2020. The core principles of education were iterated in the policy — recognising, identifying, and fostering the unique capabilities of each learner, with no hard distinctions between humanities, sciences, vocational learning, sports, and arts to remove dissociation among different areas of learning.

The policy made it clear that the most essential skills for the future are critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration. That is what led to this day, when NEP child became a community builder — more an employment provider, and less an employment seeker.

In this future, textbooks have lost the battle of being the fountainhead of all information. Content is presented in different ways, through different means and modes. Creativity is the king of content now. Teachers are professionally trained and techsavvy; schools and pedagogies are innovative and joyful; parents are well-informed; subjects have lost boundaries; assessment is continuous; values, technology, skilling, sports, arts, languages, and knowledge of India are integrated at every stage. Peer learning has reached a higher level.

Children in the fourth decade of the 21st century are complete, for they have fully imbibed humility, empathy, tolerance, human rights, gender equality, non-violence, global citizenship, inclusion, and equity. They understand that pride in the nation is the cornerstone of being a global citizen. They respect the environment and constantly make efforts to conserve it — at home, school, and their lives outside these places.

The Covid-19 pandemic that struck the world in 2020 was a major disruptor for the education ecosystem, and that experience radically shaped the approach to education and the mindset regarding curriculum and its delivery. A child of the 2030s is a tech-friendly tent alone cannot help achieve the des learning outcomes.

This child uses technology to further osity and learn of areas that may not be a of the curriculum, to acquire skills in cut edge areas of learning — coding, Artif Intelligence, organic farming, biophy among others. Since the curriculum con has been reduced in every subject to its essentials, the child has ample space and for observation, reflection, critical thin and inquiry-based, discovery-based, dis sion-based, and analysis-based learning

The NEP child has no exam or stress, but is holistically and tinuously assessed based on cu ity and ability to learn. Now, the space to thrive even for so-ca “troublemakers” who see thing ferently. Their creativity is n ished and cultivated. Children talent in any area — art, sport, t nology, science, mathematics, guages — are being nurtured a ability-dividend of the nation.

Every child can think mathe cally, and with a scientific tem Every child can communicate, and write in at least two Indian guages. Every child has a hea relationship with physical fit and nutrition.

All this seems right, but dichotomy is that it may be a bi much for existing institutions to fathom. from the future, we assure you that m things will change, transform, innovate, a and adopt to create the NEP child.

The NEP child will not be a harphanm (jack of all trades). Instead, what we wil are sets of diverse children with a com set of values for excellence, nation-build environment-friendliness and human who are knowledge creators even after l ing schools.

They will be lifelong learners, for t schooling has no finish line.