NEP at Six: Reform, Reality and the Reset

As India marks six years of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the country's most ambitious education reform in more than three decades finds itself at a defining moment. The celebrations under the Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam 2026 are not merely commemorative, they invite a deeper reflection on how far the policy has progressed and whether it is reshaping India's education system in the way it envisioned.

Reflecting this national conversation, the Department of Gandhi and Peace Studies at Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya (MGAHV), Wardha, organised a special lecture on "Education and Value Consciousness" in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Education. Delivering the keynote address, Sushma Sharma, Director of Anand Niketan School, Sevagram, said NEP 2020 has transformed higher education by making it more inclusive, multidisciplinary and student-centric. She emphasised experiential learning, project-based education and community engagement as key tools to nurture creativity, leadership, decision-making and social responsibility among students. Presiding over the programme, Dr. Rakesh Kumar Mishra, Head of the Department of Gandhi and Peace Studies, stressed that education must cultivate ethics, empathy, discipline and social responsibility alongside academic excellence. The programme concluded with a vote of thanks by Prof. Manoj Kumar Rai, former Head of the Department.

A Reform Three Decades in the Making

Approved by the Union Cabinet on July 29, 2020, NEP 2020 replaced the National Policy on Education, 1986 (revised in 1992), becoming India's first comprehensive education reform in 34 years. However, the policy was years in the making. Nationwide consultations began in 2015, followed by the T.S.R. Subramanian Committee in 2016. In 2017, the government appointed a nine-member committee headed by former ISRO Chairman Dr. K. Kasturirangan, whose draft became the foundation of the final policy. More than two lakh suggestions from teachers, universities, state governments, Gram Panchayats, students and education experts were incorporated before the Cabinet approved the policy in 2020.

The committee itself drew extensively from the Kothari Commission (1964–66), the National Policies on Education of 1968 and 1986, the Yash Pal Committee's "Learning Without Burden", the National Curriculum Framework 2005, and recommendations from organisations such as UNESCO and the OECD. Rather than introducing an entirely new philosophy, NEP 2020 synthesised decades of Indian educational thinking with contemporary global practices.

The Vision Behind NEP

Built on the five pillars of Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability and Accountability, NEP envisions transforming India into a global knowledge superpower by 2040. One of its biggest structural reforms was replacing the traditional 10+2 school structure with the 5+3+3+4 curricular framework, integrating early childhood education into formal schooling.

In higher education, the policy introduced the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUGP) with Multiple Entry and Exit options, allowing students to earn a certificate after one year, a diploma after two years, a bachelor's degree after three years or a bachelor's degree with honours or research after four years. It also established the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC), enabling students to digitally store and transfer academic credits across institutions.

Contrary to popular belief, the earlier Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) has not been abolished. Instead, it has evolved into a broader Curriculum and Credit Framework, incorporating multidisciplinary education, internships, vocational learning, entrepreneurship, research, digital education and flexible credit accumulation.

Six Years of Progress

Although the policy's long-term outcomes will take time to fully emerge, its structural impact is already visible across India's higher education ecosystem. According to the first NEP implementation stocktake under the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), 69% of universities are registered with the Academic Bank of Credits, 58% have adopted the National Curriculum and Credit Framework, 56% have introduced the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme, 49% have implemented the Multiple Entry and Exit system, 65% have established Research and Development Cells, 58% have developed industry collaborations and 51% have adopted the National Higher Education Qualification Framework.

The digital transformation has been equally significant. More than 2,469 institutions have integrated with the Academic Bank of Credits, while over 32 crore student records have been uploaded to the platform. The APAAR (Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry) initiative has generated over 15.48 crore verified student IDs, creating one of the world's largest digital academic identity systems.

At the school level, NEP's emphasis on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) resulted in the launch of the NIPUN Bharat Mission, while PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) was established under NCERT to drive competency-based assessment reforms across the country.

From Rote Learning to Competency-Based Education

Perhaps the most significant philosophical shift introduced by NEP is its move away from rote memorisation towards competency-based learning. The policy encourages experiential education, project-based learning, internships, vocational education, innovation, research, entrepreneurship and multidisciplinary teaching. Instead of rewarding students for memorising textbook content, the new framework seeks to develop critical thinking, analytical ability, creativity and problem-solving skills.

This transformation also aims to reduce the excessive dependence on coaching culture by aligning classroom learning more closely with real-world applications and industry requirements.

Can NEP Solve the Paper Leak Problem?

The recent paper leak controversies have brought renewed attention to India's examination system. While NEP 2020 itself cannot prevent paper leaks—which remain issues of examination security, governance and cybersecurity—it seeks to reduce the consequences of such incidents by moving away from single high-stakes examinations. Continuous assessment, competency-based evaluation, project work and multiple learning pathways ensure that a student's future is not determined solely by one examination.

Experts argue that when examinations assess conceptual understanding and analytical thinking rather than memorisation, leaked question papers become less valuable because success depends on knowledge and application rather than recall.

Employability: The Next Big Test

Improving employability remains one of NEP's biggest objectives. Universities are increasingly introducing internships, innovation centres, entrepreneurship programmes and stronger industry partnerships. Yet the labour market suggests that the transition remains incomplete. Recent employer surveys indicate that only 9% of employers consider graduates job-ready from their first day at work, while 51% say fresh graduates require structured training before becoming productive. National employability assessments estimate graduate employability at around 55–56%, reflecting gradual improvement but also highlighting that curriculum reform alone cannot bridge the skill gap.

Importantly, there is still no official dataset comparing placement rates of students educated entirely under NEP with those from the previous education system, as the first complete NEP batches are only now entering the workforce.

Funding the Transformation

Unlike many flagship government programmes, NEP 2020 does not have a dedicated budget. Its implementation is financed through Union and State education budgets, UGC grants and institutional funding. The policy reiterates India's long-standing aspiration of raising public expenditure on education to 6% of GDP, although that target remains to be achieved.

Nevertheless, allocations for higher education continue to rise. The Department of Higher Education's allocation increased from ₹50,077.95 crore in 2025–26 to ₹55,727.22 crore in 2026–27, an increase of 11.28%. Major allocations include ₹17,440 crore for Central Universities, ₹12,123 crore for IITs, ₹6,260 crore for NITs and ₹3,709 crore for the University Grants Commission.

The Road to 2040

Implementation of NEP is being driven through the Ministry of Education, University Grants Commission (UGC), AICTE, NCERT, PARAKH, the National Testing Agency (NTA), state governments and higher education institutions. Since education falls under the Concurrent List of the Constitution, adoption continues to vary across states, with Central Universities generally progressing faster than many State Universities.

Looking ahead, the policy aims to achieve 100% Gross Enrolment Ratio in school education by 2030, raise the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education to 50% by 2035, adding nearly 3.5 crore new seats, and ultimately establish India as a global knowledge hub by 2040.

Six years after its launch, NEP 2020 has undoubtedly transformed the architecture of Indian education through flexible curricula, digital academic infrastructure and multidisciplinary learning. Yet its ultimate success will not be measured by policy documents or regulatory reforms alone, but by whether it produces a generation of learners who are innovative, employable, socially responsible and globally competitive. The foundations have been laid; the coming decade will determine whether India's most ambitious education reform can fully realise its promise.