Assam Governor demands implementation of student-centric education in NEP 2020

Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya on Tuesday demanded the implementation of student-centric teaching in a manner which goes beyond the confines of the classroom and interlinks learning with life.

Speaking in a Vice-Chancellors' meet at Gauhati University, arranged by Raj Bhavan, on the topic "Transformative Reforms in Pedagogy, Curriculum and Assessment System: Immediate Need of NEP 2020," the Governor stated that NEP 2020 has initiated revolutionary changes, which necessitate teachers to be mentors and innovators.

"Here, the faculties must change themselves into mentors and instructors to elicit the best out of the students by utilizing new technologies in education," Acharya emphasized. He pointed out the need to shift away from traditional rote learning to project and experimental approaches with freedom to engage the students in applying what they study in a live setting.

The Governor pointed out that NEP 2020 not only empowering the students but also reshapes the role of teachers in a manner that they are ready to adopt the role of facilitators of knowledge having the potential to develop creativity, innovation, and critical thinking. "The policy urges the teachers to make higher education more innovative in character and prepare students to handle the challenges of the rapidly changing world," he added further.

Acharya also stressed the creation of a robust and comprehensive network of higher education for all the universities of Assam that fosters multidisciplinary learning and innovation through research. He noted that unless the pedagogy, curricular reforms, and assessment systems are coordinated by the universities themselves for NEP 2020 to become effective, it would be difficult to implement.

The Vice-Chancellors' conclave gathered the academic heads of the state to deliberate on the latest reforms that would strike a balance between higher education and the NEP vision. The issues discussed were integrating digital technology into curricula, the way curriculum would have to alter, competency-based education, and how to make it more comprehensive in evaluation.

With NEP 2020 as a course correction to education in India, the Governor's plea is a conceptualization of the way in which higher education institutions in Assam must introduce radical reforms that place the students at the very heart of the learning process.