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Unit 6: National Policy of Education, (1986)

14. Meaningful Partnership: The Centre and States will make their partnership in the field of Notes
education meaningful.
15. Expenditure on Education: Efforts to be made to spend 6% of GNP on education.
16. Education for All: Attempts to made to provide elementary education and adult education
to all.

6.6 Evaluation of the NPE

The most important significant aspect of the NPE is that for the first time in the history of India,
an education policy was formulated at the initiative of a Prime Minister.
The second aspect is that a nation-wide debate was held on different aspects of education before
the NPE came into being.
The third aspect is that it was discussed in the Parliament.
Lastly, a Programme of Action was chalked out its implementation.
6.6.1 Merits of the NPE

Among the most important merits, following may be mentioned:
1 . National System of Education: The NPE proposed a national system of education to
provide access to education of a comparable quality to all students, to have a common
educational structure with national curricular framework containing a common core.
2. Improvement in Primary Education: The NPE very rightly laid stress on the qualitative
improvement of elementary education.
3. Pace Setting Schools: Setting up of Navodaya Vidyalayas is a great landmark in the
history of education in India.
4. Vocational Targets: The policy fixed somewhat realistic targets of covering 10 per cent of
higher secondary students by 1990 and 25 per cent by 1995 in vocational courses.
5. Delinking Degrees from Jobs: Beginning to be made in delinking degrees from jobs in
selected areas.
6. Performance and Accountability: Stress was laid on performance and accountability at all
levels.
7. Decentralisation of the Management of Education: The policy very aptly called for evolving
a strategy of decentralisation and the creation of a spirit of autonomy for educational
institutions.
8. Indian Education Service: It envisaged that the Constitution of the Indian education Service
would bring about a national perspective in education.
9. National Testing Service: This is likely to be helpful in determining suitability of candidates
for specified jobs and to pave the way for the emergence of norms of comparable
competence across the nation.
10. Raising Resources: The policy has suggested appropriate methods of financing education.
These are:
(i) Beneficiary communities to maintain school buildings and supplies of some
Consumables; (ii) Raising fees at the higher levels of education; (iii) Levying a cess or
charge on users of research and development agencies; and (iv) Affecting savings by the
efficient use of facilities.

6.6.2 Missing Links and Limitations of the New Policy
1. Financial Aspects not Worked Out: It is very unfortunate that financial implications have not
been worked out. Targets in different areas have not been fixed. Any workable document
must be backed by financial resources otherwise it will remain a ‘paper’ document.
2. No Reference to Basic system of Education: There is no reference to the Basic System of
Education at the School Stage.

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