The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) is a comprehensive policy document, approved by the Union Cabinet on July 29, 2020, that outlines the vision for India's new education system. It is the first education policy of the 21st century and was created to address issues like low learning outcomes, rote-based teaching, and the fragmentation of higher education institutions. The NEP 2020 replaced the National Policy on Education, 1986, which had been in effect for 34 years.
The policy is built on the five guiding pillars of Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability, and Accountability, aiming to transform India into a global knowledge superpower. A key mechanism is the replacement of the 10+2 school structure with a 5+3+3+4 curricular framework, covering ages 3 to 18. This new structure integrates Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) into the formal schooling system. The policy mandates a focus on achieving universal Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) in primary school by 2025.
In higher education, the NEP 2020 aims to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) to 50% by 2035. It proposes the establishment of the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) as a single overarching regulator, which will have four verticals, including the National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC) and the Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC), the latter of which is intended to replace the existing University Grants Commission (UGC). The policy also connects to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, by seeking to bring approximately two crore out-of-school children back into the mainstream. Other related concepts include the Academic Bank of Credits for digital storage of earned credits and the National Research Foundation to boost research.