National Policy of Education, (1986)

Introduction :- 
The Education Commission 1964-66 recommended that the Government of India should issue a statement on the National Policy on Education which should provide guidance to the State Governments and the local authorities in preparing and implementing educational plans. In 1967 the Government of India constituted a committee of Members of Parliament on Education to prepare the draft of a statement on the National Policy of Education. The Committee brought together, for the first time in recent history, leading members of almost all the political parties in the country and prepared a draft which was considered by the Central Advisory Board of Education. A general consensus on the national policy on education emerged in the course of the Board’s deliberations. Thereafter the Government of India issued the Resolution on National Policy on Education in 1968.

Main Features of National Policy on Education (1986)
An out line of National Policy of Education has been divided into twelve parts :
(1) Introductory
(2) The Essence and Role of Education
(3) National System of Education (4) Education for Equality
(5) Reorganisation of Education at Different Stage
(6) Technical and management Education.

Programme of Action (POA) 1986:- The Parliament during the Budget Session in 1986 discussed and adopted the "National Policy of Education 1986". A promise was made at that time by the Minister of Human Resource Development that he would present in the Monsoon Session a Programme of Action for the implementation of the Policy. Immediately after the Budget Session, the ministry undertook an intensive exercise to prepare the promised Programme of Action. This programme of Action is meant to provide an indication of the nature of actions which will be needed in order to implement the directions of the Policy. It provides a broad strategy within which detailed schemes will be subsequently drawn up; it will also facilitate the preparatory work which will be required before such schemes can be worked out fully and put into operational form. The detailed projects will be taken up for formulation by the various departments and agencies, in consultation with all concerned, once the strategy outlined in the Programme of Action has been examined and endorsed by the parliament. It is necessary to stress that what is presented here is not an inflexible structure but only a projection of directions with varying degrees of detail. A certain amount of flexibility is assumed which will help the implementing agencies in tailoring the programme of Action to suit their contexts and to make necessary modifications on the basis of experiences and emerging scenarios. Implementation of the programmes will be a cooperative effort between the Centre and the States with full involvement of the community and the teachers and a constant process of consultations is envisaged

Major Steps of National Policy of Education:-
Major steps of policy are given below:
(1) National System of Education.
(2) Navodava Schools.
(3) De-linking degrees from jobs.
(4) Performance and Accountability.
(5) The management of education.
(6) Indian Education service. (IES)
(7) Raising resources

National Policy on Education and Early Childhood Education and Care:- 
Important Features and Programmes:
1. The NPE has used the term ECCE in place of pre-primary or nursery education. NPE lays stress on the holistic nature of child development, viz., nutrition, health and social, mental, physical, moral and emotional development and recommends that ECCE should be suitably integrated with the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Programme, wherever possible.
2. The span under consideration in ECCE is from conception to about 6 years.
3. ICDS includes six services: supplementary nutrition, immunisation, health check up referral services, health education and non-formal pre-school education.
4. Day-care centres should be provided as a support service for universalisation of primary education to enable girls engaged in taking care of siblings to attend school and as a support service for working women belonging to poorer sections.
5. Programmes of ECCE should be child-oriented.
6. Programmes of ECCE should be focussed around play and the individuality of the child.
7. Formal methods and introduction of the 3 R’s should be discouraged at this stage.
8. The local community should be fully involved in ECCE programmes.
9. A full integration of child care and pre-primary education should be brought about, both as a feeder and strengthening for primary education and human resource development.

Education policies are the principles and government policy-making in educational sphere, as well as the collection of laws and rules that govern the operation of education systems. ... Therefore, education policy can directly affect the education people engage in at all ages.

1)  Regarding Elementary Education, the major objectives of National Policy of Education 1986 are mainly:

• Universal access and enrolment
• Universal retention of children up to 14 years of age and
• A sustainable improvement in the quality education to enable all children to achieve the essential levels of learning.

2) Regarding the higher education, National Policy of Education and Programme of Action of 1986 and 1992 emphasized that higher education should be provided to the people with an opportunity to reflect on the critical social, economic, cultural, moral and spiritual issues.

3)     The followings were some of the recommendations of the N.P.E. and POA of 1986 and 1992:

·        The National Policy of Education of 1986 and Programme of Action of 1992 provided a significant formulation regarding the content and process of education.

·        The values of secularism, socialism, democracy must be imbibed by the citizens of the country.

·        Education must reduce the rural urban disparities and determined measures should be taken to promote diversification and dispersal of employment opportunities.

·        Emphasis was laid on adult education especially within the age group of 15 and 35 years.

·        It also emphasized on distance education.

·        The Programme of Action (POA) 1992 aimed to fulfill the objective of universal enrolment and retention of children and successful completion of education upto 14 years.

·        POA suggested decentralized planning and good management of primary education.

·        NPE and POA gave due importance to improvement of education in educationally backward areas.

·        The NPE and POA perceived the problem of women education in India and therefore stressed the need for equal opportunity for all.

·        The POA, 1992 laid considerable stress on the need of value education and inculcation of proper perspective about the country’s cultural traditions.

·        It laid importance on higher education and research work.

·        Vocational education was given importance by the POA to increase individual competency and national productivity.

·        Teacher training facilities should be provided to eligible candidates in the teaching profession. It also suggested that the service conditions and salaries of teachers should be improved.

·        The NPE and POA emphasized that in order to avoid structural dualism, modern educational technology should be reached out.

·        The NPE and POA also emphasized on the education of the handicapped.

·        The NPE and POA emphasized on the protection of environment.

·        The NPE and POA stressed on the education of ST, SC. OBC and the minorities.