Now, students to be assessed on core concepts | Economic Times

The Centre will introduce ‘competency based assessments and examinations — SAFAL — for classes 3, 5 and 8 from this academic session onwards in keeping with the National Education Policy 2020.The NEP 2020 had strongly advocated a simpler assessment format to ensure learning levels are maintained.This was recommended against the ‘no detention’ policy under the Right to Education Act which is said to have had a detrimental affect on student learning levels.The SAFAL (Structured Assessment for Analysing Learning levels) will focus on testing for core concepts, application-based questions and higher order thinking skills.50 lakh students of more than 25,000 CBSE schools are expected to go through SAFAL assessment besides students from states/UTs who adopt this new framework.Vidya Pravesh—a 3-month play-based school preparation module for all grade 1 students—will also be introduced till universal provision of quality preschool education is achieved.The module is designed to bolster a child’s pre-literacy, pre-numeracy, cognitive and social skills. On the higher education side, the Academic Bank of Credit Regulations to promote flexibility and facilitate student mobility is set to come up. Further, over 100 institutions will allow multiple entry -exit from this year on.It is based on principle of Distributed & Flexible Teaching-Learning, that allows a student to learn as per his or her convenience, drop education mid-way and pick it up again as per their choice and convenience.Higher education institutions with NAAC “A”/NBA/Top NIRF-100/IOE/INI are eligible for the ABC platform.Delayed due to the pandemic, a Simplified and Transparent admission process to all central universities through Common Entrance Examination will be brought in by 2022-23.Work on regional languages in technical education has already started.Technical book writing in all scheduled Indian languages and translation of SWAYAM Courses of first year Engineering in 8 Indian Languages has been initiated. First year engineering ourses will be on offer in Indian languages at several instituets from the new academic session. 13 AICTE approved technical institutions will be imparting technical education in regional languages from the academic session 2021-2022 on pilot basis.Private institutes will be encouraged and incentivized to use Indian languages as medium of instruction and/or offer bilingual programmes. As envisaged under NEP 2020, revamped teacher education modules, guidelines for internationalisation of education and the setting up of NDEAR - to create a unifying national digital infrastructure to energise and catalyse the education ecosystem- will be launched this year, sources in the education ministry said.