Teachers association in Puducherry asks for NEP 2020 to be implemented from next academic year

PCTA urges Pondicherry Univ. to implement NEP 2020 from next academic year. Subjects need revamp; curriculum framework different. PCTA says Univ. sent letter to implement NEP in current year, but no curriculum decided yet. Deliberation needed to ensure NEP implementation without affecting stakeholders.

The Pondicherry Society for Higher Education College Teachers Association (PCTA) has urged Pondicherry University to implement the National Education Policy 2020 in the Union Territory from the next academic year.

“Though the NEP aims to provide holistic education to students with an option of multiple exit systems in order to curb dropout rates, it needs a lot of deliberation in academia. Most of the affiliated institutions of Pondicherry University, especially arts and science colleges, offer only undergraduate degrees. In addition, these colleges do not have the required infrastructure to offer research degrees,” said D. Ramkumar, president of PCTA.

Pointing out that the curriculum framework under NEP 2020 was totally different from the existing curriculum, Prof Ramkumar said that the subjects taught have to undergo a complete revamp.

While Pondicherry University had sent a letter to all affiliated institutions in September 2023 to implement NEP in the current academic year itself, the curriculum has not been decided so far or communicated, for any discipline, for the affiliated institutions to follow, PCTA said

With the University’s academic council yet to approve the NEP compliant curriculum, affiliated colleges have started teaching the existing curriculum to first-year students. Hence, the implementation of NEP may be postponed, Prof Ramkumar said.

NEP should be implemented after careful deliberation without affecting any stakeholders including teachers and students and with all necessary structural provisions from the next academic year, Prof. Ramkumar said.