06.10.2025
Meeting of the Democratic Forum, Rohtak held on 05.10.2025
A Discussion on Five Years of New Education Policy (NEP-2020) in Higher Education in Haryana
(This note is based on the main issues highlighted by the four invited speakers: Prof. Narinder S. Chahar, Prof. Vanita Rose, Prof. Sunil Kumar & Mr Vinod Gill, a research scholar and the participants in Question-and-Answer session which followed the discussion: Prof. Surinder Kumar, President, Democratic Forum, Rohtak)
• Deterioration of Higher Education in Haryana accelerated with the introduction of semester system on ad-hoc basis in 2008-09. Syllabus was bifurcated into two parts and this became the syllabi of various subjects/disciplines at graduate and postgraduate levels. The teaching-learning process was crippled and examination schedule was completely dislocated as the external examination system and semester system were not compatible. Further, Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) was introduced without taking into consideration the necessary and sufficient conditions for its success i.e. no new faculty appointments, no additional subjects/courses in the universities and colleges were introduced. All this led to deterioration in the teaching learning process in the universities and colleges in Haryana.
• Education is in the concurrent list of the Constitution of India. Further centralisation of education took place with the Central Government/UGC giving directives through the Governors of the states and Vice-Chancellors of the state universities e.g. controversies erupted in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
• The Haryana State Government claims to have implemented NEP-2020 fully by 2025. However, ground realities do not corroborate the claim.
• No legislative/regulatory steps have been taken by the state government to enhance the autonomy of the universities (the EC and the AC) and the colleges. No change in the college affiliation system with the universities has been brought about. The process of appointment of the VCs in the universities remains centralised, and the political leadership and bureaucracy rule the roost. Other administrative functionaries like Dean Colleges, Director Distance Education, Dean Students Welfare etc. are appointed on ad-hoc basis and teaching faculty is burdened with these responsibilities, thereby compromising teaching and research in the teaching departments. In fact, the old ad-hoc system continues – which is not in consonance with the requirements of the NEP- 2020.
• Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Haryana was 31% (2020-21). There is no clear roadmap to raise it to 50% by 2035 as required under the NEP-2020. In Haryana’s Colleges (Government, Aided and Private Colleges), for the post-graduate courses only 39% students’ seats are filled up and for graduate classes, 51% seats are filled up, apparently due to increasing fee, decrease in scholarships, and poor quality of education. Drop-out rates are high, absentee enrolment of students is increasing, many students take admission for concessional bus passes only and attend private coaching classes for vocations. There is a sharp decline in enrolment of students in basic sciences in the colleges. Dalit students are suffering the most. However, enrolment in the Distance Education mode is increasing.
• As of now, there is no appointment of new teaching faculty in colleges and universities, even the existing 40-50% posts are lying vacant, what to talk about adding to the teaching faculty positions to revamp higher education and enhance Gross Enrolment Ratio. At best, research scholars and contractual teachers are appointed to fill the gap of teaching workloads in the colleges and universities, what to talk of quality teaching and research.
• There has been little effort to build capacities of the teaching faculty in the universities to restructure academic curriculum to meet the requirements of the NEP-2020. As senior faculty positions in most of the teaching departments are lying vacant, the task of restructuring courses and curriculum in the holistic multi-disciplinary/inter-disciplinary framework becomes all the more difficult.
• Efforts have been made to restructure academic curriculum within the National Higher Education Qualifications Framework (NHEQF). However, as the teachers were not familiar with the requirements of NHEQF, the quality of curriculum and syllabi has been compromised. It has led to ad-hocism in the course-structures of various disciplines.
• The spirit of Liberal Arts education in colleges is not feasible and is missing as the facilities to teach in more than two-three subjects in each stream is not there in colleges. There is hardly any student who opts for a combination of Physical Sciences – say, Physics - and Humanities/Social Science subjects like Music, Philosophy and Economics, in the colleges.
• As almost all the teachers were trained in their own post-graduation education only in the (strictly) disciplinary framework, they have limited capacity to frame curriculum and teach in the holistic multi-disciplinary/inter-disciplinary framework.
• To evolve an accountable system of the teaching-learning process requires a cultural change like in JNU, IITs and IIMs. Regional universities and colleges need a massive transformation in their work culture for which teaching faculty needs to be trained and skilled. As of now, there are no signs of this happening on the ground.
• The objectives of the Academic Bank of Credits are not clear to teachers as well as students. This has led to difficulties in its operationalisation.
• A survey conducted by the Department of Education, M.D. University, Rohtak shows that most of the teachers in the university and colleges have no opinion about the NEP-2020 which would imply, they were not aware of its provisions. Only 7% teachers had positive opinion and 25% had negative opinion about the NEP-2020. In such a situation, NEP cannot be implemented successfully.
• For the capacity-building programmes conducted by the universities to address the concerns of the NEP-2020, only one teacher from each of the affiliated colleges was invited. It was an inadequate training programme and got reduced to being a ritual.
• In some of the Education Colleges and Education Departments of universities in Haryana, Four-Year Integrated Teachers Education Programme has been introduced without adequate preparation. There are no guidelines for the programme till date.
• The Vocational Education Programme in various classes at under-graduate levels was not well-conceived and was just a ritual. It is not administered well. Internships with local industries, businesses, civil society organisations/NGOs are just a formality and need to be revamped completely. The students are asked to bear the cost of internship programmes, which is very high.
• The spirit of NEP-2020 has been lost in the process of its implementation. It appears that policies are not for implementation but for documentation only. Campus democracy is under threat. What has emerged is centralisation, ad-hocism, commercialisation and privatisation of education.
• In the name of Indian Knowledge System and value-based education, Hindutva/a communal agenda is being promoted.
• Financing of Higher Education in Haryana: The State Government’s financial grants to universities as a share of their annual budgetary requirements has been consistently declining. The universities are financing their academic programmes through self-financing programmes, increases in the students’ fees and other annual charges, increase in the examination fees etc. Higher education has become expensive and unaffordable for the poor and even the middle class is feeling its pinch. This has led to drop in the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education institutions in the state, even though an increase in the GER is a major concern and aim of the NEP-2020. All India Federation of College and University Teachers Federation (AIFUCTO) has demanded that public education finances should be raised to 10% of the GDP, if we want to implement NEP effectively.
• The gap between the students and the teachers is increasing. Cynicism and alienation is increasing. Dialogue between teachers and students needs to be established.
