New Education Policy-2020 will turn India into a global knowledge superpower said Union Education and Skill Development Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan at 61^st Foundation Day of NCERT via video conferencing. Shri Subhash Sarkar, Minister of State of Education, Dr. Raj Kumar Ranjan Singh, Minister for State for Education and senior officials of the Ministry and NCERT were present on the occasion.

Addressing the participants Shri  Pradhancongratulated NCERT on this occasion and appreciated NCERT’s efforts in improving the quality of education. Recognizing NCERT’s milestones in its journey from bringing out the National Curriculum Frameworks for school education to the Alternative Academic Calendar to facilitate learning during the pandemic, he said that NCERT should gear up for bringing in massive transformation in education as envisaged in the NEP 2020.

Shri Subhash Sarkar extended his greetings on the occasion. He highlighted the significance of the logo of the three swans and the motto that, when translated, means ‘life eternal through learning’. He appreciated the magnificent memorable service of NCERT as the resource centre of research, development and training, mentioning that 42 lakh teachers had been trained under the NISHTHA initiative. He stressed the role of integration of vocational and academic education for achieving the roles of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Skill India. He recalled that the Prime Minister had said that the NEP will contribute to a new India. The role of NCERT is indispensible in this regard.

Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh said that the foundation day was an occasion to rejoice in the past, introspect, and plan for the future. Through amusing fables, he appreciated the regular review of materials and flexibility to adopt/ adapt in NCERT that contribute to the joy of learning. Recalling the episodes of  collectively cleaning the school campus from his schooldays, he hoped that the sense of belongingness among learners to schools will be imparted through the new curriculum. This will also strengthen the concept of Swasth Bharat programme.

Prof. Shridhar Shrivastava, Director (I/C), NCERT presented a brief overview of the last six decades of achievements of the Council, which includes the Constituent Units—Regional Institutes of Education at Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Shillong and Mysuru, along with CIET, New Delhi and PSSCIVE Bhopal. As an apex national organisation, the Council is committed towards promoting excellence, equity, inclusiveness and quality, in school education. NCERT has been working on the areas of research, development of curriculum, syllabi, textual and training materials in both face-to-face and online modes. Recent significant initiatives include assessment of students through National Achievement Survey (NAS). Development of Learning Outcomes, preparing e-contents in all subject areas for all stages of school education. Another milestone of achievement included the development of ECCE Curriculum and Guidelines.

The programme was attended online by all the faculty members, staff and other invitees of all the constituents of NCERT through Official Youtube channel. The entire programme was conducted with Covid appropriate protocol in place.

The publication of NCERT titled ‘Dictionary of Sociology’ in three languages: English, Hindi and Urdu, explaining the terms in Sociology was formally released by the dignitaries on the dais.

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MJPS/AK