Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said here today that the National Education Policy 2020 offers enabling opportunities to aspiring StartUps.

Addressing the Inaugural Session of the 5- National Seminar on "Innovation in Education Through Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) Model in Higher Education" at Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC), Delhi University, Dr Jitendra Singh said that NEP 2020 accommodates the aspirations of potential StartUps at various stages of their growth. The new avenues of StarUp initiatives should be determined based on the requirements of the Industry and the market dynamics to make them sustainable, he said.

The Minister said that the National Education Policy 2020 is something that India was waiting for several decades. The biggest change was renaming the Ministry of Human Resource and Development to Ministry of Education. Secondly, before NEP 2020 came in, we were largely following the education policy formulated by Macaulay. “The biggest harm that has been done to the country by the education policy that we followed for 65 years is that we created a new genre of population called educated unemployed”, he added.

The Minister further said that unless we correct some of the bottom- line misconceptions, we cannot move forward. This National Education Policy 2020 has given us a clue to realise where we were and to work on accordingly. He said that earlier we didn't even have a clue. The mismatch of education with livelihood will be sought to be corrected through this. “This is where the theme of the PPP model also comes in. Delinking it with degree and linking it with sources of livelihood”, he added.

Dr Jitendra Singh also said that one of the most beautiful provisions in the National Education Policy 2020 is the exit and entry provision. He said that you can have a combination of subjects and even alter them. “You are actually given full potential to your aptitude, capacity and also to the opportunities. In the earlier policy every passing year made you more and more captive just like you have entry exit provision for students, you could have that for the teachers as well”, he added.

The Minister said that the other part is the earlier education system also gave us a kind of perverted entitlement. The New Education Policy will eliminate the nomenclature of dropouts and that gives students an opportunity to try their hand at the skill, innovation or idea that they want to try right now.

On the Science and Technology front, Dr Jitendra Singh highlighted that If you have to grow on, you have to grow on in synergy. The era of silos is over. It has to be an integrated effort. After 20 years, it will all be all private public and it will all be global. Now it’s time for public and private in India to collaborate with the public and private in the other country. “We are now a part of the global world so this public private partnership is inevitable”, he added.

The Minister said that the Government has so many programmes that are not adequately availed off. “We are able to provide support to those who reach us. So how to reach those who could make the best out of it. That’s where the universities come in.”, he added.

Dr Jitendra Singh added that the other is a change of mindset needed from obsession with government jobs. Universities can play an important role here also to liberate the mindset by making people realize that there are avenues that are much more lucrative than a government job and that will draw them.

The Minister further added that the next is to liberate from the mindset that the educated should be given more entitlement. We have huge potential in this country of Agri tech start-ups. Most of their founders are not even graduates. Innovation can be independent of science, of education and degree. “We have aroma mission going on in the country, also popularly referred to as the Purple revolution. We are providing all support and they are making huge profits and most are not even graduates”, he added.

Dr Jitendra Singh also said that education does not mean literacy. You could be educated without being a graduate. You could be innovative without going to a college. That genre is gradually coming up now.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that the National education policy 2020 has liberated us from all the superfluous entitlements and then made it a tool of not only livelihood but also of ease of living. “Thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, there is a new awakening that has dawned in this country regarding Start-up India and Stand-up India. The result is that from just 350 start-ups we have more than 90,000 and we have more than 100 unicorns, our economy is the fastest growing and we are rated as the 3rd best start-up ecosystem in the world. There was a lot of potential waiting to happen and the Prime Minister has given it the outlet”, he concluded.

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