Editorial Board

A Refereed Monthly International Journal of Management

Interpretations and Impact of New Education Policy 2020 on Indian Higher Education for Industry 4.0

Monika Gadre

Assistant Professor,

BBA (Global e-Business), MIT WPU,

Pune, India

Dr. Aruna Deoskar

Principal,

ATSS CBSCA,

Pune, India

Abstract

Industry 4.0 is revolutionizing the way industries work using emerging technologies and trends. And there is a tectonic shift in the work culture and hence the job market. There exists a gap in the skills the industry is looking for and what the curriculum offers, which leads to educated unemployment. The dynamically changing industry demands for aligning the higher education system with the growing demands of the industry. The survey was conducted to understand the stakeholder’s views about the competency mismatch and challenges in Indian higher education for Industry 4.0. Also, the recommendations of New Education Policy 2020 were studied for restructuring the curriculum to improve employability. Though New Education Policy 2020 aims to provide high-quality education the implementation seems difficult in developing countries like India where it lacks the availability of basic infrastructure. It does not address the transition required to be industry-ready and how to integrate and implement the concept of holistic development, lifelong learning, and student-centric project-based approach of teaching and learning, outcome-based education to narrow the existing industry-academia gap.

Keywords: Higher education, New Education Policy 2020, Gap, Industry 4.0, Education

Introduction

Education is the process of enabling learning, acquiring knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits that are necessary for the overall development of an individual. For the first time in Indian history, an ambitious and futuristic education policy has been introduced known as ‘New Education Policy 2020’. Under the chairmanship of eminent scientist, Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) recommendations are made to New Education Policy 2020.(Kumar & Nagrani, 2020) It has been designed in such a way that it proposes to change the system right from primary to higher education. New Education Policy 2020(NEP) would disrupt and changes in the existing education system would be made with the growing changes in the knowledge landscape.

The New Education Policy would have a constructive and long-lasting impact on the higher education system. There is a need for Industry-based education to bridge the gap between what we offer to the students and what is the need of the industries for Industry 4.0. The major reason for brain drain is the lack of favourable professional opportunities and the growing rate of educated unemployment here in India. Also, there is a greater inclination of students for studying abroad because of the quality education, highly rewarding career advantage and overall development and growth. New Education Policy 2020 has been aimed to change India into a global knowledge superpower and to highlight the importance of experiential learning, creativity, and imagination.(Akhter, 2020)

Promising technologies like the Robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Internet of Things (IoT) are changingthe global manufacturing, industrial processes, and people In a fastdeveloping economy like India. In the past few years, the use of technology has grown considerably and played a key role in facilitating quality and sustainability. Digital Technology has significantly supported various domains at the time of the sudden COVID-19 outbreak.

Industry 4.0 is about the emerging technologies disrupting the Indian industry. To take the best advantage of Industry 4.0 there is a necessity for multidisciplinary higher education for knowledge-based learning. The same has also been proposed in New Education Policy.To keep up with the change, there is a need to revisit the traditional education system with aninnovative and revolutionary approach. Students should be adept with skills of the fast-changing technology; they should be mentored than instructed; information should be made accessible and not fed to them.To compete with the workforceboth general and vocational education should aim at making students skill ready. The goal of the National Education Policy is to transform India intoaninformation giant witha focus on learning, research, and innovation to be spread worldwide.

Challenges of IndianHigher Education

Higher education in India is yet to witness progress due to the transformations from conventional teaching to a blended, hybrid modern teaching pedagogy. None of the Indian universities is in the top 100 institutional Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings 2020. IIT Bombay, IISc Bangalore, and IIT Delhi, that is only 3 top brands from India are out of 200 institutes in QS World University Rankings 2020(QS World University Rankings 2020: Top Global Universities | Top Universities, n.d.). This fact indicates that Indian institutes fail in academic and employer reputation, teaching quality, levels of internationalization, educated unemployment, inadequate research contribution and funding, poor track record in awards and recognition to name a few.(Manivasakan, 2020)

Various factors structurally challenge the current monodisciplinary higher education model. Following are the challenges faced by Indian higher education–

Table 1: Challenges - Traditional higher education model

These initiatives need to be aligned with the existing education system to overcome the challenges.

Recommendations of NEP2020 and its Implications on Higher Education in India

After completing professional degree programs, there is a huge demand for additional training to become industry-ready (Büth et al., 2017). This indicates that there is a gap between what the University curriculum offers and what the industries are looking for. The overlooked gap between academia-industry is the root cause of educated unemployment. Industry and academia are two diverse fields operating on dissimilar platforms and standards. The ideologies and purposes of both are different. However, both are interconnected. The job-readiness of pass-outs is negligible as the students lack practical knowledge and industry exposure.

New Education Policy 2020 is predicted to bring notable and all-inclusive changes to the existing education system. It focuses on holistic development, multi-disciplinary approach, internship, familiarising school students with coding to bring in innovation, creativity, encouraging analytical and logical thinking, outcome-based learning.(MHRD, 2020)The policy aims to inculcate in students the ability to learn emerging trends.

Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Higher and vocational education in Indiafor the year 2019-20 is 27.1%, according to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE)(AISHE Report 2019-20, n.d.). By 2030 it is expected to reach 50% if we follow the recommendations of new education policy and reforms.

New Education Policy 2020expects and recommendsdynamic changes tothe higher education to weaken the issuesfaced and thus delivering excellentcompetenteducation.

Following are the recommendations as per New Education Policy 2020 and its implications on Higher Education in India

Table 2: Implications and Mapping of need (as per Industry 4.0) with NEP 2020 recommendations

Research Methodology

The researcher conducted a survey and analysed the effectiveness and challenges of the New Education Policy in higher education.

1. Primary Data is collected through observations, questionnaires, and Interview techniques.
2. Journals, research papers, websites, and newspapers were studied, and secondary data was collected to find out the positive and negative impact and challenges of the New Education Policy that will be faced by the education stakeholders and the steps that can be taken by the Indian government to support higher education to bridge industry-academia gap.
3. The targeted population is the stakeholders in higher education - educators, academicians in Pune city, Maharashtra, India.

Descriptive Statistics on the factors that are more relevant and must be incorporated in higher education from student’s perspective to resolve the problem of educated unemployment:

Table 3: Recommendations in higher education model

1: strongly disagree, 2: disagree,3: neutral,4: agree,5: strongly agree

The five-point Likert scale is considered an interval Likert scale. The data collected is analysed using Excel Data Analysis.

The results were tabulated on the satisfaction-importance matrix, and it was revealed that“Lifelong learning”, “Continuously updated curriculum”, “Teachers as facilitators”, “Stakeholder’s engagement”and“Student-centric learning” were very important to students and that students were least satisfiedon these dimensions and need more emphasis to ensure employability. Institutes must take initiatives on enriching the students’ education experience and satisfaction by focusing on these factors that contribute to the success of the NEP in the Industry 4.0 era.

The figures below indicate that more than 70% of the respondents feel that emphasis on the above mentioned factors is essential for bridging the industry academia gap and enhance employability.

Table 4: Recommendations in higher education model – Percentage wise analysis

Table 5: Graph representing recommendations in higher education model.

The results were tabulated on the importance matrix, and it was revealed that“Knowledge upgrade”, “Cultivating research culture”, was very important to make the academicians competent to be able to impart innovation, would change their teaching pedagogy. Student and faculty centric models need to be developed to upgrade skills and knowledge, enhance research culture in the days to come.

Table 6: Recommendations in higher education model

Educating for Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 means an interconnected world i.e., bringing the digital and physical worlds together. It has led to the revolution of industries with the blend of developments in evolvingtechnologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics. It has a great impact on existing and future jobs.(Sumer, 2018) However, the 21^st-century jobs will be intellectually demanding,and the impact will be just as much as those labour-intensive activities that were transformed forever by the industrial revolution of the 19^thcentury.There is a need to embrace the technologies associated with Industry 4.0 to address the fast-growing employability changes. Institute for the Future (IFTF) report predicts 85% of jobs that have not been thought of will emerge by 2030. (Dell Technologies | 1, n.d.)

In the context of Industry 4.0, there is a growing demand to be T-shaped, interdisciplinary capabilities, andample knowledge ofadditional fields. This additional knowledge helps to enhance their field of expertise.(To Flourish in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, We Need to Rethink These 3 Things | World Economic Forum, n.d.)

Key components of sustainable economic development viz. education, employment, and entrepreneurship if interlinked, well-connected, can help to mitigate the risk of uneducated unemployment. To make peoplefitfor the workplace digitalization and other competencies need to be incorporated.

To take full advantage of the opportunity created by Industry 4.0, the following developments and inclusions in higher education can benefit to meet the needs of the educators and learners of tomorrow: -

Table 7: NEP 2020 recommendations in higher education and its benefits

Conclusion

With the exponential growth of disruptive technologies educated youth is unable to find high-quality jobs in the modern industries of Industry 4.0. There is a need to develop new skills among youth that can serve the demand for the future by empowering them with employable skills and by shifting the focus from teaching to learning thereby changing the equation of acquired education with knowledge gained.

It is required to appraisethe education systems andpreparethe learners with the skills to be future-ready global citizens. This transformation calls for shifts in learning content to include both the technical and human-centric skills and modifications in learning experiences that more thoroughlyreflect the future of work.

Tolead this shift in the education system stakeholders,must be prepared to create holistic education systems.The process of Industry 4.0 will mark an improved contribution in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) with more efficient use of natural resources, human capability, and advanced technology. TheNew Education Policy 2020 can be seen as a ray of hope to bridge the gap between what the traditional education offerings and what Industry 4.0 demands.The Education policy if implemented appropriately can help us reach new heights in the time to come.

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