HRD Ministry renamed as Ministry of Education

New Delhi: The Union cabinet approved that the human resource development (HRD) ministry has been officially renamed as the Ministry of Education, ANI tweeted.

The new National Education Policy (NEP) will replace the existing policy which was first formulated in 1986 and last modified in 1992. The new policy is based on a draft prepared by a committee led by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K. Kasturirangan.

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Discussions over the NEP have been going on for the last six years. The draft policy was released last year when Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ took charge as the HRD minister.

The policy has undergone several contemplations since then including the latest change on making it ready for an education system suited to a Covid-19 world.

The draft policy along with other things has proposed a four-year undergraduate programme. It also proposes extension of Right to Education Act, 2009, to cover children of ages 3 to 18  from the earlier 6 to 14.

It also includes that there will be no separation between co-curricular and extra-curricular areas and all subjects, including arts, music, crafts, sports, yoga, community service, etc. will be curricular.