The committee was setup in 2015 with the objective of assessing the challenges facing Indian education system and suggesting reforms.
The committee proposed a national policy on education with the following important recommendations -
Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE): The Committee observed that the implementation of ECCE was inconsistent across states. It emphasized the need for all government schools to have facilities for pre-primary education. Hence, it recommended that ECCE for children from four to five years of age be declared as a right. This would facilitate pre-school education by the government instead of the private sector until children reach six years of age.
Detention Policy: It recommended that the policy of no detention must be upheld till class five (age 11).
Teacher Management: To ensure proper qualitative outcome, the committee recommended setting up an Autonomous Teacher Recruitment Board, also the teaching license must be subject to renewal every 10 years and finally a 4-year B.Ed. course must be implemented.
ICT in Education: It recommended IT be taken up for teacher training, adult literacy, and remedial education and as a learning tool in higher education. This would also include developing online skill based courses.
Setting up an All India Education Services to ensure better quality outcomes.
Ensuring 6% of GDP be spent on education.
On-demand Board Exams should be introduced to offer flexibility and reduce year end stress of students and parents. A National Level Test open to every student who has completed class XII from any School Board should be designed.
The Mid-Day Meal (MDM) programme should now be extended to cover students of secondary schools. This is necessary as levels of malnutrition and anemia continue to be high among adolescents.
UGC act must be dissolved and National Higher Education Promotion and Management Act (NHEPMA) must replace it.
K. Kasturirangan Committee was established to look into the recommendations of the committee and come up with a draft national education policy.
