‘New edu policy likely to boost STEM in India’

The new education policy also recognised that skills like coding and scientific temper and evidence-based thinking should be learned by all students to become good, successful, innovative, adaptable and productive human beings in today’s rapidly changing world. With the semester-based pattern, there is a lot of relaxation with respect to a child’s choice to select their interest in subjects, according to Sneha Priya, CEO and co-founder, SP Robotic Works.

“This will promote the kids to explore various segments which otherwise I believe was restricted to an extent,” Priya said. On July 29, the Union Cabinet gave its approval to a new National Education Policy (NEP) which aims at bringing about several changes in the education system from the school to college level.

It is now well recognised that in opening the door to myriad opportunities offered by STEM, online platforms have played a pivotal role. Coding-related courses have picked up well and the online platforms have seen kids enrol in block programming, artificial intelligence (AI) and android app development. “As the field of STEM education gained immense popularity in India, this online learning platform has seen 80 per cent increase in the number of renewal of programmes, which implies the increase in interest and is a positive sign for the future of STEM education,” she said. The proposal to introduce coding from Class 6 and onwards is one of the best decisions of the policy, Priya added. “With importance being given to coding in the NEP, the schools will be more open to adopting new ways to ensure their children master in what they are learning which will automatically result in better outcomes,” she opined. “ This new policy will prove beneficial for growing kids to gather their interest in coding at an early stage,” she said.