Draft NEP 2019 technology confusion

Although setting up an autonomous NETF is not a bad idea, a better idea would be for the Central and state governments to confer autonomy to education institutions, says Anil Mammen. Since a policy is seldom the same as a policy draft, we need to read the draft National Education Policy 2019, which is under consideration of the Union HRD ministry, as just that — a draft. On education technology, the recommendation of the nine-member Kasturirangan Committee is to integrate technology into all levels of education: teacher-preparation, teaching-learning, access to disadvantaged groups as well as planning and administration. In its prescription, the draft suggests establishment of an autonomous National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) “to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to improve learning, assessment, planning, administration and so on. The aim of NETF will be to facilitate decision-making on the induction, deployment and use of technology, by providing to the leadership of educational institutions, state and Central governments and other stakeholders the latest knowledge and research as well as the opportunity to consult and share best practices with each other.” Although setting up an autonomous NETF for free exchange of ideas on education technology is not a bad idea, a better idea would be for the Central and state governments to confer autonomy to education institutions and education institutions to teachers, and teachers to students. Let us examine four aspects related to the use of technology in education — autonomy, efficiency, dependency and privacy. Autonomy. Institutional autonomy denotes that local stakeholders are in charge; they are not being controlled, and they are not pawns in an external plan. People accept policies that give them a sense of being in control. In that sense, most principals and teachers have already adopted technology. They use smartphones and the various apps that come with it. Also, any student who has access to the Internet knows the power of search engines, learning apps, social media and virtual collaboration. When a policy centralises management and control, the result is uniformity and standardisation. It is antithetical to local ownership and discourages experimentation. If the objective of the draft NEP 2019 is uniformity, the outcome will be mediocrity. Efficiency. Technology plays the role of amplifier. It doesn’t differentiate between good and bad teaching. What it does is scale up existing capabilities many times over. In schools, ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems have significantly reduced administrative load by mechanised online fee payment, attendance management, records keeping and so on. Simultaneously, communication apps have bridged the distance between parents, students and schools, making it easier to revise timetables, academic year plans, exam schedules, and announcements even at short notice. Moreover, online entrance examinations have notably reduced the time required for the admission process. However, it’s important to bear in mind that technology-enabled efficiency does not automatically translate into effective classroom pedagogy. Dependency. The purpose of technology is to improve efficiency. It’s not a substitute for competence. Greater ed-tech usage doesn’t necessarily…