National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct one common entrance exam for admissions to all the universities and colleges for undergraduate degrees. This exam will not be compulsory though, and will be similar to the Standardised Aptitude Test or SAT of USA for admissions to universities, according to Indianexpress.com.

The following policy was announced as part of the revised National Education Policy of 2020 on Wednesday. The policy also said that the various educational boards will continue to conduct 10th and 12th board exams but the stakes of these exams will be minimised.

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As per the NEP policy, board exams will focus on holistic growth of students and the subjects that the students would be tested on will be flexible and as per the interest of the students, reports Indianexpress.com. The strict compartmentalisation of Arts, Science, and Commerce will be removed and students will have an option to choose subjects based on their interests.

Students will also have an option to appear for the board examination twice in an academic year. The first one will be the main exam and the second one is for students who would like to improve on their scores. The board exams will also be redesigned to remove the need to attend coaching classes.

The NEP was approved by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday and has renamed the HRD Ministry as Education Ministry. The reform was announced by Union Ministers Prakash Javadekar and Ramesh Pokhriyal on July 29.

Other major highlights in the new education policy include the three language policy with flexibility for states to decide on the language with at least two languages to be of native origin. The Sanskrit language will be mainstreamed and compelling courses will be designed in schools for Sanskrit education.

Highlights of NEP 2020:

  • An optional common entrance examination for admissions to all university and college degree courses.
  • Board exam will become low stakes with an attempt to eliminate the need of coaching classes.
  • Subjects in board exams will be flexible with no strict delineation between streams i.e. Arts, Commerce, Science. Students can choose subjects based on their interests.
  • A three-language policy with at least two languages that are Indian in origin.
  • Sanskrit curriculum to be made stronger and more attractive in an attempt to mainstream the language.
  • Indian Sign language to be standardised across India.
  • Academic Bank of Credit to be established where academic credits received from various recognised higher educational institutions can be stored at one place.
  • Higher education curriculum will be revamped with multiple entry and exit points and emphasis and credits for projects in areas of community engagement, environmental education, and value-based education.
  • By 2030, all higher education institutions will aim to become multidisciplinary institutions with each institution aiming to have more than 3000 students. The policy aims on having at least one higher education institution in every district before 2030.