Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank hailed educational institutions for conducting final year college exams successfully in the country amid the coronavirus pandemic. The minister also praised educational institutes and teachers for switching to online platforms for teaching during the pandemic.
“We took a strong stand and decided to conduct the exams. Some people opposed the decision, some went to the Supreme Court, but the SC also quashed their petitions and ruled that exams should be held,” Pokhriyal said.
When the decision to conduct JEE and NEET exams (for engineering and medical courses) was taken, some people hit the road to protest, but the majority of students who had burned the midnight oil to prepare wanted exams to be held, he said.
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“The holding of JEE and NEET was so successful that the Election Commission, when asked how would they hold Bihar elections during the pandemic…their reply was they will adopt the pattern used for the conduct of JEE and NEET,” the minister said.
The new education policy stresses that students should be taught in their mother tongues because experts believe that it improves comprehension, he said.
“We do not oppose English but we insist on mother tongue….take the example of Japan, Germany, Israel, who prefer their own language to impart education and none of these countries are lagging behind in any field,” he added.
The new education policy is also the foundation of ‘atma-nirbharata’ (self reliance) because it introduces vocational training at early stage, he said.
