Five Years of NEP 2020: What Changed in Classrooms—and What Stayed on Paper.

When the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 was unveiled, it carried both history and hope. It was India’s first comprehensive education policy of the 21st century, promising a decisive shift away from rote learning toward creativity, flexibility, and inclusion.

Five years later, the unavoidable question is simple—but uncomfortable:
how much of NEP 2020 has actually reached classrooms, and how much remains confined to policy documents and conference presentations?

As with most large reforms, the answer lies somewhere in between.

How NEP 2020 Changed the Language of Education

One of NEP’s most visible achievements has been changing how education reform is talked about.

Terms such as:

• competency-based learning
• multidisciplinary education
• experiential learning
• holistic assessment

are now part of everyday official vocabulary. Teacher training modules, curriculum frameworks, and university brochures routinely echo this language.

In that sense, NEP 2020 has succeeded in shifting the conversation.

But shifting classrooms is harder than shifting terminology.

What Has Actually Changed on the Ground

Structural Changes

The most concrete changes have been structural rather than pedagogical.

• The 10+2 system has formally given way to the 5+3+3+4 design, signalling greater emphasis on early childhood education

 

• Several states have expanded pre-primary schooling and attempted to integrate Anganwadis with formal education
• In higher education, multiple entry and exit options, the Academic Bank of Credits, and multidisciplinary course frameworks are now part of regulatory design

Assessment and Digital Adoption

Assessment practices show early—but uneven—movement.

• Boards increasingly talk about reducing syllabus load
• Some classrooms experiment with projects, presentations, and open-ended tasks
• The pandemic accelerated digital adoption, making blended learning a practical reality rather than a theoretical aspiration

Perhaps most importantly, NEP gave institutional legitimacy to ideas many teachers had long supported. Flexible subject choices, vocational exposure, and formative assessment are no longer fringe concepts; they carry official approval.

What Still Remains Largely on Paper

Despite these shifts, the everyday classroom experience for most students remains stubbornly familiar.

• Rote learning continues to dominate, especially in exam-oriented classes
• Textbooks may carry new forewords, but teaching practices often remain unchanged
• Large class sizes, rigid timetables, and syllabus completion pressure leave little room for experimentation

The Teacher Training Gap

Teacher preparation remains NEP’s weakest link.

The policy asks teachers to become:

• facilitators
• mentors
• assessors
• innovators

But support for this transition is uneven.

In-service training is often:

• episodic
• generic
• disconnected from subject-specific classroom realities

Without sustained pedagogical investment, competency-based education risks becoming a

slogan rather than a practice.

Equity: The Promise That Struggles to Materialise

NEP 2020 placed strong emphasis on inclusion—through digital learning, regional languages, and flexible pathways. But implementation has collided with familiar realities:

• infrastructure shortages
• digital divides
• uneven state capacity

For many rural and government schools, the challenge remains access to basic resources, not pedagogical innovation.

In higher education, autonomy and multidisciplinary models have expanded fastest in well-funded institutions. Average colleges struggle to keep pace. Multiple exit options exist, but their academic and labour-market value remains unclear.

Once again, reform has moved faster for those already better positioned.

The Deeper Tension at the Heart of NEP

At its core, NEP 2020 faces a familiar Indian policy dilemma:
ambition without adequate execution capacity.

The policy imagines:

• flexible, learner-centred classrooms
• personalised learning
• interdisciplinary education

Yet the system remains governed by:

• high-stakes examinations
• bureaucratic compliance
• chronic underinvestment

Teachers are asked to individualise learning in overcrowded classrooms. Universities are encouraged to innovate while navigating centralised regulation.

NEP did not—and perhaps could not—fully resolve this contradiction.
It offered a vision without dismantling the structures that resist that vision.

A Balanced Assessment, Five Years On

Education reform is inherently slow. Five years is a short span in a system serving millions of learners across diverse contexts. 

NEP 2020 has achieved something important:

• it redefined goals
• legitimised reformist ideas
• opened policy space for change

That alone is not trivial.

But policies do not teach children—teachers do.
And classrooms do not transform through circulars alone; they change through sustained investment, trust, and support at the ground level.

The Road Ahead: From Vision to Practice

As NEP enters its second half-decade, the challenge is no longer articulation but honest implementation.

This means:

• prioritising teacher capacity over cosmetic compliance
• reducing exam pressure alongside curriculum reform
• recognising that one-size-fits-all timelines do not work in a federal system

The real test of NEP 2020 will not be how eloquently it is cited in policy documents, but how quietly it reshapes everyday teaching and learning.

Until then, the policy remains what it is today:
a bold blueprint—partly built, partly waiting.

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About the Author

Manish Kumar is an independent education and career writer who focuses on simplifying complex academic, policy, and career-related topics for Indian students.

Through Explain It Clearly, he explores career decision-making, education reform, entrance exams, and emerging opportunities beyond conventional paths—helping students and parents make informed, pressure-free decisions grounded in long-term thinking.