Anindita Bhadra is a behavioural biologist at the Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata. She also leads the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 at the institution. In this email interview with IndiaBioscience, she throws light on the steps taken to implement the policy, the changes that this has brought, and the challenges ahead.
When the NEP was announced in 2020, it was met with mixed reactions. Four years later, has this perspective changed among educators?
There is still a lot of scepticism. However, educators are now forced to accept the NEP and implement it. So, there has been a lot of consensus-building to see how best we can make this work.
Tell us a bit about your process and timeline of implementation of the policy at IISER Kolkata.
We have begun implementation since the last academic year. The batch that joined in 2023 is already following our new syllabus and course structure. We have also started giving multiple exit options to our students. In fact, we had built-in exit options for students who could not cope with the curriculum earlier, and with NEP, this has become more streamlined. So, in terms of multiple-exit options, we are indeed following the NEP guidelines. However, implementing multiple entry options into a course is more difficult, and we have not even considered it at present. However, we do have MS and MS-by-research courses, in addition to the PhD and integrated PhD programs.
In addition to the academic program, we have begun discussions about skill-development courses, providing a more inclusive environment to students through gender-neutral hostel facilities (we already had one gender-neutral wing in the hostel), and providing a platform for students to discuss gender issues and better access to mental health management for students.
Multidisciplinarity, imaginative and flexible curricular structures, new pedagogies and new ways of assessments in higher education institutions are some of the key goals of NEP. How do these feature at IISER Kolkata?
We already had these ideas built into our curriculum to a great extent. With the NEP, we are trying to make course structures more flexible, with fewer core courses, and a more diverse basket of courses across departments that the students can choose from as electives. In addition, students of the 5‑year BS-MS program can opt for a 4‑year MS with research, if they meet the credit requirements and have a certain CGPA. This will give them research experience in addition to the coursework.
The use of regional languages as the medium of education is another key goal of NEP. How is this being implemented in an institution like IISER Kolkata, which receives a student diaspora from across India?
This is very difficult to implement in a national institute like IISER Kolkata. Every course then needs to be taught in multiple languages. However, we have asked faculty members to consider recording one version of their course in a regional language of their choice. Until now, we have no volunteers. However, we have always had the practice of explaining concepts during tutorial hours and one-to-one sessions to students in Hindi or Bangla, if required, and even in another language, if possible, with the help of TAs [Teaching Assistants], if a student found it difficult to follow the class in English.
What other measures are being incorporated to increase access, equity, and inclusion of students from diverse backgrounds and socio-economic strata?
We have a fund created by donations from faculty members for students who come from weak economic backgrounds, to help them pay their fees. We are trying to generate more funds to increase this corpus, especially through our alumni, so that more students can be supported by this pool. We are trying to look into options for teaching aids for helping differently-abled students. We also have gender-neutral toilets to enable inclusivity in the academic environment.
How is the professional development of teachers and educators, which is another key aspect of the policy, being incorporated?
We have not planned for this yet for our faculty members. However, we are contributing to the professional development of high school teachers through the Vigyan Pratibha program led by HBCSE, for which IISER Kolkata is now a regional centre. We are also expanding this to local school teachers, and conducting workshops in Bangla for inclusivity.
What challenges are being foreseen with the successful implementation of NEP 2020 at this point?
One major challenge is funding. We need more funds to build more hostels so that our PhD students do not have to live outside the campus, provide more infrastructural facilities to differently-abled students, build married students’ quarters to encourage more women to continue their careers in academics, and provide better crèche and medical facilities on campus.
Your message to students who may be anxious about the changes that the policy brings?
Every change comes with some hiccups, but being the first batch also means being the first to experience the benefits and explore completely new horizons. I would recommend students not to worry too much and explore the opportunities this opens up, but maybe not experiment too much either. The system will eventually sort itself out and stabilise. We are all learning together; it’s part of the journey. In the end, when you look back, it’s the journey that matters.