Innovative Solutions for Needo-Education in Swarnim Bharat

For needo-education in Swarnim Bharat towards 2047, we must treat national education policy (NEP 2020) as an invention and work on it without worries as an innovation as an application of invention by accepting the challenges of all kinds. Innovative solutions are required for ensuring quality, affordability and accessibility of needo-education with skills for the manpower required by the employers in various sectors of the economy including industry. NEP is necessary but not sufficient for transforming Bharat into a global Knowledge economy. To make it sufficient, we must have a time frame for the implementation of a comprehensive, holistic and learner centered flexible system by adopting well defined Public-Private- Partnership (PPP) model. To avoid unhealthy competition with the foreign universities permitted under NEP 2020, we need to accept the challenge even if weak but unique with spiritual wisdom flowing from Gita and Anu-Gita. For effective implementation of NEP 2020, the three-tier government should not poke its nose at every level of education. The central government must take the responsibility of providing secondary education to the entire nation free of cost as a public good. The primary education is required to be looked after by the local governments with freedom to generate resources including proper pricing policy of birth, marriage and death certificates. The domain of higher education including professional and technical education can be left to the states with PPP model which will bring efficiency, sufficiency and equity. To improve quality, the teachers must be street smart (simple, moral, action oriented, responsive and transparent) at all levels of education.

Keywords: NEP 2020; NAW Approach of marketing; PPP model; Street SMART model

For needo-education in Swarnim Bharat towards 2047, we must treat national education policy (NEP 2020) as an invention and work on it without worries as an innovation as an application of invention by accepting the challenges of all kinds. Innovative solutions are required for ensuring quality, affordability and accessibility of needo-education with skills for the manpower required by the employers in various sectors of the economy including industry [1]. NEP is necessary but not sufficient for transforming Bharat into a global Knowledge economy. To make it sufficient, we must have a time frame for the implementation of a comprehensive, holistic and learner centered flexible system by adopting well defined Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model. To avoid unhealthy competition with the foreign universities permitted under NEP 2020, we need to accept the challenge even if weak but unique with spiritual wisdom flowing from Gita and Anu-Gita. For effective implementation of NEP 2020, the three-tier government should not poke its nose at every level of education [2]. The central government must take the responsibility of providing secondary education to the entire nation free of cost as a public good. The primary education is required to be looked after by the local governments with freedom to generate resources including proper pricing policy of birth, marriage and death certificates. The domain of higher education including professional and technical education can be left to the states with PPP model which will bring efficiency, sufficiency and equity. Being an optimist academician with complete faith in Needonomics School of Thought, I believe that there is a trade-off between quality and quantity [3]. For needo-quality, we must sacrifice quantity. For ensuring quantity we must sacrifice quality. But there are compulsions of a democratic India to enhance gross enrolment ratio as well as ensure quality which is a challenge in the implementation of NEP 2020 [4]. For needo-teaching as the highest form of understanding, we must be authentic with ourselves without pretending to be good, great, successful, and happy in the profession with a passion for teaching. Without mincing words, I believe that many of us are careless and useless to be employed by employers in private as well as the public sector [5]. The real challenge is how to convert careless into careful and useless into useful human resources needed by the employers in the present job market [6]. I believe investment in education is the biggest one giving lifetime returns in terms of employment and entrepreneurship. We have vast claims of doing great things for our young generation through NEP 2020 developed in 66 pages in 27 headings necessary but not sufficient for global knowledge economy and achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) 2030 and not in tune with national youth policy (NYP) 2014. There is a strong case for searching the innovative solutions for quality, affordability and accessibility of needoeducation at all levels to make the manpower suitable for the employers in India and outside in foreign land. For innovative solutions for needo-education in Swarnim Bharat, we must concentrate on the following:

Understand india as bharat

For needo-education, it is necessary to understand India as Bharat made of two words ‘Bha’-meaning knowledge and ‘Rata’ meaning devoted as a knowledge seeker. Bharat deserves to be known as a knowledge economy where ‘Sarswati’ is equally if not more than ‘Lakshmi is worshipped [7]. Bharat is the only country called India in English dictionaries as an independent nation declared in August. We need to understand, analyse, interpret and adopt INDIA as an independent, non-violent, democracy with integrity and amity. I have no hesitation in saying that the makeup of dishonesty is corruption, and we have to pay its price in terms of inefficiencies visible around with discrimination and discontent in democratic Bharat. To implement NEP 2020, the greatest limitation of overpopulation in our beloved Bharat to be made Swarnim in 2047. To mitigate through the challenges successfully, we must develop the habit of thinking critically.

Link fee and user charges with inflation rate

For efficiency, sufficiency and equity in the system of higher education, we must link fee structure and user charges with inflation rate based on retail prices so that high-cost recovery is ensured smoothly [8].

Blended mode of education

To implement Blended Mode (BM) of teaching in higher education in India, we must be pragmatic in operationalizing the policy with alertness, awakening and awareness of the challenges faced by the stakeholders including students and teachers which falls in the domain of this article [9]. It is important to note that the speed of learning among students varies from place to place in rural and urban locations. The challenges are more acute for the students from rural areas where internet connectivity and electricity are major issues, in spite of smart phones are available with them. The University Grants Commission (UGC) mandated Blended Mode (BM) of teaching and learning offline and online in the ratio of 60 and 40. BM is an instructional methodology, a teaching and learning approach that combines face to-face classroom methods with computer mediated activities to deliver instruction. This pedagogical approach means a mixture of face-to-face and online activities and the integration of synchronous and asynchronous learning tools providing an optimal possibility for the arrangement of effective learning processes. Blended learning is the term given to the educational practice of combining digital learning tools with more traditional classroom face to face teaching. In a truly blended learning environment, both the student and the teacher should be physically located in the same space [10]. It is pertinent to mention that the national NEP 2020 made students a hero of this education system with acceptability of many modes of learning, including classroom learning (offline), online and distance virtual mode. It focuses on blended teaching- learning with the new approach of education with the concept of ABC (Academic Bank of Credit). The various factors in the potential of time, place, mode, speed and language with flexibility and quality are to be kept in mind for needo-education. For adopting the blended mode of education, we must develop soft skills as software of information technology which is equally if not more important than the hardware.

Promote yog as spiritual mathematics

We are required to promote yog as summation in terms of spiritual mathematics 1 (soul)+1 (GOD)= 1 with a smile of anticipation for a bright future more than celebrating International Yoga Day on June 21 every year as a ritual. One in all and all in one must be understood by all of us [11]. The spiritual, humanitarian existence of a human being can remove all kinds of inequalities (gender disparities) which is a social reality existing in India.

NAW approach of marketing the educational product

To solve the dichotomy between quality education and affordability & accessibility in Indian institutions, we require the NAW (need, affordability and worth) approach of marketing the educational product firstly creating the need for the educational product, then making it affordable and price it worth of it under public-private partnership model along with communication skills necessary for employability and entrepreneurship. I would like to point out that an educational product would be popular only if it satisfies the essential needs of the students, provides employment opportunities and is utilitarian [12].

Needo-research with policy implications

To ensure needo-research in Swarnim Bharat, we must encourage the scholars for making analysis Before Covid (BC) During Covid (DC) and After Covid (AC) for drawing the policy implications for peace, progress, prosperity and happiness [13]. Needo-research calls for focusing on the power of communication between self, family, relatives, neighbors and colleagues and above all the Divine for remaining happy. Needo-research justifies building and maintaining relationships for remaining happy and giving happiness to others. We have to create a sense of belonging among all the stakeholders of happiness. Needo-research tells that the physical body and mind are attached and dependent on each other. A healthy mind lives in a healthy body. To be needo-happy our mind and body should be healthy. There is no enthusiasm in life without happiness.

Think inside and out of the box

We must think inside the box and work together with one voice of commitment. We can think out of the box too for making NEP a success story and avoid a post-mortem approach. We must promote core values including professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity among all the stakeholders of needoeducation. We have to develop decision making skills with the ability to think on all aspects of the implementation with long term perspective of Swarnim Bharat [14]. The Government should get GST exemption on certain educational products and equipments’ and take up the matter with the GST council. To improve the teaching and learning outcomes in the institutions, we need to recruit the best teachers with qualities of head and heart, human values and ethics flowing from the epics including Gita, Anu-Gita and Ramayana. Needoeducation calls for needo-visits of museums (Krishna Museum and Dharohar Haryana Cultural Museum in Kurukshetra) as mandatory for every student once a year on a ticket which will boost the knowledge economy of India in all dimensions with creativity, innovation and critical thinking desired under Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) of NEP 2020 necessary to ensure needo-employment and needoentrepreneurship.

Relevance of skills

For needo-employability and Needo-entrepreneurship under Skill India programme, we require life skills, reading skills, writing skills, marketing skills, business skills, analysing skills for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and above all verbal communication skills. For prosperous and progressive future of Indian youth, we need the power of skills for individuals and communities in 28 States and 9 UTs of India. We must utilize the allocated resources for ‘Skill India’ properly, productively and practically (3P) for using the hands, heads and hearts (3H) of the Indian youth in post covid era. The efforts of skill development under ‘Skill India’ as development strategy for ‘Make in India’ are necessary but not sufficient. To make them sufficient and sustainable, we need to increase the Return on Training Investment (ROTI) which calls for communication skills with spiritual input and time management. There is an urgent need for training of trainers with chain of reforms ensuring fundamental changes with greater Accountability, Transparency and Morality (ATM) more important than the ATM of any bank. We need to make the labour market system dynamic to get demand and supply of skills on real time basis for meeting total domestic requirement of trained manpower. We must develop a labour market information system by modernization of all the employment exchanges in Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) mode and develop a national web portal. Abilities of head and heart, skills and knowledge (ASK) are the engines of economic growth and Human Resource Development (HRD). It is believed that the countries with higher and better levels of ASK respond more effectively and promptly to challenges and opportunities of competition. The new knowledge economy for achieving professional, managerial, operational, behavioral, interpersonal and inter functional skills require flexible education and training system that will provide the foundation for learning to develop required competencies through spirituality- the science of soul which can make us superior to anyone in the World.

By providing skilled manpower to the outside world, we can transfer our country from a developing nation to a developed nation very easily and quickly towards Sawrnim Bharat in 2047. To make the learning more inclusive, there is a strong case for shadow trainers/teachers outside the classrooms. We need to introduce soft skills including communication skills, computer literacy, English proficiency, quality management tools, occupational safety & health and entrepreneurial development skills for the sustainability of transformation in India as independent, nonviolent, democracy with integrity and amity. To justify the need for skills to read and write, it is worth quoting Alexander Pope, “True ease in writing come by Art not by chance as one (she/he) moves easiest who has learnt to dance”. The skill of writing is not an easy task and is an art which can certainly be developed through a lot of reading. It needs to be noted that societies and nations can live without writing but no society can exist without reading. To my mind, effective management in all walks of life is a function of effective communication which is necessary and sufficient skill of the present times. I believe that the maximum job opportunities are available in marketing as the market is full of goods and the real challenge is to sell these products. This calls for communication skills without which one cannot survive, exist and excel in needomarketing of any product or service. To prove the communication skill of silence more than speaking, I wish to mention sloka no 15 of chapter 17 of Bhagvat Gita which is ism neutral religion free treatise on relationship management and welfare economics. Meditation of tongue is the need of the day for proving silence as golden and speaking as silver for avoiding blame game and the war of words. We must learn to weave the words beautifully for strengthening the relations in the context of behaviour with the people around us in society. We must develop the abilities of head and heart, skills of morality with credibility and accountability and possess knowledge including spirituality (spirit to know actuality) as science of soul for the success and happiness in all walks of life including needoconsumption, needo-production, needo-distribution and needotrade.

Empowered with street smart & simple models

To implement NEP for needo-education for needo-employability and needo-entrepreneurship, we need to become street SMART (simple, moral, action-oriented, responsive and transparent). We need to be simple with silent fasting once a week by switching off or keeping it in aeroplane mode as a habit. Mahatma Gandhi believed in simple living and high thinking but being disciple of Gita) the heart of Krishan), I believe in simple living and no thinking. It does not mean that we should not think. We should think of those things which are under our control without bothering about the results. We should not think of those things which are not in our control. We have the right to our actions and not results as authenticated in Gita (my guru). Morality is the name of the game with ethics in all walks of life which gives true happiness. We have to be action/ result oriented instead of target oriented in wasting the resources including time. We have to be responsive in doing things by adopting best practices adopted elsewhere in the world such as ‘palli palli culture’ in South Korea without wasting time and work without worries. We are required to be transparent in using smartphones with artificial intelligence which is good if used properly but we have to be alert, aware and awake with rationality in stopping its misuses including all kinds of cybercrimes. To adopt and accept the normative approach to holistic Human Resource Development (HRD), it is essential to understand SIMPLE model of HRD consisting of six human development activities such as Spiritual Quotient (SQ) development, Intuition development, Mental level development, Love oneself attitude development and Emotional Quotient (EQ) development. The synergy of these six aspects of HRD in the beautiful word ‘SIMPLE’ is an essential requirement for all of us to emerge and realize our full potential in holistic sense. To survive, exist and excel in the present times of competition, we need to understand, analyze, interpret and adopt SMART & SIMPLE models of needoeducation developed by the writer in the book ‘Economics of Human Resource Development in India’ (2012). The stakeholders of education including teachers have to become street SMART and SIMPLE .

PPP model

To attract Public Private Partnership (PPP) in higher education which is necessary to accelerate infrastructure development, the efforts are required to be strengthened more than resource allocations with reducing bureaucratic hurdles being observed time and again. We need to adopt the PPP model in higher educational institutions such as providing sports coaches to private institutions for utilizing playgrounds.

In brief, we are required to develop needo-education with the soft skills of decision making as software of information technology which is equally if not more important than the hardware. To reduce the delay in decision making, we must learn from palli -palli (jaldi-jaldi in Hindi) culture of South Korea with whom we share Independence Day. Speed is the ethos, the ethic and driving force of Koreans lead to their economic progress with lessons for us in Bharat. For Needo-employability and Needo-entrepreneurship, we need to become street SMART (simple, moral, action-oriented, responsive and transparent) with needo-education in India. To realize full potential and reach the pinnacle of success, we need real education as proper, productive and practical (3P) use of hands, head and heart (3H) which certainly calls for innovative solutions.

1. (2020) National Education Policy. Government of India, India.
2. Goel MM 221 blogs on ‘The Speaking Tree’ of Times of India.
3. Goel MM (2021) Challenges in Needo-education for equality and sustainable society. University News 59(47): 22-28.
4. Goel MM (2020) New education policy 2020: perceptions on higher education. Voice of Research 9(2): 14-16.
5. Goel MM (2020) A view on higher education in new education policy 2020. TheRise.co.in.
6. Goel MM (2019) Perceptions on draft national education policy-2019. University News 57(29): 22-28.
7. Goel MM (2020) Relevance of Needonomics for revival of global economy. Daily world.
8. Goel MM (2020) Common Sense Approach needed for facing Covid created Challenges.
9. Goel MM (2012) Economics of human resource development in India.
10. Goel MM (2013) Challenges and relevance of economics as queen of social sciences in present scenario, European Scientific Journal (ESJ) 9(19): 25.
11. Goel MM (2011) Relevance of Bhagavad Gita, Korean Indian Culture 18: 181-191.
12. Goel MM (2014) Old Text, Modern Relevance on ‘Anu-Gita’ in Spectrum.
13. Goel MM (2015) Worship is work and vice versa, Daily Post on April 12.
14. Goel MM (2012) Work is worship and vice versa, The Korea Times.