The Centre appears to have thrown its trump card; the National Credit Framework (NCrF) which aims to democratise education in India through synchronisation of mainstream education and vocational skilling. The framework which is open for public consultation for the next two months was launched on Wednesday, October 19, 2022. “It is going to be a gamechanger for the educational system in India as it will allow more flexibility and mobility in the institutions and give students a choice to select from a wide range of learning trajectories,” a document released by the Ministry of Education, said.
NCrF is an umbrella framework by the government of India which aims to introduce a credit point based education ecosystem in the country. Under the framework students from pre-school to the post-graduation level will earn credit points for the number of hours they put-in in an academic year. For example, the framework suggests that all students from grade five upto post graduation will have to complete 1,200 academic hours in a year. Such students will get 40 credit points which will be stored in their academic ‘bank’ that can be utilized later. Similarly, the framework has assigned 27 credit points for 800 hours, 33 credit points for 1,000 hours and so on.
Further, the framework will rank students based on the credit points they earn and their academic level. For example, a student who has passed grade 12 will be at level four, a graduate with a three year and four year Bachelor’s degree at level 5.5 and level six respectively, and at level eight for a student with a PhD, the highest among the ranking.
Interestingly, the framework allows multiple entry and exit options to students which means they can opt for a mid-way course correction if they don’t wish to pursue a subject anymore. They may also choose a vocational course which will hold the same value as a regular academic programme. This way the distinction between subjects such as arts, science, social sciences, commerce, or academic, skill, experience based learning can be eroded, as per the framework.
Most importantly, the framework is said to allow learners to pursue education at any point in their life which experts believe may affect the literacy rate in the country. Furthermore, students opting for vocational courses, which are generally seen as least job securing, will get accreditation from the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) under NCrF making them more employable. All in all, NCrF will create a multi/ cross-sectoral skilled pool of employable youth in the country, once implemented after the public consultation is over.
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