Pradhan launches National Credit Framework draft for public consultation

Union minister of education and minister of skill development & entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan launched the draft of National Credit Framework (NCrF) for public consultation here today.

MoS, education, Annpurna Devi; MoS, skill development & entrepreneurship, electronics & IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar; Anita Karwal; secretary, higher education Sanjay Murthy; secretary, skill development & entrepreneurship, Atul Kumar Tiwari; chairman, NCVET; Dr. Nirmaljeet Singh Kalsi and senior officials of the education and skill development ministry attended the programme.

Taking the vision of the new National Education Policy (NEP), the Government of India has developed the National Credit Framework (NCrF) to enable the integration of academic and vocational domains to ensure flexibility and mobility between the two. NCrF would be a game changer by opening numerous options for further progression of students and inter-mingling of school and higher education with vocational education and experiential learning, thus mainstreaming skilling and vocational education. NCrF will also enable students who have dropped out of the mainstream education to re-enter the education ecosystem.

Speaking on the occasion, Pradhan said that Jan-bhagidari is a key pillar of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governance and NEP 2020 also embodies the spirit of Jan-bhagidari. He said that National Credit Framework is a next generation, multi-dimensional instrument under NEP. “We are dedicating NCrF for ‘Jan-paramarsh’ for making it more dynamic. Pradhan further said that National Credit Framework is an umbrella framework for skilling, re-skilling, up-skilling, accreditation & evaluation encompassing our people in educational & skilling institutions and workforce.”

Pradhan stressed that we have to make India a $5 trillion economy, accomplish the vision of a Vikasit Bharat in the next 25 years and empower 100 per cent of our population and National Credit Framework will be the most important instrument under NEP for realising these goals. India is adopting technology at an unprecedented pace. We have to bring reforms to incentivise knowledge, skills & experience. Credits for knowledge acquisition, hands-on training, positive social outcomes will be a key step for achieving 100 per cent literacy in the next 2-3 years, he added.

The minister appealed to all institutions, schools, ITIs, AICTE-affiliated engineering colleges, centrally-funded HEIs, state universities and regulatory authorities/bodies to host the public consultation for National Credit Framework on their website for seeking suggestions from citizens.

The Committee constituted by the Government with members from UGC, AICTE, NCVET, NIOS, CBSE, NCERT, Department of School Education and Literacy & Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, DGT, and Ministry of Skill Development under the guidance of Union Minister of Education and Minister of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, the inclusive umbrella framework aims to make the options for Multiple Entry-Multiple Exit accessible and applicable across the higher education, school education and vocational education, allowing students to choose their own learning trajectories and programmes.

NCrF will seamlessly integrate the credits earned through school education, higher education and vocational and skill education by encompassing the National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF), National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) and National School Education Qualification Framework (NSEQF). It also supports educational acceleration for students with gifted learning abilities and Recognition of Prior Learning for the workforce that has acquired knowledge and skills informally through the traditional family inheritance, work experience or other methods.

The Government has now invited comments and observations on the document which can be sent on: comments.ncrf@gmail.com.

Proposed benefits for various stakeholders are as follows:

Students: NCrF will ensure flexibility in the duration of study/ courses through provisions of multiple entries and exit/work options as well as pave the path for creditisation of all learning hours, including academic, vocational and experiential learning. It will also give the provision for lifelong learning – any time anywhere learning: It will also help students by:

Establishing multidisciplinary and holistic education with flexible curricula
Removing the hard distinction between the education stream and making study choices respectful, allowing for more than one award in the same period
Removing the distinction between arts, science, social sciences, commerce, etc
Giving student credits for every academic/ skill/ experience
Enhancing the scope of core learning to include foundational and cognitive both

Institutions: NCrF will bring about a unification of higher education institutions to promote multidisciplinary education, creating a diverse and rich students knowledge base. It will also help in:

Promoting stronger collaboration between institutions
Making credit mechanism simpler and uniform
Increasing focus on research and innovation
Promoting digital learning, blended learning, and open distance learning
Leveraging the institutional infrastructure

Government: NCrF is expected to assist the government to increase the enrolment of students, helping to fulfil the national vision of complementing the demographic dividend and transforming India into the Skill Capital of the World. It will also:

Making vocational education and training/ skilling aspirational
Highly educated and trained workforce for Aatmnirbhar Bharat

Industry: NCrF will allow students to attain NSQF-approved foundational skills developed by industry and be more employable. The provision of micro-credentials will allow integration of quick educational upgradation/ up-skilling It will also help in: