The New National Education Policy

January 4, 2026

Abhishek Vij

The decision to make India’s education policy employment-oriented was made with the announcement of the National Education Policy 2020. Now, the National Education Policy 2025 has arrived. While this education policy is an extension of the 2020 policy, it also incorporates the advancements in digital technology, artificial intelligence, and robotics that have taken place in India over the past five years, and aims to educate and raise awareness among the new generation about these advancements. We are not only dreaming of making our country a fully developed nation by 2047, but we also envision that by then, India will leapfrog from being the world’s third-largest economic power to the first, surpassing the two powers ahead of it, namely the United States and China. However, for this to happen, it is crucial to fully educate India’s young population, which is the largest in any country, and to keep them abreast of the changing times.

To achieve this goal, the Indian government has made the country’s education policy skill-oriented and employment-focused, and is now emphasizing the development of an inclusive education system. An inclusive system means that you don’t become confined to a single stream of knowledge, but rather expand it completely, encompassing knowledge dissemination, technological development, and every new innovation in your field. The goal is that students should not only rely on theoretical knowledge but also acquire practical skills. Technological innovation has taken hold in this country. Currently, at least 1.9 million students across the country are benefiting from it.

When revolutionary changes are occurring in the country due to the use of AI, it should also be included in the field of education. The new year 2026 has begun; now, positive changes based on the 2025 National Education Policy should be implemented rapidly. For this, first, teachers must be committed to this new awakening. After that, students must be prepared for it. Undoubtedly, India has consistently increased its allocation for the development of education.

In 2019-20, it was Rs. 94,854 crore, and today it has reached Rs. 1,28,650 crore. However, it is worth noting that the erstwhile Planning Commission and now NITI Aayog have consistently stated that at least 6 percent of our country’s Gross Domestic Product should be spent on the development of education.
We have celebrated the Amrit Mahotsav of Independence, but we have never been able to spend this much on the development of education. Currently, there are 14.71 lakh schools in our country, and the number of teachers is 1.01 crore. The number of students studying in these schools is 24.69 crore. The goal is to increase the current 28.4 percent of students pursuing higher education to at least 50.1 percent. The number of higher education institutions in the country is also gradually increasing.
Currently, there are 520,81 colleges in our country, and the total number of all types of higher education institutions is 70,018. With the entry of the private sector into the field of education, the number of universities has increased to 1338. But the irony is that among the students who study in these institutions, the number of dropouts is also very high. Nowadays, young people are increasingly flocking to IELTS academies to achieve the required band scores so that they can go abroad and escape poverty. It is clear, and the statistics show, that if the country is to move towards a knowledge-based economy, then not only should the number of educational institutions and teachers increase, but students should also be guaranteed suitable employment in their own country so that they can seriously focus on this new education.