Study Abroad: Tips & Updates

NEP: The Bridge to Higher Education Abroad

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Rohan Deshmukh
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NEP 2020, the bridge to higher education overseas is the new path towards your education abroad dream. Modifications have taken the education system in India to the next level. 34 years, it’s been 34 years since the last education reform took place in India. It was just a dream to many students who passed out in these 34 years to be able to select courses of their choice, learn the subjects in their own preferred language, have more than one chance to nail their board exams, etc. But now, the wait is over. India has showcased the modifications that will be implemented soon in the new education policy that was in place for three long decades!

In this article, we will go through the exact changes in the NEP 2020 that you should be aware of that might be helpful for you when you are looking for a Bachelor’s or a Master’s degree in the US, Canada, Australia, UK, or any other country. Some changes will bolster your profile and will impact your educational goals in a positive way. So, stay tuned till the end to know how is it going to turn out for your higher education. 

CODING OPTION FROM 6th GRADE

Coding is starting to be one of the most normalized ways to extract information and probably use it anyway. It’s used to create things, automate services, make your life efficient, effortless, and easy to live. However, instead of limited students learning it, India has tried to make it a part of the curriculum if a student wants to learn and implement it at an earlier age. From the 6th grade, a student can start to learn the coding languages to have a good foundation of its usage and basics to tackle the advanced level afterwards. Again, learning to code is optional and a student can opt for it if they are interested or not if they are not interested. Computing, IT, Data Science, and AI are the fastest-growing fields right now. These rising fields require hardcore coding and a good Bachelor’s/Master’s degree. Certainly, a world-class degree from one of the top universities in the world would change everything. Being an International student gives and studying in one of those foreign universities will give them an edge over other students. Also, knowing to code at an early age adds a cherry on the top!
 

THE BOARD EXAMS

To date, all the students who gave their board exams i.e. 10th grade and 12th grade had only one shot to glory. However, in this new education policy, every student will have two shots (1st semester and 2nd semester) to aim for glory, in the 10th grade as well as the 12th grade. This will immensely decrease the amount of pressure on students and will significantly yield better results as well. Having a lifeline to writing your boards twice will help you focus on other competitive exams like SAT and ACT, also some English Proficiency exams like IELTS and TOEFL. This policy is one of the most important policies because now the fate of a student won’t just depend on one exam but will have an extra lifeline too. This will help students to land a better admit from one of the top universities as Undergrad is concerned.
 

NO STREAM LIMITATIONS

The education policy that’s still under effect limits the students to their own specific stream taken for the 11th and 12th. For instance, if a student is in the science stream he/she is bound to take subjects related to science only along with a vocational subject or two. However, according to the new policy, a student is allowed to have subjects from different backgrounds and no restrictions as to what to choose from. If a student wants to learn creative writing with Physics, yes that’s possible. The freebie given to the students will definitely streamline their interests up to an extent where they will have multiple options to choose from when it comes to selecting a major for Higher Education.
 

MAJOR AND MINOR

So here comes the coolest part. A student can choose to have a major (as in primary focus) and a minor (as in secondary focus) in an Undergraduate course just like the courses in the US. After getting the degree of that person doesn’t want to give a career in their primary focus and shift to their secondary focus and apple for jobs too. The best thing is you can select your major and minor anywhere from Writing to Psychology to Agriculture to Music to Engineering! No boundaries.
 

TRANSFERRABLE CREDITS

You might have seen many foreign students going to countries for exchange programs. In India, there are limited options because the credits aren’t transferable. Due to this the Indians weren’t able to go to many exchange programs and many foreign Internationals couldn’t come here to study. However, you’ll soon see the difference as now the credits are transferable. As the credits are transferable, more and more students will start to go for a Student Abroad Program and Exchange Programs. This will expose them to the culture and the way students study abroad. If that student opts to go for higher education would have extra overseas experience in his/her plate.
 

INTERNATIONAL CAMPUS

Many universities don’t have just one campus but have multiple campuses across the world. For eg: Northeastern University has its campus not only in the US but in Canada as well, New York University has campuses in Abu Dhabi, London, Berlin, US, Florence, Madrid, etc. So now, there will be many Universities’ International campuses in India as well, in the near future! This will make higher education more affordable and accessible to students as the foreign universities will set up campuses here in India making higher education an open option to all.
 

DIVERSE ATTRACTION TOWARDS INDIA

More and more foreign nationals will look towards India as their Higher Education destination, especially countries in Africa and Asia. This will "certainly" attract more students which will expose the Indian students to more cultural diversity. Enabling the Indian students to inculcate different ways of studying for their Undergrad or Master’s degree and helping students interact more.
 

BEING ACCEPTED BY GLOBAL UNIVERSITIES

The multi-disciplinary feature of the new education policy will enable our students to become more adaptable and acceptable at global universities. The fact that the education system is evolving will bolster a student's profile and credibility to land a good job at a top university of Higher Education.

Now let’s talk about how all of these major changes are going to play out in the longer run:

  • Indian students will be more competition ready when compared to other foreign National students
  • This will make Education Abroad more accessible
  • Universities starting to look into a much more holistic approach
  • If students are confused about career options, students can have other back up study options through their minor subjects.
  • International campuses and transferable credits will allow students to witness other cultures with several exchange programs too
  • Will increase critical thinking and cognitive skills at a young age

These changes when applied will definitely revolutionize the education system in India. Thus, the NEP 2020 will help provide more of an inclusive, flexible, and globalized education system. 

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