Education: School shutdowns not the answer, NEP needs evidence-based review

The year saw schools shutting down or moving online due to rising pollution. (Express)

Every year, schools in Delhi-NCR face a recurring problem – they are either shut or shifted to online as well as hybrid mode due to extreme weather conditions, winter pollution, even intense rainfall, steadily reducing functional teaching days. Those affected are the children, mainly the young learners and those from lower economic groups, as recurring disruptions widen learning gaps.

The year 2025 also witnessed another kind of disruption, with parents of students studying in private schools coming to the streets to protest fee hikes. This led the Delhi government to pass the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, aiming to curb arbitrary fee hikes, provide parents with a voice in the fee-fixation process, and introduce strict penalties for violations. How the Act is implemented on the ground remains to be seen.

In higher education, the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) – particularly the four-year undergraduate programme – has led to an increase in the number of courses, credits, exams and internal assessments. Many students and teachers report academic overload and constant evaluation cycles that leave little time for sustained learning or specialisation.

At the school level, experts believe policy responses must move beyond blanket school shutdowns to ensure there is no learning loss.

Latika Gupta, faculty at Department of Education, Delhi University, said, “We need to think seriously about how education can remain exciting and meaningful despite disruptions… Instead of shutting down schools and pushing classes on to hybrid mode, schools should be promoted to upgrade their infrastructure with air purifiers, among others.”

On private schools arbitrarily hiking fees, she said, “Fee regulation alone will not fix private schooling. We need wider conversations involving parents, schools, legal experts and civil society to understand what private education has become.”

In higher education, experts believe an analysis of NEP performance in the last five years is the need of the hour. “There has to be a serious, evidence-based review of NEP. You cannot keep reforming higher education without asking students and teachers how it is actually playing out in classrooms,” said Gupta.

“Higher education needs fewer courses and deeper engagement. Specialisation cannot be replaced by constant assessment and flexibility without intellectual cost,” she added.