The NEP structure was first implemented in autonomous colleges under SPPU in 2022 and a year later, in affiliated colleges. (File Photo)
The upcoming year will see significant changes in the education sector in Maharashtra. The first batch of students studying under the New Education Policy structure in autonomous colleges under the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) will complete their third-year in the academic year 2025-26, with options to exit or to continue for another year of research. In school education, the Maharashtra State Board is also scheduled to introduce new textbooks based on the NCERT curriculum for four school grades for the 2026-27 academic year. If these changes are to be rolled out as per schedule, the next few months will call for some heavy lifting.
Under the NEP structure, three-year bachelor degree students are provided with an option to continue for a fourth year. The NEP structure was first implemented in autonomous colleges under SPPU in 2022 and a year later, in affiliated colleges. With just a few months remaining for the 2025-26 academic year, autonomous colleges in Pune are still awaiting guidelines regarding implementation of the fourth-year programme for students.
Professor Avinash Moharil, principal of the autonomous Sir Parashurambhau College (S.P. College), told The Indian Express that his institute is ready with the syllabus for many courses for the fourth year. However, guidelines from the government and SPPU about whether the course will be offered to the granted section of students and appointment of teachers for the same are still not clear.
“One thing is quite clear that only the departments having a postgraduate department will offer this kind of course. We now need clarity from the government whether the course is to be offered to the granted section. Then will it be considered as a course in natural growth? Because in the government resolution itself is written that it will not be considered as a granted course or additional workload. We still need to appoint teachers for it. So whether we are going to at least get clockhour bases (CBH) teachers as we get for the graduate courses is yet to be clarified,” said professor Moharil.
The professor explained that feedback from students and how many of them want to opt for the fourth year course is also very important. “Right now, students are cautiously taking decisions or they are a little confused about the whole scenario. But in my opinion, everything will probably get settled in a month.”
Making a similar point, a student studying at an autonomous school, said, “We have no clarity from our professors at this point as they are themselves confused. I will be graduating very soon and I am not able to make a decision about whether to opt for the fourth year or not.”
Pro Vice Chancellor of SPPU Parag Kalkar told The Indian Express, “We have our guidelines ready and we just have to pass them in the academic council. Some guidelines will be given by the state government. They have a MahaSARC committee led by the Vice Chancellors. Their guidelines are also ready and once they will come, we will release our guidelines within a week. The government guidelines have to come first as we have to make sure both the guidelines don’t clash and that our guidelines cover the aspects that are remaining.” The release of the guidelines will happen in a month’s time at most, said Kalkar, adding that any colleges reaching out with queries have already been given clarity.
Kalkar also shared a five-point academic vision for SPPU for the next academic year—pioneering NEP 2020 implementation by transitioning to a fully multidisciplinary framework, digital governance excellence by 100 per cent paperless administration, democratic access to education by scaling the Centre for Distance and Online Education (CDOE), bridging the employability gap by integrating Apprenticeship Embedded Degree Programmes (AEDP), and innovation-led research.
The Maharashtra state board has planned a shift to a new curriculum based on NCERT textbooks till 2029. In the coming academic year, the new syllabus will be implemented for Classes 2, 3, 4 and 6. Milind Naik, a member of the Maharashtra NEP steering committee and principal of Jnana Prabodhini School, told The Indian Express that the course material for the first version of textbooks for Classes 2, 3 and 6 are ready with only the designing, adding of pictures, and other such details remaining, while the work on the Class 4 textbook is ongoing.
However, these textbooks have been prepared on the draft curriculum released by the State Council of Educational Research and Training. The final curriculum with public feedback incorporated is yet to be released. Any changes in the draft curriculum will require a change in the textbooks prepared as well, confirmed Naik. He said the books for the Marathi medium should be ready in time but other mediums might take time.
Naik added that a change in examination pattern is also expected from the next year. “Competency-based examination should start from the next year. As per NEP, the questions asked in the question paper should not be based on memory. The question should not be like who and when, instead they should be based on how and why. Because the books are designed on similar principles.”