Context:
The Union government has announced a major reform push to modernise India’s education ecosystem by introducing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in teaching, liberalising open schooling, and realigning technical education with employment needs, through the proposed Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, 2025.
Key Highlights:
- Policy and Legislative Framework
- The VBSA Bill, 2025 aims to overhaul higher education regulation.
- It proposes to subsume the functions of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) under a unified institutional framework.
- The Bill is expected to be taken up in the Budget Session of Parliament after scrutiny by a Joint Parliamentary Committee.
- AI in Teaching and Learning
- AI tools will assist teachers in personalised learning, assessment, and administrative efficiency.
- Focus is on improving learning outcomes, teacher support, and adaptive education models.
- Open Schooling Reforms
- The government plans to expand and liberalise the open schooling ecosystem, especially the National Institute for Open Schooling.
- The aim is to accommodate learners seeking secondary and higher secondary certification outside the formal school system, including dropouts, working adults, and marginalised groups.
- Technical Education and Employability
- Revised standards will prioritise job-oriented skills, entrepreneurship, and industry relevance.
- Emphasis on aligning curricula with emerging technologies and labour market needs.
- Viksit Bharat Vision
- Education reforms are aligned with the broader goal of building a Viksit Bharat (Developed India) by enhancing human capital quality and workforce readiness.
Relevant Prelims Points:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI): Use of algorithms and machines to simulate human intelligence.
- Open Schooling: Flexible education model beyond conventional classroom structures.
- VBSA Bill, 2025: Proposed law to restructure higher education regulation.
Relevant Mains Points:
- AI integration can bridge teacher shortages and improve learning equity, but raises concerns of digital divide and data ethics.
- Open schooling enhances educational inclusion for vulnerable and non-traditional learners.
- Skill-oriented technical education supports demographic dividend and economic growth.
- Way Forward:
- Ensure capacity building of teachers to effectively use AI tools.
- Address digital infrastructure gaps, especially in rural areas.
- Maintain regulatory oversight to balance innovation with quality assurance.
UPSC Relevance
- GS 2: Governance, education reforms, social justice
- GS 3: Science & technology, skill development, employment generation