A five-member committee was set up last year to draft the new education policy. The committee, in the report submitted last month but yet to be made public, has recommended that pre-school education for children in the age group of 4 to 5 years should be declared as a right and programme for it implemented immediately. And primary education should be provided through the medium of mother tongue or regional language.

It has also recommended:
 

• NCERT should formulate curricular framework for pre-primary education, which should be more on the lines of a play school, crèche and activity centre.

• In due course, all government primary schools should have facilities for pre-primary education. 

• A new education component should be introduced in the anganwadi practices, to ensure that pre-school children are exposed to elementary education.

• The core objective of the report is that education should provide information, knowledge, skills and values; to instill social attitudes which enable a student to become a good human being, a proud citizen and contribute to the development of the country.

• It also says that value education should be made an integral part of education at all levels. Truth, righteous conduct, peace, love and non-violence are core universal values. Schools must develop qualities like regularity and punctuality, cleanliness, good conduct, consideration for the elderly and respect for women, in students.

• The report highly recommends establishment of an Indian Education Service (IES), as recommended by earlier policies. It should be established as an all-India service with officers being on permanent settlement to the state governments but with the cadre controlling authority vesting with the ministry of HRD.

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