Editorial | NEP – The Gamechanging Policy! 

With its call for comprehensive systemic change and extensive sectoral reform, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 was a watershed move for the Indian educational system. The strategy advocated including life skills in the curriculum since it was believed that education needed to go beyond academic results to concentrate on the overall development of our future generations. Coincidentally, this occurred during the Covid-19 era, a time when health issues disrupted education worldwide and made learning loss worse than usual. India’s issue is not just unemployment but also an inability to find work. The greatest youth population in the world, India has 650 million people under the age of 25, which creates a unique situation: India will provide over 22% of the additional global labour force during the following three decades. This demographic dividend can simply be transformed into a sustainable opportunity with the appropriate initiatives. According to a 2019 UNICEF report, more than half of South Asian adolescents would not have the education or skills necessary to find employment in 2030, underscoring the gloomy reality of our situation.  In this scenario, the crucial role of life skills comes into play. A set of talents, attitudes, and socio-emotional competences known as “life skills” enables people to learn, make wise decisions, exercise their legal rights, live healthy, productive lives, and eventually become change agents. The development of life skills helps young people be mentally healthy and competent as they deal with the challenges of life. These abilities can be used in a variety of contexts, including gender equality in education, environmental education, peace education, education for development, livelihood and income generation, and education for the promotion of good health, among others. They also aid in the development of fundamental abilities like literacy, numeracy, and digital skills. On the other hand, the ability of its members to comprehend and utilise knowledge to seize opportunities and create a productive society is impacted by a fragile knowledge society. In various states and areas of India, this is the main cause of disparities in health, education, and life chances. The 2005 National Curriculum Framework (NCF) assisted in establishing a baseline for academic competencies, and it is anticipated that the new frameworks proposed by NEP 2020 would do the same for the teaching of life skills. The preparation for this has already started.