The National Education Policy 2020 was greeted with near-universal praise when it was released. Educators, academics, parents, and industry bodies applauded its emphasis on multilingual instruction, experiential learning, reduced rote examination pressure, and the integration of vocational education with academic pathways. Six years later, the question that should preoccupy its advocates is not whether the policy is good — it is — but whether it has changed anything for the 260 million children in government schools.

The honest answer is: somewhat, and insufficiently.

The foundational literacy and numeracy mission has shown measurable results in states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh that implemented it with seriousness. Basic reading and arithmetic outcomes for Class 3 students have improved in these states — a genuine achievement.

But the larger structural transformation the NEP promised — the shift from curriculum overload to conceptual depth, the integration of Indian languages as mediums of instruction through Class 5, the development of vocational pathways in secondary school — has barely begun. The funding required to retrain teachers and develop new curriculum materials has not materialised. The Union Education Budget as a share of GDP remains below the NEP's own minimum recommendation.