National Education Policy 2020 and Educational Change in India: Policy, Culture and Implementation

Abstract

The National Education Policy 2020 represents a major reform initiative aimed at transforming the structure, purpose and outcomes of education in India by linking access, quality, equity and cultural integration within a single policy framework. This paper examines the nature and extent of educational change in India in the post NEP period drawing on secondary data from the Indian Economic Survey 2025-26 and official reports of key ministries including the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in order to analyse trends in public spending, inclusion and implementation. The analysis shows that while there has been a visible expansion in the education system as reflected in increased enrolment, broader access and the extension of welfare schemes this expansion has not been matched by uniform improvements in quality, institutional capacity or we can say learning outcomes. The gap persists. Budgetary trends indicate a gradual increase in public expenditure on education yet allocations remain below the 6% GDP target proposed in NEP 2020 limiting the scale of reform. At the same time efforts to integrate Indian Knowledge Systems, local languages and cultural content into the curriculum signal a shift toward a more context-sensitive model of education, though this integration remains partial and uneven due to constraints related to curriculum development, teacher preparedness, institutional readiness etc. The process is ongoing. Afterall the findings suggest that educational change in India is real but incomplete shaped by the interaction between policy ambition, economic priorities and institutional realities where progress is evident but uneven across regions and sectors. Change is real. But not complete.