NEP 2020 implementation for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe children in primary schools of Kurnool District in Andhra Pradesh

AbstractThe National Education Policy 2020 places foundational literacy and numeracy, child-centredpedagogy, teacher development, inclusion and technology-enabled learning at the core ofprimary education reform. In this article, we develop and demonstrate a district-level frameworkto examine the implementation in primary schools in Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribecommunities in Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh. We then bring on parent and guardianperceptions and teacher reports and categorise implementation into nine dimensions: policyawareness, access and participation, child-centred pedagogy, teacher preparedness, foundationalliteracy, foundational numeracy, digital learning, inclusion and parental engagement. Inclusionand equal treatment generate the highest mean of 3.96, followed by teacher preparedness andimplementation at 3.85. The lowest selected dimension mean is found at 3.74, while there is adistinct limitation to home digital access: only 37 per cent report digital facilities are always orusually available. The three most commonly cited implementation barriers are limited digitalaccess, lack of learning materials and lack of parental awareness. The framework shows howpolicy implementation can be measured; whether positive perceptions are evidence for causaleffect or not. It also identifies the field measures and inferential tests necessary for a publishableempirical study. The findings highlight the importance of targeted digital access, continuousteacher development, community-driven policy communication and the community-basedresponse for tribal communities. Since the numerical data is synthetic, the results of the papershow the method and are to be replaced with ethical field data if the manuscript is to bepresented as an empirical research article.