Evaluating the Role of Nep 2020 Awareness in Advancing SDG 4 Indicators Across Educational Stakeholders

Abstract

India's most significant attempt to transform education in decades is the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. By employing flexible, skill-based and whole-person approaches, it seeks to transform how people learn. The policy's success rests on more than just how successfully schools implement it, as it is closely linked to Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education). It also depends on how effectively parents, teachers, administrators and students comprehend and embrace its tenets. The influence of NEP 2020 knowledge on accelerating progress towards SDG 4 indicators which include equitable access, foundational literacy, teacher capacity, skill development and inclusive learning environments is evaluated in this study.

The study employs a mixed-methods approach to assess differences in stakeholder groups' awareness levels and to look at how such awareness affects attitudes, readiness to enact policies and perceived improvements in educational results. Although NEP 2020 is widely recognised at the macro level, preliminary results indicate that there are still gaps in stakeholder-specific awareness, particularly with regard to digital learning, competency-based assessment, inclusive education practices and vocational integration. Reaching the SDG 4 goals is made more difficult by these inequalities, particularly in underserved and rural areas.

The study underscores the pressing necessity for focused awareness campaigns, capacity- building initiatives and CSR-backed community engagement efforts to address prevailing knowledge disparities. Strengthening NEP 2020 literacy among stakeholders can act as a catalyst for action-oriented implementation, significantly advancing India's pursuit of sustainable, inclusive and future-ready education. The paper ends by suggesting a framework to raise awareness of NEP 2020 as a strategic way
to reach SDG 4 by 2030.