New Delhi: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday said Vidya Bharati played a key role as a reference point in shaping the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, with several of its practices now incorporated into the national curriculum.

Addressing a Vidya Bharati event here, Pradhan said that although the organisation represents only a small segment of the education ecosystem, it has set benchmarks in teaching standards, learning outcomes and value-based education.

He said Vidya Bharati's approaches to textbooks, medium of instruction, language and social development influenced policymaking decisions during the formulation of NEP 2020.

The minister highlighted that initiatives such as “bagless school days”, mother tongue-based learning and continuous teacher training, long practised by Vidya Bharati, have now been adopted at the national level.

Pradhan said the policy emphasises moving away from rote learning towards creativity and critical thinking, along with integrating co-curricular areas such as sports, music and skill development into formal education.

He also noted that new NCERT textbooks for Classes 1 to 8 have been finalised, with Class 9 books expected soon.

Highlighting future-ready learning, Pradhan said computational thinking and artificial intelligence have been introduced for students from Classes 3 to 8.