ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Higher Education
National Education Policy 2020 and MPH Programs-Translating Policy to Practice
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Public Health, KAHER, Belagavi, Karnataka, India
- 2Department of Microbiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Belgaum, Belgaum, India
- 3Public Health Foundation of India, Gurugram, Haryana, India
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Abstract Background: Public health education in India faces several challenges like non-uniform curricula, limited emphasis on experiential and competency-based learning, and inadequate infrastructure. Addressing these challenges demands significant changes in public health education to align it with Sustainable Development Goals 4 and National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in particular. To overhaul the Masters of Public Health (MPH) program with a focus on holistic and multidisciplinary approaches, objective of this paper was to propose a framework for MPH program in alignment with NEP 2020. Methods: A thorough desk review of NEP 2020 for reforms in higher education was conducted. Nine documents by University Grants Commission (UGC) detailing implementation of the policy at higher education level were reviewed for their relevance to MPH programs. Various guidelines to align MPH programs with policy's proposed reforms were identified. MPH framework was developed on the basis of these guidelines. Results: MPH programs in India are not in alignment with NEP 2020 reforms. The framework suggested in this study includes guidelines on 1.Flexible career pathways, 2.Multiple entry and multiple exits, 3.Levels, level descriptors, qualification specifications and graduate attributes, 4.Credit system and academic bank of credit, 5.Evaluation and Assessment, 6.Incorporation of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC), Indian Knowledge System (IKS) Courses and Courses on Human Values and Ethics and 7. Provisions for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) thus aligning the MPH program with selected policy reforms. Conclusion: MPH programs can be aligned with certain reforms suggested by NEP 2020. The proposed framework can provide a solid background for transforming MPH programs in India, making them more flexible, interdisciplinary, research oriented and improving their quality. Keywords: NEP 2020, MPH Program, Public Health Education, Policy, Masters of Public Health.
Keywords: NEP 2020, MPH Program, public health education, policy, Masters of public health
Received: 10 Aug 2025; Accepted: 28 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Angolkar, Nilgar, Nagmoti and Zodpey. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Dr Pooja Dhagavkar Nilgar
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