Digital Object Identifier
The importance of English as a discipline and medium of communication has colonial roots. The need for a common language in a linguistically diverse country like India led the colonisers to introduce English for effective administration and communication. This steered English toward becoming the most widely read and written language over the years. Post-liberalisation and the opening of the economy through globalisation, the language has its own growth trajectory. This growth is evident in the curriculum changes over the years, and since the introduction of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, these changes have become more prominent. The landscape of the current education system, post-five years of NEP 2020, has led to many short- and long-term changes in the curriculum and pedagogical strategies. Focusing on the flexibility of the curriculum, the emphasis on multidisciplinary studies, and addressing regional disparities to promote inclusive education, the NEP has proven to be a game-changer. The paper traces the trajectory of colonial literature-centred English to its current role, that is, after NEP2020, which reframes the English language curriculum. The NEP English curriculum advocates flexibility, multidisciplinarity, and communicative competence, yet its implementation in higher education remains constrained.
Garima Dalal, Gunjan Arora. “Trajectory of English Language Curriculum Design in Indian Higher Education: From Macaulay to NEP 2020.” The Criterion: An International Journal in English, vol. 17, no. 3, June 2026, pp. 1-15. DOI, https://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n3.1.
Open Access · CC BY 4.0 · Crossref DOI ·
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