Integrating Education for Sustainable Development within the Framework of the National Education Policy 2020

Education for Sustainable Development has become a revolutionary approach to education, empowering learners with the knowledge, skills, abilities, values, and attitudes needed to address today’s environmental, social, and economic issues. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 proposes a comprehensive framework linked to the principles of the Sustainable Development Goals. This work discusses the conceptual integration of Sustainable Development in Education within the policy framework and analyses its implications for curriculum, pedagogy, teacher education, and students’ holistic development. The NEP 2020 focuses on experiential learning, multidisciplinary learning, rational thinking, fundamental constitutional rights, environmental awareness, and global citizenship. These are all the necessary goals of Education for Sustainable Development. This approach intends to encourage sustainable lifestyles and responsible citizenship among students through competency-based education, creative thinking, vocational experiences, and indigenous knowledge systems. Also, its focus on fairness, inclusivity, and lifelong learning aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Goal 4, which focuses on “inclusive equtable and quality education for all” (United Nations, 2015). This study used a descriptive document analysis method to determine that NEP 2020 integrates the vision of sustainability and transformational education. This study highlights that NEP 2020 provides strong, effective conceptual and structural foundations for Sustainable Development; its implementation requires curriculum reconstruction, teacher capacity building, and institutional support. The study concludes that Sustainable Development under NEP 2020 represents a paradigm shift, moving away from rote, content-based learning toward a values-based, student-centric, and future-oriented approach. By integrating sustainability into educational reforms, the strategy can contribute to the national development and students’ holistic development.