This paper examines managerialism, characterised by efficiency-driven governance and technocratic control, as a transformative force in Indian educational reform under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. It explores how managerialism aligns with NEP 2020’s vision to restructure traditional education into a modern, inclusive, and multidisciplinary system, emphasising equity and innovation. Drawing on critical pedagogy, the study critiques managerialism’s impact on teacher autonomy and student agency, revealing tensions between neoliberalism’s standardised accountability and NEP 2020’s holistic aspirations. By integrating perspectives from scholars like Paulo Freire and Stephen Ball, the analysis highlights how managerialism can both support and undermine equity in education. The paper proposes strategies to balance managerialism’s efficiency with the culturally grounded, learner-centric goals of NEP 2020, contributing to educational scholarship and offering actionable insights for policymakers navigating Indian educational reform in a neoliberal context.
Rahman et al. (Sun,) studied this question.