Implementation of Outcome-Based Learning under NEP 2020: Opportunities and Institutional Challenges

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has shifted the focus of Indian higher education towards quality, flexibility, multidisciplinary education, development of skills and quantifiable student outcomes and has thus generated significant policy impetus to the adoption of Outcome-Based Learning (OBL). It is against this backdrop that the current study conducts a systematic literature review to discuss the current interpretation and discourse of OBL in the new NEP 2020 reform environment, and its opportunities and institutional challenges. Based on the PRISMA 2020 paradigm, the review summarizes the literature regarding curriculum redesign, pedagogical change, assessment methods, faculty preparedness, governance, infrastructure, and quality assurance in Indian institutions of higher learning. According to the review, OBL has significant potential in terms of curriculum-intended learning outcome alignment, student-centered and experiential learning, enhancing assessment transparency, and graduate readiness to academic, professional, and societal practices. Simultaneously, the literature shows that there are still barriers to implementation, such as the lack of faculty training, assessment literacy, infrastructural disparities, administrative overload, and institutional readiness unevenly distributed among universities and colleges. The research finds that, despite the good normative and policy base about outcome-oriented reform in NEP 2020, the success of OBL requires institutional capacity-building, academic leadership, and successful alignment of curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment. The article is an addition to the expanding literature on reform of higher education in India, as it provides a systematic summary of the hope and realistic complexity of OBL implementation under NEP 2020.