Student-centric Evaluation of National Education Policy-2020 Implementation in Higher Education: Evidence from Uttarakhand Using PLS-SEM

Abstract

The National Education Policy – 2020 is a comprehensive and transformative reform initiative in India's higher education system, aiming to strengthen academic quality and relevance through flexibility, multidisciplinary education, and student-centric governance. However, the actual effectiveness of such policy reforms largely depends on their implementation at the institutional level and the academic realities experienced by students. In this context, the present study empirically evaluates the effectiveness of NEP–2020 implementation in higher education institutions of Uttarakhand state from a student perspective and examines its impact on student satisfaction. For the study, primary data were collected from 350 undergraduate, postgraduate, and research students enrolled in government, aided, and private higher education institutions located in the hilly and plain regions of the state through a structured questionnaire. The study is based on a quantitative and cross-sectional research design and utilizes the Partial Least Squares – Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) methodology to test measurement properties and structural relationships. The results confirm a high level of measurement reliability and validity. The findings of the structural model indicate that effective institutional execution of NEP–2020 is associated with improved institutional performance quality, which, in turn, has a positive and statistically significant impact on student satisfaction. The mediation analysis further clarifies that institutional performance quality acts as a key transmission mechanism between policy implementation and student satisfaction. Although the cross-sectional design limits temporal causal generalizations, the findings provide strong evidence that strengthening institutional capacity, academic resources, and student support systems is crucial for achieving the desired outcomes of NEP–2020. This study offers significant policy implications for higher education administrators and policymakers, particularly in geographically diverse, regionally challenging, and resource-constrained contexts like Uttarakhand.