The Union education ministry on Wednesday announced a new National Curriculum Framework (NCF) prepared by a 12-member committee headed by K Kasturirangan, who had also chaired the panel for the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The redrafted NCF will change the school education system in the country by introducing big changes like holding board exam twice and giving students the freedom to choose. Books too will be revised according to NEP 2020 and the first set is expected to be launched in the academic session 2024-25.
Curriculum divided in four stages
As per the recommendations on NEP 2020, the NCF has divided the school curriculum into four stages: Foundation, preparatory, middle and secondary.
The document released on Wednesday by education minister Dharmendra Pradhan says that students between 3 years and 8 years of age will be covered in the foundation stage. The pedagogy will be play-based and emphasise nurturing relationships between the teacher and the children. The document recommends textbooks and workbooks only from Class 1. Foundation stage will be completed after class 2.
Students of 8 years to 11 years will be covered in the preparatory stage. These students will be taught three languages along with mathematics. Activity and discovery-based pedagogy will continue to play a big role.
The next will be Middle Stage that will cover students from 11 years to 14 years of age. Vocational exposure will be given to children up to class 8.
Finally, the secondary stage will cover students aged between 14 and 18, and classes 9 to 12. The focus will be to help students develop capacities for reasoning and argumentation. Choice-based courses will be offered to enable flexibility.
What the NCF aims to achieve?
The new curriculum framework will transform the school education through positive changes, including in pedagogy. The changes will also include school environment and culture, according to the NCF document released today.
Strongly rooted in Indian culture
The NCF document says it will promote the ancient traditions of India. Schools will use local resources of learning, including language, practices, experts, histories as well as environment as rich sources of illustrations or case studies.
The students will also be taught about contributions Indians made to various fields.
Most importantly, the Board exams under NCF will assess understanding and achievement of competencies rather than months of coaching and memorisation.
Will it be applicable to all the boards operating in the country?
The NCF automatically covers the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which is managed by the government of India. A few months ago, Gerry Arathoon, chief executive and secretary of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) had said that ICSE and ISC curriculum will be restructured to align with the changed NCF.
The CISCE curriculum, syllabus and textbooks are likely to undergo changes and syllabus reduction can also take place in the new framework, Mr Arathoon had said.
The NCF will also be adopted by other state boards.