Learning without burden

An NCERT panel proposes to revamp the model of education
SAIKAT NEOGI , Indian Express

Soon, gender justice and sensitivity towards issues concerning tribals, dalits and minority communities will form the core of Social Sciences education in schools. And learning through experience and exploring the world around will form the core of Science. The draft National Curriculum Framework (NCF), 2005 stress less emphasis on exams and more on creativity learning.

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) set up the National Steering Committee under the chairmanship of Prof Yashpal with 35 scholars, principals and teachers and senior officials in the area of school education to draft the NCF. The process involved scouring position papers prepared by the 21 national focus groups covering areas of curricular concern in teaching of Sciences, Mathematics, Indian languages, English, Social Sciences, learning and habitat, art, dance, theatre and music. They also covered such areas for systemic reform as syllabus and textbooks, teacher education for curriculum renewal, examination reforms, early childhood education, work and education, educational technology, heritage crafts, health and physical education.
The latest curricular framework revision was undertaken by the NCERT following a statement by the HRD minister in the Lok Sabha that NCERT should take up such a revision.
The meeting of the Central Advisory Board for Education (CABE) last week to approve the new curriculum framework was stormy as ministers from the BJP-ruled states opposed it.
In the Capital, a group of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad activists went on the rampage at the Vigyan Bhavan in a bid to disrupt the CABE meeting. They demanded that the textbooks introduced during the National Democratic Alliance regime be brought back. Even former HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi vehemently opposed the CABE meeting saying the present government is ‘destroying’ the education system.
Union human development minister Arjun Singh says that the draft will be translated into all the languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution and sent to the respective states for consultations. “States will be given time till the first week of August to send in their suggestions so that the process of preparing the syllabus can begin. The target is to introduce textbooks as per the new NCF by the next academic year.”
Long regarded as a clearing house for ideas and reforms in the area of education, the CABE was in disuse for several years and revived after HRD Arjun Singh took office last year. ‘Desaffronising’ education, including textbooks, left behind by his predecessor Murli Manohar Joshi, has been one of the goals the United Progressive Alliance government set itself.
The NCF proposes that the stress on pre-board examinations should be reversed and instead strategies must be developed to enable children opt for different levels of attainment to overcome the system of generalised classification into pass and fail categories.
Maintaining that learning had become a burden and stress on children, NCF had proposed four guiding principles for curriculum development: connecting knowledge to life outside school, ensuring that learning could shift away from rote methods, enriching the curriculum to go beyond textbooks and making examinations flexible and integrating them with classroom life.
Significant changes have been recommended in language, Mathematics, Science and Social Sciences to make education relevant to the present day and future needs, and also to alleviate the stress children cope with in their education.
Education experts feel that the NCF is in the right direction and the syllabus should be drawn keeping in mind the tides of the time. “Modern day syllabus must be more dynamic keeping in mind the advancement that is taking place across all spheres,” says Dr Mahesh Prasad, principal, Army Public School, Noida.
The NCF has suggested a renewed attempt to implement the three language formula and an emphasis on recognition of children’s mother tongues, including tribal languages, as the best medium of instruction.
Maintaining that teaching of Mathematics should enhance the child’s resources to think, visualise and handle abstractions to formulate and solve problems, the NCF also said that infrastructural challenge involved in making computer hardware, software and connectivity to every school be pursued. “The teaching of science should be recast so that it enables children to examine and analyse everyday experiences and the concern for environment should be emphasised in every subject,” the NCF said.
Agrees Dr Prasad, “The curriculum must look into practical applications rather than just rote learning. Most students these days aim at scoring high percentage in the board exams without building a solid foundation. That must change and education must be highly interactive.” The NCF draft says that the aims of education simultaneously reflect the current needs and aspirations of a society as well as lasting values, immediate concerns of a community as well as broad human ideas.
The NCF outlines opening the concept of knowledge to include new areas of knowledge and experience, inclusivity in selecting learning tasks, pedagogic practices that are alert to promoting participation, building self-confidence and critical awareness.
“Special attention must be paid in schools to develop non cognitive skills in students. Traits like communication skills, public speaking, team building, creativity, presentation skills and problem solving skills should be taught in schools which will enable students to face the competitive world in a effective and efficient manner,” suggests Dr Prasad.
Thus, the NCF recommendations if implemented will definitely ease the burden of students and make education meaningful and fun.
We want the best
Maharashtra takes lessons from NCERT, UK board and parents
SULEKHA NAIR

The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education will introduce a new curriculum for Classes IX and XI for the academic year 2006. This is in keeping with the NCERT’s recent initiative to revise the CBSE curriculum.

The Maharashtra State Board had in fact begun this exercise over two years ago on the basis of an earlier national curriculum study by the NCERT. Says Dr Vasant Kalpande, chairman, Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, Pune, that the NCERT report released in 2002 was circulated widely to teachers, parents and educationists to discern their views. “We invited comments and remarks from this select group of individuals before finalising the curriculum. Based on their observations, we had prepared our draft. However as the latest NCERT report is out, we will accordingly revise our draft.”
The Maharashtra State Board’s plan of action is to revise the curriculum every year from 2006 beginning with classes ten and twelve. In 2007, the curriculum for class ten and twelve will be revised. The plan for curriculum revision will be extended to primary classes and later pre-primary as well, says Kalpande. “In 2006, along with class ten and class eleven, we plan to change the curriculum for class one and class five and gradually bring in the other classes into the net like class two and class six in 2007 and so on.”
The new curriculum aims to lay emphasis on the practical aspects of education. “Most educationists and parents are of the opinion that education should not be concentrated only on written examinations. Hence, the revised curriculum will give importance to project work for all subjects.” Language papers will also include an oral examination, which will be part of the evaluation.
Another proposal is to take up study of environment. This subject will be treated as a separate paper to be introduced in the new curriculum at the Secondary School level, informs Dr Kalpande. This will mean an extra subject for school students. Concrete proposals are underway for evaluation particularly with regard to public examinations like the SSC and HSC. “We have yet to give this a final shape,” added Dr Kalpande.
It is not just about students and evaluation. Teachers will have to undergo a training programme. All these measures are being undertaken to make imparting of school and higher secondary education child-friendly.
Dr Kalpande says the bane of the current system is that it concentrates on marks which puts in a lot of pressure on students. “The need of the hour is to bring about a change in the mindset of parents,” remarks Dr Kalpande. On being pointed out that it is a vicious circle with just a mark making a difference to the academic career and choice of a student, he says that the system has its drawbacks. “But this is mainly to be seen in the higher education system. As far as school and higher secondary education is concerned, our education system is the best.” He reasons that his observation is based on the fact that students do well in foreign universities due to the school system being followed in the country. “It is because mathematics and hardwork are inculcated in our schools.”
School principals have strong views on the current syllabus for Secondary School Education as followed by the State Board. “The curriculum is not in keeping with the CBSE Board,” says Sister Veronica Fernandes, principal, Holy Cross Convent, Thane. “The students from the CBSE Board do very well at the Common Entrance Test (CET). This puts the SSC students at a distinct disadvantage. Our school, for instance, takes books and project work followed by CBSE schools and provide additional information and coaching to students.”
The CBSE curriculum is more in keeping with competitive examinations, which is the rule of the day for the majority of students seek professional courses after completing the 10+2 system of education. Says N N Nayar, principal, APJ School, Nerul, Navi Mumbai, and president, Mumbai Sahodaya School Complex, “The methods followed by the CBSE is child-friendly and hence children feel comfortable and competent while appearing for competitive examinations. The syllabus is covered in depth. It also emphasises on project-oriented techniques of teaching and there is physical exposure to the syllabus. It is not an abstract thing that the children are learning. For example, when we talk about car batteries, we take the children to a factory that manufactures them. The children see for themselves how the battery is made and the types of acids used in them. We do project work not just for class nine or class ten but for all classes. For instance, pre primary students when given lessons on trains in the classroom, are taken to a railway station and shown how the signals function. The visual lesson combined with theory provides clarity to the students.”
This method of teaching is sorely lacking in the State Board run schools. Jacinta Correa, a class ten teacher at Holy Cross Convent and winner of the 2001 Intel award for Innovative Use of Computer Technology for Education, says the call of the day is for reducing the vast portion in subjects such as Maths and history and include project work instead. “The problem then is that there is not enough time to explain the concepts in detail due to paucity of time and also the rush to complete the syllabus. The curriculum as of now allows for no scope for classroom analysis. Rote method is practiced by the students and there is no evaluation of application of the lessons that are taught. Teachers should innovate and also incorporate latest methods of teaching,” she adds.
It is a view that most principals and teachers of schools that follow the Maharashtra State Secondary and Higher Secondary Education syllabus agree upon. Dr Father Francis Swamy, principal, Holy Family School, Andheri, says, “The current syllabus is inadequate to equip students to face problems. The new syllabus, when it is implemented, should be environment and eco friendly as that is the need of the day.”
The various influences from the media are hindering growth and progress in children, informs Dr Swamy, who was also a former member of the State Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board. “This results in children forming opinions even before they step into schools. Earlier, the family was the only component that directly influenced the child before he began his schooling. The problem now is that the schools have to first help the child unlearn what he has grasped from these outside influences such as TV, Internet, et al. Hence the new syllabus has to cover fields as diverse as sex education, crisis management - this need mean just calamities but also those influenced by the media. Basically, the old syllabus that is being followed encourages rote learning. An activity-oriented syllabus will make the student think, learn and enjoy the process.” Dr Swamy feels that the CBSE scores over the State Education Board as it is project driven.
Perhaps the new curriculum, when it comes into force, will address these concerns of institutions following the State Education Board. Will it then make the satchel bearing student look forward to his days in school? Who knows.
Eyeing Delhi
Bengal, Orissa see CBSE, ICSE as role models
Dilip Bisoi in Bhubhaneswar & Sumanta Ray Chaudhuri in Kolkata

The Orissa government is remodelling its school syllabus in order to prepare students for competitions at the national level. The shift is towards a uniform syllabus that is in line with those of the CBSE and ICSE.

The new syllabus will be introduced in the 2005-06 academic year. The first batch of students would appear for the ten-plus annual examination under the new syllabus in 2008.
According to the state secretary for school and mass education in Orissa, Gagan K Dhall, the new syllabus has been prepared keeping in mind the competition that students might face at the higher and national levels.
It is learnt that the present syllabus is about 10 years old. The Orissa administration feels that it is not in tune with the courses adopted at the higher level. Students who are passing out from schools that follow the syllabus of the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), Orissa, are often not able to compete with the CBSE and ICSE students.
At the same time, these students face a lot of difficulty at the all-India entrance test, that is conducted for those wanting to do professional courses.
Around 7,011 schools across the state, which conduct the ten-plus High School Certificate Examination, are affiliated to the BSE, Orissa. On an average, about 3.95 students pass out from these schools every year, out of which around 2 lakh students are girls. The average success rate is around 50%.
According to the special secretary of school and mass education, Orissa government, Subhakanta Bahera, the new syllabus is not an exact copy of the CBSE and ICSE patterns. An Indian Foreign Service Officer, Mr Bahera is also the president of the Orissa Board for Secondary Education.
Bahera says that although core subjects like mathematics, science and English will be at par with that of the CBSE and ICSE, new subjects like computers, biotechnology, environment, sex education, and health & hygiene will be introduced at the school level.
While the Orissa government has been prompt in introducing the new syllabus, the West Bengal government prefers to adopt a cautious approach as regards the introduction of sex education at the school level. Probably that is why the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) is calling it “Lifestyle Education” rather than “Sex Education,” in order to avoid any probable controversy.
WBBSE officials say there will not be a detailed discourse on male and female organs in such classes. The aim is not educating students about the development of the adolescent body. Emphasis will be more on imparting value education rather than teaching students about AIDS and the HIV virus.
The WBBSE proposal states that two classes at every weekend should be organised on this “Lifestyle Education.”
Meanwhile, the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education has decided to introduce more stress relief measures so that both students and teachers adapt themselves to the new and vast syllabus. Following the introduction of the new syllabus, which covers a much wider range compared to the previous one, the number of working days have increased. The council has also decided to organise regular workshops in order to make the new syllabus more student-friendly.
They said that special care will be taken so that the students do not find any difficulty in adapting to the new English syllabus. An orientation programme will also be conducted for the teachers, so that they will be able to communicate better and deliberate on the syllabus.
The syllabus has been revised after 29 years. The council has revised almost 25% in each subject. However, there is confusion between the council and Visva Bharati University over the introduction of modern spelling in the books written by Rabindranath Tagore.
Reforms is the name here
In south India, the focus is on quality, building marketable skills and meeting international market demands
FES Bureau
Tamil Nadu and Kerala are the two Southern States most whirring around to the demands for curriculum upgradation against the rapidly fluctuating labour market. While Tamil Nadu is all out to take an eager plunge into syllabus revision, Kerala has gone for a more calibrated “assessment-reforms first” approach.
Unlike other states, the reforms in educational content and teaching styles in Andhra Pradesh is not government-led. Educational entrepreneurs have taken quality control to their hand, with an eye on the changing manpower requirements. Relatively speaking, the Karnataka government is slow on the uptake. This, too, is gathering momentum as the government considers changing its examination system.
Tamil Nadu
The Tamil Nadu government has formed a syllabus revision committee (matriculation and state board) for standards from six to twelve. In a phased manner, the new syllabus has been introduced in 2005-06.
Education experts feel that the new syllabus covers everything. “We do not see any problem with the revised syllabus,” says Y G Parthasarathy, an eminent educationist and dean and director, Padma Seshadri group of schools.
“The state syllabus revision is in the lines of the recent syllabus revision in CBSE. The CBSE revision includes assessment throughout the year (instead of just one exam), grading and application orientation. From Class IX, Maths and Social Studies will have a 20% practical component. The revised syllabus includes new subjects like disaster management, life skills and environmental studies. But the CBSE syllabus is one step ahead of its State counterpart,” adds Parthasarathy.
“We do not see any problem with the revised syllabus. It is perfect from our perspective,” says Rajaram, head, Asha For Education, an NGO. The revision is envisaged to enable students to cope with modern trends in science and technology and satisfy the future social needs of students. “We do not see any problem with the revised syllabus. It is perfect from our perspective,” adds Rajaram.
Kerala
The ongoing initiatives are driven by student assessment- reforms, not syllabus-reforms in Kerala. Its school final examination (SSLC — at six lakh students rated as Asia’s highest enrollment for a mere provincial examination outfit) has become the first state in the country this year to go for grade-based evaluation.
“The basic idea is to instill mind application initiatives instead of the traditional learning by rote. First there has to be the mindset to accommodate changes in syllabus. No radical change will be socially digested,” says state education minister E T Mohammed Basheer.
From 2004-05, IT was ushered as an examination subject for SSLC. Till the students are comfy about, the evaluation is going to be liberal, which means the quality is not the immediate priority.
Predictably, industry is not happy with the manpower raised by the state-syllabus schools. In a meeting with the chief minister, an association of 70 Technopark CEOs even requested the Kerala government to be more market-driven in course content. “The sunny side of introducing IT exams is that all school students are now familiar with computer, overcoming their fear of unknown. However, this is only a beginning,” says Ratnamma Prabhakaran, a high school principal. In the context of wide heterogeneity of student backgrounds and parent-level hyper sensitivity about course-contents, any radical reform can only be accomplished only after a cooling period.
Andhra Pradesh
The Andhra Pradesh government has proposed to focus secondary and higher education on building marketable skills and to actively involve private sector in higher education. Educational professionals in the private sector have their own innovative methods to make changes happen fast.
“While there is consensus that educational infrastructure can be managed and funded more effectively through community participation, working teachers accept that educational standards too need upgrading,” says Sampath Kumar, headmaster of M N Raju Educational Trust, which runs about 34 institutions in the state.
“As the world grows to an electronic age, the syllabus has to change. There should be a practical orientation to the syllabus taught at the secondary and higher level. Otherwise, mechanical learning without expressions makes one a silent book and not a mobile person. The mugging-up, promoted by present syllabus causes fear of studies, leading to nil personality development,” adds Kumar.
His institutions adopt a more visual approach which make growing minds handle innovative experiments. Besides the students, the teachers are also exposed to different training.
Agrees another senior teacher from the Mathrusri Educational Trust, “It is educational institutions that are changing. Though there are no changes in the syllabus, schools are adopting new standards. This makes the students meet international market demands,” the teacher adds. The present Andhra Pradesh secondary school syllabus includes contemporary subjects like Environmental Science, Computers, Moral Science and General Knowledge, too.
Karnataka
There is no plan for immediate syllabus revision in Karnataka. According to government sources, the last revision made in 2003, had come into effect in 2004.
A school principal (who did not want to be quoted) says that the syllabus is ‘fine’ and there is no need for any change. “However, the state government has plans to change the examination patterns of class ten.
The idea is to include more objective type questions in the paper. This move will reduce pressure on academics as students will find it easier to pass the exam without much effort. It will instill more interest in studies among the students”, she says.
With inputs from Shabana Hussain in Chennai; BV Mahalakshmi in Hyderabad; Reema Jose in Bangalore and M Sarita Varma in Thiruvananthapuram

NCF Guidelines

•Language skills — speech and listening, reading and writing — cuts across school subjects and disciplines. Their foundational role in children’s construction of knowledge right from elementary classes through senior secondary classes needs to be recognised.•Renewed effort should be made to implement the three-language formula, emphasising recognition of children’s mother tongue as the best medium of instruction. These include tribal languages.•Success in learning English is possible only if it builds on sound language pedagogy in the mother tongue.•The multilingual character of Indian society should be seen as a resource for enrichment of school life. Mathematics•Mathematisation (ability to think logically, formulate and handle abstractions) rather than ‘knowledge’ of mathematics (formals and mechanical procedures) is the main goal of teaching mathematics. •The teaching of mathematics should enhance the child’s ability to think and reason, to visualise and handle abstractions, to formulate and solve problems. Access to quality mathematics education is the right of every child. Science•Content, process and language of science teaching must be commensurate with the learner’s age and cognitive reach.•Science teaching should engage the learner in acquiring methods and processes that will nurture their curiosity and creativity, particularly in relation to the environment.•Science teaching should be placed in the wider context of children’s environment to equip them with the requisite knowledge and skills to enter the world of work.•Awareness of environmental concerns must permeate the entire school curriculum. Social Sciences•Social science teaching should aim at equipping children with moral and mental energy so as to provide them the ability to think independently and reflect critically on social issues.•Interdisciplinary approaches, promoting key national concerns such as gender justice, human rights and sensitivity to marginalised groups and minorities.•Civics should be recast as political science, and significance of history as a shaping influence on the child’s conception of the past and civic identity should be recognised. Work•Work should be infused in all subjects from the primary stage upwards.•Agencies and settings offering work opportunities outside the school be formally recognised.•Design of Vocational Education and Training (VET) programme is based on the perspective of 10-12 years of work—centered education with in-built features of: — flexible and modular courses of varying durations — Multiple entry and exit points — Accessibility from the level of village clusters to district levels — Decentralised accreditation and equivalence mechanism for agencies located outside the school system Art•Arts (folk and classical forms of music and dance, visual arts, pupperty, clay work, and theatre) and heritage crafts should be recognised as an integral components of the school curriculum.•Awareness of their relevance to personal, social, economic and aesthetic needs should be built among parents, school authorities and administrators.•Arts should comprise a subject at every stage of school education.Health and Physical Education•Health and physical education are necessary for the overall development of learners. Through the health and physical education programmes (including yoga), it may be possible to handle successfully the issues of enrollment, retention and completion of school. Peace•Peace-oriented values should be promoted in all subjects throughout school years with the help of relevant activities.•Peace education should form a component of teacher education