Overhauling education

IN alignment with the pedagogical modifications envisaged by the National Education Policy (NEP 2020), the government on Thursday released the ‘pre-draft’ of the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) as per the suggestions made by the committee of experts constituted for the purpose. The NCF, last revised in 2005, aims to keep pace with the changing times and ensure a deeper engagement with students. Teachers, scholars, students, parents and other stakeholders are expected to give their opinion on the draft before it is finalised.

The recommendations made for adoption by all school boards are aimed at overcoming limitations that the current system is saddled with. The draft states that the first language should be the mother tongue, while English could be the second or third option in the three-language formula. However, implementing such proposals would be challenging as they call for an overhaul of the way the students have been taught and assessed. With a lot of our schools equipped with just rudimentary staff and education tools, the changeover would need some handholding and a pooling of resources. Nevertheless, some alterations spanning the whole spectrum — from preschool to Class XII — are worth pursuing.

Adopting global best practices, the draft curriculum framework has proposed to break the rigid barriers around the courses that pupils of classes XI and XII can opt for. The flexibility to mix subjects of various streams — science, arts and commerce — as per the individual’s choice is commendable. Such a multi-disciplinary approach will not only ensure better performance but also offer students broad-based education and a bouquet of career choices. Equally praiseworthy is the attempt to lessen the anxiety caused by the board exams to students and parents. Linking classes IX and X for assessment and a modular two-term exam structure for classes XI and XII, as opposed to the one-exam schedule, would let the children take the exam when they are ready for it. It could pave the path for NEP’s long-term goal of holding on-demand exams. For the foundational stage (preschool to Class II), the draft rightly calls tests inappropriate assessment tools and is in favour of introducing written exams from Class III. Factoring in public feedback before implementing these innovative plans is another step in the right direction.