News Highlights:
- Recently, The Ministry of Education released a pre-draft version of the National Curriculum Framework for School Education.
- Pre-draft has sought feedback from various stakeholders, including students, parents, teachers, teacher educators, experts, scholars and professionals.
Key Takeaway:
The pre-draft was formulated by a committee led by K Kasturirangan, a former head of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
National Curriculum Framework:
- About:
- The revamped national curriculum framework (NCF), which will enable and promote excellent learning and teaching in the nation by turning the objective of the NEP 2020 into practice in the classrooms and schools, is fundamental to the implementation of the revolutionary National Education Policy 2020.
- The national steering committee (NSC), led by Dr K Kasturirangan, and backed by the mandate group, as well as the national council for educational research and Training (NCERT), are guiding the growth of the NCF.
- The NCF has undergone four revisions in the past – in 1975, 1988, 2000, and 2005. The proposed revision, if implemented, would be the fifth iteration of the framework.
- Objectives:
- It aims to help in positively transforming the school education system of India as envisioned in NEP 2020, through corresponding positive changes in the curriculum including pedagogy.
- It aims to realize the highest quality education for all children, consistent with realizing an equitable, inclusive, and plural society as envisaged by the Constitution of India.
- Four Sections of NCF:
- NCF for School Education
- NCF for Early Childhood Care and Education (Foundational Stage)
- NCF for Teacher Education
- NCF for Adult Education
Key features of Pre-draft National Curriculum Framework:
- Values-based Education:
- The inclusion of values is an important part of the document.
- According to the document, it is intended to familiarise students with authentic sources of knowledge, which have long been a philosophical focus of ancient Indians.
- These sources concentrate on six pramanas:
- Pratyaksa, which is perceived through the five senses.
- Anumana, which uses inferences to reach new conclusions.
- Upamana, which is knowing through analogy and comparison.
- Arthapatti, which is knowing through circumstantial implication.
- Sabda, which is “something an individual can only directly know a fraction of all reality”
- Moral Development:
- A part of this document focuses on a child’s moral growth through Pancha kosha Vikas or five-fold development.
- This is an old explanation of the relevance of the body-mind connection in human experience and comprehension.
- The pre-draft suggests instilling moral principles in children through a balanced diet, traditional activities, yoga asanas, and a wide range of stories, songs, lullabies, poetry, and prayers to foster a love of cultural context.
- Subject to Study
- According to the pre-draft, students will need to study two key courses from the humanities, math and computers, vocational education, physical education, arts education, social science, science, and transdisciplinary fields for Grade 10 certification.
- Students in Grades 11 and 12 will be offered choice-based courses in the same fields.
- Music, dance, theatre, sculpture, painting, set design, and scriptwriting will be part of the arts education, while inter-disciplinary areas will incorporate knowledge of India, traditions, and practises of Indian knowledge systems.
- Exam Pattern
- According to the document, “Modular Board Examinations will be provided as opposed to a single exam at the end of the year, and the final result will be based on cumulative result of each exam” for Class 11 and 12.
Significance:
- The National Curriculum Framework for School Education is significant because it provides a roadmap for the education of children in India, which includes multiple educative approaches and learning-teaching material for different stages of school education.
- The framework emphasises the importance of including values and their “rootedness” in India, including content, language learning, academic approaches, philosophical basis, aims, and epistemic approach.
Pic Courtesy: Freepik
Content Source: The Hindu