NCERT Reduces Class 6 to 12 Syllabus to Compensate COVID-19 Loss

1. NCERT Reduces Class 6 to 12 Syllabus to Compensate COVID-19 Loss The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) decided to reduce nearly 30% of the syllabus from classes 6 to 12 taking into COVID-19 consideration. This decision has been taken to remove the burden on children and make up for the school closure and academic disruptions due to the pandemic crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the children's learning all over the world, hence to make up for this NCERT has reduced the syllabus in almost all the subjects including Science, Mathematics, and History to reduce the content load on students. NCERT textbooks are used by CBSE-affiliated schools as well as by some state boards also. Thus, the reduction in the syllabus will reduce the content load for a large number of students studying in CBSE schools. The plan of reducing the syllabus was initiated in December 2021 when the heads of departments were ordered to carry out a review with the association of subject experts as well as teachers and submit a report on it. After the report of the heads of different departments and subject experts, the syllabus for the academic year 2022-2023 was finalised by several course committees and was approved by the governing body of the board as well as the curriculum committee. Designed based on the National Curriculum Framework 2005, the syllabus provides perfect opportunities for students to excel in their academics. The syllabus is an aptly planned set of education including a CBSE course of study, pedagogical practices, assessment guidelines, and subject-wise content. To get rid of this, all the repetitive, irrelevant, and unnecessary content has been removed in the revised syllabus which has considerably eased the load on the students.

2. The National Education Policy 2020 also emphasises on reducing the content load and giving students opportunities for experiential learning with a creative mindset. It states that the syllabus should be carefully curated upholding constitutional standards and must be aligned with learning benchmarks. Besides, it should also be carefully thought out and sequenced to focus on learning progressions that facilitate meaningful learning for students. In addition to this, the textbooks of classes 6 to 12 have been also rationalised because of the content overlapping; similar content was included in more than one subject of the same class. The decision of reducing the syllabus has been taken after taking into account the struggle faced by the students in learning through online modes. Besides, Parliamentary Standing Committee and the National Education Policy 2020 are also suggesting the change in the CBSE syllabus. Reducing the school syllabus will only add to the pressure on students aiming for competitive entrance exams like JEE and NEET. These students will still have to study the complete syllabus irrespective of the reduced syllabus, as they study beyond textbooks. Hence, rather than reducing it once, an effort should be made to develop a system that can adapt and upgrade the curriculum to make education an enriching experience. A short-term solution like reducing the syllabus will solve only a part of the problem and address the immediate needs of the students but to have a lasting impact the syllabus needs to be carefully curated. However, the curriculum is reportedly being revised by the council to align it with the National Education Policy 2020. NCERT is working to prepare textbooks that include the proposed changes for publication for the academic session 2022-2023. It is expected that textbooks based on the National Curriculum Framework will be introduced in the academic session 2023-2024. NCERT took a step towards rationalisation of the syllabus and the textbooks for the next year to boost the performance of the students.