National Curriculum Framework for School Education: Educationists want school curriculum to be compatible with competitive exams

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): City educationists say that the proposed National Curriculum Framework (NCF) under the New Education Policy (NEP) has a fresh and modern approach towards school education. It seeks to demolish traditional barriers between different subjects and disciplines and ends the practice of clubbing certain subjects together on the basis of their supposed similarities.

They, however, say school education cannot be seen in isolation. After completing school, students have to appear in various competitive examinations and if the structure of their curriculum would be very different from the syllabi of the competitive examinations, it may create unnecessary burden and stress for them.

Educationist B N Trishal told Free Press that a multi-disciplinary system is good. Advanced countries like the US are using it. ‘There is no fixed structure. Earlier, we had engineering, medicine and law as principal career choices for students. But now the choices will be wide and open.

He further said, ‘If we talk about adding marks of class 10 in class 12 result, we can’t say how good it is for an average student. Suppose a student does not perform well in class 10 but s/he shines later by hard work, Then s/he would suffer.’

Another educationist, professor Praveen Kulshrestha said that the students will benefit from dividing class 12 syllabi into Term-1 and Term-2 as it will help reduce load on them but that may affect their ability to take on competitive examinations. ‘Class 11 and 12 are important stages of education in our country. If Indians are making a mark in the I-T sector the world over, it is because of their solid grounding in Class 12,’ he said.

First of all, the draft should be placed in public domain so that besides schools, the parents and the students should also get to know about it and can study and analyse it,’ Trishal added.

Principal of SPPS Rajesh Kumar Sharma said that it is good that Class 12 is proposed to be divided into two semesters. Now students can prepare and appear as per their preparation. Secondly, a total of eight curricular areas have been made which will give broader ways to the system. It will focus on ancient Indian philosophical, pre-occupational and moral development. Overall, it will give holistic development, CBSE counsellor and trainer said.