New CBSE syllabus based on NEP 2020 to be implemented only in 2023: NCERT Director
The new curriculum suggested by the National Education Policy 2020 will only be implementable by the academic year 2023-24, said National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) Director Hrushikesh Senapaty. It will take one year for the NCERT to develop the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) and another two years to develop the textbooks, he added while speaking to TNIE Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla and Senior Journalist Kaveree Bamzai on The New Indian Express' online dialogue series e-Expressions on Tuesday. He also added that implementation has to be emphasised and only a collaborative effort will make it happen.
"It will take another year for NCERT to prepare the framework and develop a curriculum and will take another two years to prepare the textbooks in accordance with the policy. It will be implemented in the spirit in the academic year 2023-24. We will prepare the textbooks in a phased manner and will be able to implement it in three years," said Senapaty. "Even though our curriculum will be introduced in CBSE affiliated schools, the NEP will be adopted by all the states as well with slight modifications. The Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), which has all the Education Ministers of the States, will approve the curriculum and then it is accepted by all the states. This time there will be not one but four NCFs — early childhood care and education, school education, teacher education and adult education curriculum," he added.
The implementation of the policy will also need well-trained teachers who can teach the new syllabus. But who will train these teachers asked Chawla. "We have started a massive teachers' training programme from August 19 for 42 lakh elementary school teachers and till date have trained 17.5 lakh teachers keeping in view the pedagogy. Mostly, it's a question of pedagogy. If there is no change in approach it will not be fruitful. We need our teachers to give the students experiential education. There will also be in online mode," he added.
The three-language formula has been heavily debated since the NEP was made public. Senapaty said that the policy has left ample room for modifications in the three-language formula and that it is very flexible. "The states can choose two Indian languages of their choice and nowhere does it mention that Sanskrit is compulsory. Neither is Hindi," said Senapaty. "It is up to the state to develop the textbooks as well. We develop textbooks in English, Hindi and Urdu. The states then adapt it to the other Indian languages. The language textbooks too are developed by the states. We only give them a framework," said Senapaty.
Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) might have been a part of the policies for long but the NEP 2020 emphasises on implementing three modes of assessment which will not only have the teachers but the students also participating in the process for a holistic educational experience, said Senapaty. "The 1986 policy also mentioned CCE and in the NEP 2020 we again talk about it but now we have three modes of assessment — assessment of, for and at learning. Till now the students we not involved in the process of assessment but now we want them to be involved in self-assessment. Assessment will be an integral part of the learning process now. Our children will be observed by the teachers and will get support from the teachers and their peers and this will bring about significant change. We need a curricular and pedagogical change so that we can improve the quality. The NEP emphasises on the quality of teachers and we need more teachers at every level for the new 5+3+3+4 structure. This will also provide autonomy to the teachers and they are very happy with it," he added.
India needs to emphasise on teaching life skills in an integrated manner rather than just emphasise on cognitive skills, said the NCERT Director. "We are in the 21st century and we want our children to develop 21st-century learning skills — problem-solving ability, creativity, communication skills and also so that they can be better human beings. Our focus has shifted from content mastery to competence mastery. NCERT has defined learning outcome till Class 10 and is working on Class 11 and 12. The NEP has highlighted on competency and thus the content load will be less and children will get more exposure and experiential learning. We are also taking into account the core values of our Constitution which will teach them what they require to be a good human being and develop life skills," said Senapaty.
