The Wrap: Will there be no board exams 10 years from now?

Latest Education News: If it all goes as per the plan laid out by the new National Curriculum Framework (NCF 2023), about a decade from now, there will be no school board exams. At least, they won’t be in any form that’s recognisable now, replaced by small assessments, conducted on small portions of the syllabus, soon after they are taught in class.

While the introduction of such “modular exams” is a goal set for the long term – 10 years from now – the NCF 2023 envisions other sweeping changes in India’s board examination systems – the frequency of the exams, syllabus, difficulty-levels. Board exams will be held twice a year from 2024, it says, and they will be easier. The framework also details a curriculum structure radically different from the existing one. The National Curriculum Framework for School Education seeks to bring schooling in line with the path charted by the National Education Policy (NEP 2020).

While this was the biggest of policy announcements, there was much else that happened during the week. Lakhs of children stayed back in schools to watch Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) successful landing of Chandrayaan 3 on the south pole of the moon, becoming the first country to do so.

Kerala, Tamil Nadu introduced schemes and policies that will impact a large number of students in those states. Admission processes were announced and scheduled across exam bodies and institutions.

Here’s a quick wrap of all major announcements over the week to get you up to speed.

Policy: Major changes in board exams; Kerala SCERT’s maths scheme; mid-day meals in TN

• National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2023: Education ministry released the final NCF 2023 mandating major changes in board exams from 2024 for state boards as well as the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). It also proposes a dismantling of the current system of “streams” in Classes 11 and 12 – arts, science, commerce – and rearranging the subjects into “groups” that students can pick from. Classes 11 and 12 have to compulsorily study two languages of which one must be Indian.
• Kerala SCERT launches maths scheme for primary school: A new programme being piloted in 101 Kerala primary schools will help children build maths skills early. Kerala also defied the National Council For Educational Research and Training (NCERT) by releasing “supplementary textbooks” containing portions from NCERT textbooks that were deleted.
• Tamil Nadu expands breakfast scheme: The state government had earlier said the pilot phase of the breakfast scheme – in addition to the mid-day meal scheme – had raised attendance by 10-30% across primary schools in the state.
• Karnataka State Education Policy: The Karnataka Government has set up a committee to formulate its own State Education Policy, rejecting the National Education Policy 2023. The union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan was deeply unhappy about this.
• UP ITI Fees: Uttar Pradesh froze fees for private Industrial Technical Institutes for another year. The fees will be up for revision in 2024.

Education News Today: Tamil Nadu expanded its school breakfast scheme to all government schools. CM MK Stalin shares a meal with a student (Image: MK Stalin / Twitter)

College Admissions: Counselling, registration, merit lists, dates

• GATE 2024: Registration dates for the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering revised, will likely open by August 30.
• NEET Counselling 2023: Maharashtra seat matrix out for round-2 of medical college admissions.
• AP EAMCET Counselling 2023: Round 1 seat allotment result out for Andhra Pradesh’s engineering admissions.
• NATA: Exam 4 registration for architecture exam begins
• SNAP 2023: Symbiosis University starts registration for MBA
• JEECUP Counselling 2023: Round-1 seat allotment result for Uttar Pradesh polytechnics out.
• DU Admission 2023: Third merit list out for Delhi University undergraduate admissions.
• IGNOU July 2023 Admission: Admission, re-registration deadlines extended at Indira Gandhi National Open University.

Medical colleges: NMC cracks down

• Private medical colleges not paying stipends: A National Medical Commission survey found that over 2,000 postgraduate students of medicine in private medical colleges were not being paid stipends. Over 1,200 had been compelled to return their stipends; and over 4,200 said they were not being paid at the same level as MD, MS students in government medical colleges. NMC has warned such medical colleges of action.
• The NMC also asked medical colleges offering clinical training to make course content, duration, fee and similar details public on their official websites.

Latest Education News: Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan releases the NCF 2023, aligned with the new National Education Policy (NEP 2023) (Image: Ministry)

Colleges, universities: NAAC grade, DUSU elections, new courses

• Delhi University to hold students’ union (DUSU) elections for the first time since Covid, after a gap of three years. It will also launch a PhD programme in fine arts.
• Madras University received A++ grade from NAAC, qualified for greater autonomy
• Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) professor Gobardhan Das appointed director of IISER Bhopal.
• Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Sirmaur launched two executive MBA programmes with options to study in French institutions and to exit early with a diploma.
• Investigators probing the Jadavpur University ragging case found the student who died by suicide was “sexually molested”. So far, 12 have been arrested.
• St. Xavier’s College Kolkata starts School of Social Sciences and Humanities.
• Gujarat’s Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) introduces ‘Sanatan literature’ course.
• The Mahindra University launched a School of Media offering BA, BTech programmes
• Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham to introduce certificate course on Hindu Studies

School education: UP teacher pushed children to hit kids from another faith

• JNVST Class 6 Admission 2024: Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya application deadline extended to August 31.
• In a viral video, a Uttar Pradesh teacher was seen pushing Hindu children to hit their Muslim classmate. UP police, and top child-rights body, NCPCR, promised action.

Study abroad: US new programme for Indian students

• Telangana opens applications for Chief Minister’s Overseas Scholarship Scheme for Minorities.
• The United States designs a new one-year professional master’s programme for Indian students.

What’s scheduled for next week? Our calendar alert – ‘Heads-up’ – is on Instagram. Follow here to stay updated!