NCERT Syllabus to be reduced by half from 2019

NEW DELHI, FEB 25: Human Resource and Development (HRD) minister, Prakash Javadekar on Saturday has said that the school syllabus of NCERT will be reduced by half from the next academic session. According to the minister, the school syllabus is more than that of BA and B.Com courses and needed to be reduced so that the students get time for other activities that enable their all-round development. “At the stage of development of cognitive skills, students need to be given full freedom. I have asked NCERT to reduce the school syllabus by half and it will be implemented from 2019,” HRD minister further elaborated.

Outlining the major school education reforms to improve the learning outcomes, Prakash Javadekar said that examinations and detentions will be introduced for classes five and ten. A bill in this regard will be introduced in the parliament in the next part of the current budget session. He said, “Without examination, there is no competition and no target. There must be an element of competition for better outcomes. If a student fails in March, he will get another chance in May. Students who fail both the times will face detention.”

The minister also said that poor quality teachers have resulted in poor learning outcomes. The basic task of teachers is to assess the strength and weakness of students and guide them accordingly. According to Right to Education Act (RTE), 20 lakh teachers were to be trained by 2015 however only five lakhs were trained.

Regarding New Education Policy, Javadekar said that a report will be submitted by the end of next month.