The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is to finish the last changes in school curriculum that will not only take the emphasize away from rote learning but also make books thinner and bags lighter, senior officials in the apex body said on Sunday.
According to a senior NCERT official, the curriculum committee of the NCERT has decided to reduce the current workload by tweaking it based on fresh learning outcomes. The plan will encourage testing the creative and critical thinking of students.
NCERT director Hrushikesh Senapaty said, “The idea is to focus on experiential learning. We want to promote a problem-solving approach. A workshop also took place recently to chalk out a plan to ensure students are not burdened physically or mentally by heavy textbooks.”
The NCERT had recently developed learning resources for every class in Hindi, English, Urdu, Mathematics, Environmental Studies, Science and Social Science.
Taking schoolbags weighing more than 5 kg is common for eight to 13 years children in India. Doctors say that with lunch boxes, water bottles, this added weigh can cause back and neck strains and sometimes lifelong orthopaedic damage.
“The issue of bigger and heavier textbooks was discussed. At the same time, the issue of the load of non-comprehension in child is equally important. Heavy school bag creates physical burden related problems in students too,” said another senior NCERT official.
Officials said that the curriculum reduction and the revision of books will start in the end of March, once the education policy is announced.