More ‘choice’, but also more exams — what National Curriculum Framework has in store for grades 9-12

While the stated aims of the NCF are in line with the National Education Policy (NEP), emphasising conceptual learning rather than “memorisation and content accumulation”, the curriculum design for the secondary classes includes some substantial additions.

For instance, in grades 9 and 10, students will now study three languages, at least two of which must be native to India. The number of subjects for these grades overall has been increased from five or six to 10.

For grades 11 and 12, students must study two languages, one of them Indian. The traditional system of picking a ‘stream’ of subjects, like humanities or commerce, has also been dropped.

Further, for grade 10 and 12 students, board exams will be held twice a year rather than once, ostensibly to reduce their study burden and give them a chance to improve their scores.

School educationists who spoke to ThePrint generally welcomed the NCF, but some also expressed concerns.

“While an additional board exam gives students options to improve their performance, it also means that they will have to prepare for the same exam twice in a year. The number of subjects too have been increased (for grades 9 and 10) to 10 from the previous five to six,” said a school principal from Ahmedabad, speaking to ThePrint on condition of anonymity.

Asked about such concerns, a Ministry of Education source told ThePrint that the “intricacies” of the NCF were being looked into.

“As of now, the ministry has received the proposed NCF from the steering committee. The Ministry of Education will look into the intricacies and the measures required to implement them,” the source said.

“Since the NCF implements what the NEP 2020 envisioned, we hope that state governments will abide by it in letter and spirit. As of now, the document has been shared with state governments,” he added.

Here is a look at some key features of the NCF design for the two sets of secondary grades, as well as some reactions from school educationists.

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Two board exams, expanded list of subjects

Students of grades 9 and 10 will study a total of 10 subjects — three languages, mathematics and computational thinking, social science, science, art education, physical education and well-being, vocational education, and interdisciplinary areas.

“Each of these subjects will be a well-integrated and coherent study of multiple disciplines; for example, in Science — Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Earth Science. Again, the emphasis would be on learning core concepts/competencies rather than the memorisation of facts,” the NCF document says.

Grade 10 students will have to pass all ten subjects to be promoted to grade 11. However, they (and grade 12 students) will be given two chances to take the board exam.

The NCF document states that “boards must offer these examinations multiple times (each being a ‘cycle’) in the same academic year, and students’ final certification must be based on their best performance across these cycles, including taking the best performance from different curricular areas from different cycles within three academic years.”

This means that students can take the exam twice, and their highest score among the two will be recorded as their final grade.

Schools will be required to provide teachers and content support for all ten subjects to grade 9 and 10 students.

No ‘stream’ restrictions

 For grades 11 and 12, the second stage of secondary education, the previously followed system of science, commerce, and humanities streams has been eliminated.

Instead, says the NCF, students will be offered “choice-based courses” that will enable flexibility and “remove hard separations between disciplines and academic areas”.

“To allow for interesting combinations, there should be no further restrictions for students
to choose specific streams,” it adds.

To enable this, students will now have to choose from subjects that have been divided into four groups.

From Group 1, defined as language education, students need to pick two languages, at least one of which must be native to India. Other options include foreign and classical languages.

In addition, students must choose four subjects (or five if they wish) in all from at least two out of the three remaining groups.

Group 2 comprises art education, physical education, and vocational education, while Group 3 consists of social science & humanities and interdisciplinary areas. Subjects such as history, geography, archaeology, psychology, and economics come under the ambit of social sciences, while ‘interdisciplinary areas’ incorporate journalism, Indian knowledge systems, climate change, business and accounting, and so on.

Finally, Group 4 comprises science and mathematics & computational thinking. Under science are subjects like biology, chemistry, and earth sciences, while mathematics & computational thinking includes statistics, advanced mathematics, and computer science, among others.

In order to pass class 12, students must clear two examinations in languages and four examinations from a minimum of two groups.

‘Might affect fee structure’

While many educationists have welcomed the NCF, some have also expressed the need for more time and government aid for successful implementation.

Alka Kapur, principal of Modern Public School in Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh praised the NCF as a “commendable step in modernising the education system”.

According to her, the flexibility that students will get for choosing subjects as well as the biennial exam situation both have benefits.

“The shift from the traditional single-exam system to conducting exams twice a year addresses the limitations of assessing students’ readiness and allows for a more comprehensive evaluation,” she said.

“The emphasis on evaluating a broader range of competencies beyond rote memorisation is in line with fostering holistic learning and skill development,” she added.

However, she cautioned that the ability to retake exams might “introduce an element of complacency, where students may not strive to excel initially”.

Kapur also said that since teachers have not yet received training sessions, “it’s premature to accurately anticipate the repercussions of implementing board exams twice a year”.

Jyoti Arora, the principal of Mount Abu Public School in Delhi also voiced concerns about implementing the NCF. She noted that schools will have to build their logistical and administrative capacity, which may, in turn, affect the fee structure.

“In order to conduct board exams, we require 20 days to get the necessary approvals, set up question papers, etc. After the exam, teachers are also required to check papers, declare results, and help the school with other administrative support. If this happens twice a year, we would require the board exam process to be simplified,” she said.

Arora also said that the recruitment of teachers to cover all the new subject areas might pose different challenges.

“We will be required to recruit more subject teachers and undertake capacity-building training for them so that they can teach well. All of this is capital intensive— it will obviously have an impact on the school fee as well.”

When queried about such concerns, the ministry official said: “Adequate time will be given to all implementation agencies and schools to ensure that capacity-building measures are in place.”

(Edited by Asavari Singh)

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