NCERT move 'ignores' pre-school education, seeks to add 3 yrs to formal schooling

By Prof Tarun Kanti Naskar*
The National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE), the 628-page document circulated by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on 8 April last, is framed on the basis of whatever was spelt out in the texts of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 on school education. By this the Central government ignored the countrywide protests that have been voiced by the teachers, educationists and intellectuals since the publication of draft NEP 2019 and announcement of NEP on 29 July 2020.
Whatever may be the tall talks uttered in the preamble of the NCFSE with a design to mislead the people or the desperate attempt to give a theoretical basis on different aspects of the policy concerning school education, people will find that the newly introduced (5+3+3+4)-system would increase the period of formal school education from 12 years to 15 years.
The document is silent on where the children within the age group of 3 to 5 years would be admitted during the early childhood care and education (ECCE) period, called the Foundational Stage, as there is no government funded system for this stage.

Guardians from the marginalized section therefore apprehend that they would be forced to admit their wards in anganwadi centres having workers and helpers for preparing and serving cooked food for pregnant mothers and children and no infrastructure for teaching-learning.
They would not get the minimum dose of education, let alone “multi-faceted, multi-level, play-based, activity-based and inquiry-based learning”, as highlighted in the policy statement. In fact, this would lead to mushrooming of private-run Montessori-type of schools giving further fillip to rampant privatization and commercialization of education. In Grades 1 and 2 of this stage there will be no examination or test, and so the method of assessment is not clear.
The “Preparatory Stage”, i.e., from Grades 3-5, will also be mainly “play-, discovery-, and activity-based pedagogical and curricular style” with introduction of minimum books. Also at this stage it is not specified whether examination or pass-fail system will be there.

Decision would lead to mushrooming of private-run Montessori-type of schools, give further fillip to rampant privatization, commercialization

Fully textbook based teaching will start from Grade 6 onward, called “Middle Stage”. So in the first two stages there would be virtually no teaching and learning. “Formal and explicit” assessments will be there in the Middle Stage, though it is not spelt out whether a pass-fail system will exist.
Far more affected would be the “Secondary Stage” consisting of Grades 9-12. Here, at the end of Grade 10, students will be allowed to exit and reenter into Grade 11 after a lapse of time, but the document is conspicuously silent on whether there would be state or central level Board-conducted Madhymik examinations, currently in vogue passing which a certificate is obtained.
This certificate is treated as a minimum qualification for some government or non-government jobs. If there is no such examination, students would have to wait for two more years for getting a school-leaving certificate which would cause more dropouts.
The existing system of streams like science, arts/humanities and commerce will be done away with in the name of "multidisciplinary study" with emphasis on vocational education and students would be allowed to opt for subjects like say, physics with fashion-design and such other delinked subjects.

Also, there will be choice-based courses and semester systems in Grades 11 and 12, which have already been proved in the under-graducate (UG) college-system to be obstructing acquisition of comprehensive knowledge.
---
*General secretary, All India Save Education Committee (AISEC)

Comments

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Modi’s Israel visit strengthened Pakistan’s hand in US–Iran truce: Ex-Indian diplomat

By Jag Jivan M. K. Bhadrakumar , a career diplomat with three decades of service in postings across the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey, has warned that the current truce in the US–Iran war is “fragile and ridden with contradictions.” Writing in his blog India Punchline , Bhadrakumar argues that while Pakistan has emerged as a surprising broker of dialogue, the durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain.

Lata Mangeshkar, a Dalit from Devdasi family, 'refused to sing a song' about Ambedkar

By Pramod Ranjan* An artist is known and respected for her art. But she is equally, or even more so known and respected for her social concerns. An artist's social concerns or in other words, her worldview, give a direction and purpose to her art. History remembers only such artists whose social concerns are deep, reasoned and of durable importance. Lata Mangeshkar (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was a celebrated playback singer of the Hindi film industry. She was the uncrowned queen of Indian music for over seven decades. Her popularity was unmatched. Her songs were heard and admired not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. In this article, we will focus on her social concerns. Lata lived for 92 long years. Music ran in her blood. Her father also belonged to the world of music. Her two sisters, Asha Bhonsle and Usha Mangeshkar, are well-known singers. Lata might have been born in Indore but the blood of a famous Devdasi family...

'Batteries now cheap enough for solar to meet India's 90% demand': Expert quotes Ember study

By A Representative Shankar Sharma, Power & Climate Policy Analyst, has urged India’s top policymakers to reconsider the financial and ecological implications of the country’s energy transition strategy in light of recent global developments. In a letter dated April 10, 2026, addressed to the Union Ministers of Finance, Power, New & Renewable Energy, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, and the Vice Chair of NITI Aayog, with a copy to the Prime Minister, Sharma highlighted concerns over India’s ambitious plans for coal gasification and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR).

Labour unrest in Manesar trigger tensions: Recently enacted labour codes blamed

By A Representative A civil rights coalition has expressed concern over recent developments in the industrial hub of Manesar in Haryana, where a series of labour actions and police responses have drawn attention. A statement, released by the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), said it stood in solidarity with workers in IMT Manesar and other parts of the country, while also alleging instances of police excess during ongoing unrest.

Search This Blog