The HRD ministry has advised the CBSE to revise the syllabus and reduce the course load for the students of senior classes.
School syllabus will be slashed by up to 30 per cent for students of classes 9 to 12 on account of the “extraordinary situation” in India and the world because of the coronavirus pandemic, the government said today. The courses will be rationalized to lighten the load while retaining the core concepts.
The education ministry has advised the national education board Central Board of Secondary education (CBSE) to revise the syllabus and reduce the course load for the students of senior classes.
“Looking at the extraordinary situation prevailing in the country and the world, CBSE was advised to revise the curriculum and reduce course load for the students of Class 9th to 12th,” Union Human Resource Development minister Ramesh Pokhriyal "Nishank" tweeted.
“Considering the importance of learning achievement, it has been decided to rationalize syllabus up to 30% by retaining the core concepts,” he added.
The CBSE said the worldwide health emergency, besides the efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, had resulted in loss of classroom teaching.
"Therefore the Board has decided to revise the syllabi for classes IX-XII for the academic session 2020-21. The changes made in the syllabi have been finalised by the respective Course Committees with the approval of the Curriculum Committee and Governing Body of the Board," the CBSE said in a statement.
Last month, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had pitched for a 30 per cent reduction in the syllabus for all grades.
Universities and schools across the country have been closed since March 16, days before the country went into lockdown to slow the transmission of coronavirus. Most schools have since resorted to online classes to keep the syllabus on track in this crisis.
Since last month, the government has eased several restrictions but schools and colleges remain closed.
The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), the board which conducts the ICSE and ISC annual exams, had last week decided to reduce the syllabus by 25 per cent due to the “significant shortening of the academic year and loss of the instructional hours”.