National Curriculum Framework:
The executive Committee of NCERT had taken the decision, at its meeting held on 14 and 19 July 2004, to revise the National Curriculum framework. The fact that learning has becoming a source of burden and stress on children and their parents is an evidence of a deep distortion in educational aims and quality. To correct this distortion, the present NCF proposes five guiding principles for curriculum development.
(i) Connecting knowledge to life outside the school.
(ii) ensuring that learning shifts away from rote methods.
(iii) enriching the curriculum so that it goes beyond textbooks.
(iv) making examinations more flexible and integrating them with class-room life
(v) nurturing an over-riding identity informed by caring concerns within the democratic polity of the country.
All over pedagogic efforts during the primary classes greatly depend on professional planning and the significant expansion of Early childhood Care nd Education (ECCE).
Important points mentioned in NCF (especially in context to English):
1. Syllabi, curricula and textbooks should enable the teacher in organising classroom experiences in consonance with the child’s nature and environment, and thus providing opportunities for all children.
2. Activity is the child’s attempt to make sense of the world around him / her
3. NCF recommends the softening of subject boundaries so that children can get a taste of integrated knowledge and the boy understanding.
4. In language, a renewed attempt to implement the three-language formula is suggested, along with an emphasis on the recognition of children’s mother tongues, including tribal language as the best medium of education.
5. The multilingual character of Indian society should be seen as a resource to promote multilingual proficiency in every child, which includes proficiency in English.
6. Reading and writing, listing and speech, contribute to the child’s progress in all curricular areas and must be the basis for curriculum planning.
7. Emphasis on reading throughout the primary classes is necessary to give every child a solid foundation for school learning.
8. The child’s success at school depends on nutrition and well-planned physical activity programmes, hence resources and school time must be deployed for the strengthening of the midday meal programme.
9. Examination reforms constitute the most important systematic measure to be taken for curricular renewal and to find a remedy for the growing problem of psychological pressure that children and their parents feel, especially in classes X and XII.
10. Specific measures include changing the typology of the question paper so that reasoning and creative abilities replace memorisation as the basis of evaluation and integration of examinations with classroom life by encouraging transparency and internal assessment.
11. To overcome the present system of generalised classification into ‘pass’ and ‘fail’ categories.
12. Universalization of Elemantary Education (UEE) should become a subject of wide-ranging cooperation between the state and all agencies concerned about children.
13. Question papers must be designed and graded for difficulty in order to permit all children to experience a level of success, and to gain confidence in their ability to answer and solve problems.
14. A policy of inclusion needs to be implemented in all schools and throughout our education system.
15. The participation of all children needs to be ensured in all spheres of their life in and outside the school.
16. Schools need to become centres that prepare children for life and ensure that all children, especially the differently abled children from marginalised sections and children in difficult circumstances get the maximum benefit of this critical area of education.
17. Educational aim is a foreseen end, it is not an idle view of a mere spectator, rather it influences the steps taken to reach the end.
18. education must provide the means and opportunities enhance the child’s creative to expression and the capacity for acesthetic appreciation.
19. English is not only an international language but in India it should be considered a global language in a multi lingual country.
20. A variety and range of English-teaching situations prevail here owing to the twin factors of teacher proficiency in English and pupils’ exposure to English outside school.
NCF lays emphasis on partnership and team effort of school, teachers, community, parents and students. According to NCF, children do not fail. They only indicate failure of the school.
