Guwahati: Amid the international COVID-19 scare, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced that the syllabus of the students from classes 9 through 12 shall be reduced by 30% to make up for the academic loss this year.
Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development said that this decision has been taken after looking at the "extraordinary situation" prevailing in the country. He added that as a consequence of the immense academic loss this year as a result of the outbreak, the CBSE board has been advised to revise the curriculum and reduce the course load of the students. The Minister has also shared that he has received 1,500 suggestions from educations across the country on the reduction of the syllabi.
In the revised syllabus that will be followed in schools this year, the focus has been to retain the core concepts. Students and parents, as well as teachers, can check the revised curriculum for 2021 Classes 9 to 12 on A cbseacademic.nic.in link provided HERE. Although the chapters have not been removed, a few portions of the chapters have been deducted.
This development has come to the fore days after the CBSE and Facebook partnered to launch a curriculum on "digital safety and online well-being" and "Augmented Reality", for students and educators, both. The "comprehensive curriculum" that is now being devised for students is aimed at ensuring the online well-being of students and preparing them for the future.
Nishank congratulated both the CBSE and Facebook in a tweet on Sunday. "I congratulate CBSE and Facebook on its partnership to introduce certified programs in Augmented Reality for teachers and Digital Safety and online-wellbeing for students. I encourage the teachers and students to apply for the programs commencing on July 6", the Minister tweeted.
It needs mention here that the CBSE has informed the Supreme Court that the pending board exams for Classes 10 and 12 have been canceled, and promised that they would conduct the remaining exams when the situation becomes normal.
Schools, universities, and colleges across the country have been closed ever since the Prime Minister of the country, Narendra Modi, announced a complete lockdown across the country to arrest the spread of the COVID-19. Although the Government has started an unlock phase to jumpstart the economy, schools and colleges continue to remain closed at least till 31 July until further orders.