Guwahati: Due to the ongoing pandemic situation and to prevent learning gaps, the Assam government has reduced the number of lessons Class 12 state board (or Assam Higher Secondary Education Council) syllabus by 30%.
As per reports, chapters on India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the Mandal Commission report, Gujarat 2002 riots and caste, and marginalization have been completely dropped from the syllabus.
The decision to drop these chapters from the syllabus -- in a bid to lighten the burden on the students -- has been taken jointly by teachers as well as subject experts, it has been learned.
Informing about this development, Manoranjan Kakati, the Secretary of the AHSEC, said in an official note, students of the state have already lost "valued academic time" due to the corona. He said that ever since the CBSE decided to reduce the volume of the course for class XI & XII, the AHSEC had been contemplating a similar move to lighten students' burden.
As per Kakati, the main objective behind the reduction in the syllabus "is to reduce the exam stress of the students of the session 2020-21, due to this pandemic situation and to prevent learning gaps.
Notably, chapters on Nehru -- one of the key figures in India's struggle against the British rulers -- have been a glaring omission in the revised syllabus.
Some of the major chapters omitted by the AHSEC for its post-COVID syllabus are as follows: First three general elections; Nehru's approach to nation-building; Famine and suspension of five-year plans; Nehru's foreign policy; Political succession after Nehru; Politics of Garibi Hatao; Navnirman movement in Gujarat; Punjab crisis and the anti-Sikh riots of 1984; Implementation of Mandal Commission report; UF and NDA governments; Elections 2004 and UPA government; Ayodhya dispute; and Gujarat riots'.
In the History section, the chapter called 'Kinship, Caste and Class' -- which deals with caste and class hierarchies in India -- has also been dropped.
The AHSEC has also uploaded its new syllabus for Class 12 students on its official website.
Notably, the Assam Government has allowed schools and colleges to reopen for the senior classes (Classes 9, 10, 11, and 12) on September 21, albeit with reduced faculty and students. Moreover, the students will have to follow the COVID-19 protocol measures put forth by the government. The situation will once again be reviewed after 15 days have elapsed in this fashion.