Education Ministry Launches Online Public Survey For School Curriculum Revision

The Ministry of Education on July 3 launched an online public survey to invite suggestions from stakeholders to expand the scope of consultations on the formulation of the National Curriculum Framework (NCF), based on which new school textbooks will be prepared. It will lay down the guidelines for the school curriculum.

The Official Release

The ministry, in its release, said that all the stakeholders, including teachers, headmasters/principals, school leaders, educationists, parents, students, community members, NGOs, experts, public representatives, artists, artisans, farmers and anybody who has an interest in school education and teacher education are invited to participate in this online survey which is being conducted in 23 languages. It includes all the languages placed in the VIIIth Schedule of the Constitution.

The ministry added that considering India's diversity, it wanted to incorporate every stakeholder who may or may not be a parent or a teacher or a student willing to participate in the transformation of the education system in India.

What Is The Survey About?

The online survey consists of 10 multiple choice-based questions that seek the stakeholders' views on Class 12 and 10 board exams, learning outcomes, learning loss due to the covid-19 pandemic, and the need to emphasise environmental awareness in the curriculum and stress management among students.

Anyone willing to provide inputs on the revision of the NCF could do so through the portal ncfsurvey.ncert.gov.in. , the ministry announced.

The National Education Policy(NEP) 2020 recommended the development of NCFs in areas of early childhood care and education, school education, teacher education and adult education. The NCF comprises the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE), the National Curriculum Framework for Early Childhood Care & Education (NCFECCE), the National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE), and the National Curriculum Framework for Adult Education (NCFAE).

The NCF's revisions have a history of causing controversies. Recently, NCERT had dropped parts about the 2002 Gujarat riots, Emergency, Cold War, Naxalite movement and Mughal courts. The changes also included dropping chapters like 'Democracy and Diversity' and 'Challenges to Democracy', among others. These had led to huge debates across the country, as reported by Times Now.

The NCERT, in its defence, had said that the NCF for school curriculum is updated after reviewing the assessment submitted by experts who conduct ground-level research. However, with the latest survey, the government wishes to involve as many stakeholders as possible to improve the education system. How successful it proves to be, only time will tell.

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