Draft curriculum framework on early learning recommends play-based pedagogy; takes no clear stand on mother tongue

The draft Karnataka State Curriculum Framework (KSCF) for Foundational Level Education (Early Childhood Care and Education) for children in the age group of 3 to 8 years, in accordance with National Education Policy-2022, has recommended a play/activity-based pedagogy at this stage of schooling. The draft was released on Saturday.

The draft Karnataka State Curriculum Framework (KSCF) for Foundational Level Education (Early Childhood Care and Education) for children in the age group of 3 to 8 years, in accordance with National Education Policy-2022, has recommended a play/activity-based pedagogy at this stage of schooling. The draft was released on Saturday.

Since play is the natural medium for children’s learning in the early childhood years, the KSCF has recommended a play-based pedagogy as most appropriate for this stage of education. 

The recommendations apply to all categories of foundational stage schooling across public, private and voluntary sectors. The KSCF, modelled on National Curriculum Framework (NCF), proposes changes in the curriculum of existing practices of ‘Chili pili’ in Anganwadis and ‘Nali Kali’ in 1-3 grades of primary schools and will be implemented in the academic year 2023-24, after the final KSCF is notified after objections to the draft are collated and incorporated.  

The Draft KSCF recommends four hours of schooling for 3 to 6 year old children and 5.5 hours for children of 6 to 8 years of age for 25 days a month. This includes a snack break, lunch time, outdoor activity, indoor activity, storytelling and reading. Draft KSCF has given more importance to mathematics, through activities for at least one hour per day.

Though the NEP and NCF have proposed the mother tongue as the medium of instruction, KSCF has highlighted the complexity of the Kannada script. “The Kannada script is far more complex than English or even Devanagari and takes longer to master. The State needs to decide the grade at which children will be expected to achieve the foundational skills in literacy in their mother tongue,” Draft KSCF says.

KSCF also recommended a systematic process of school rationalization to merge schools with very poor student strength to create bigger schools. “This move will help the State to support mono-grade classes in the preparatory stage with optimum student teacher pupil ratios, make schools economically viable and ensure quality,” the report says.