Government releases pre-draft of National Curriculum Framework for schools

Ministry of Education seeks feedback from students, parents, teachers, teacher educators, experts, scholars and professionals on pre-draft version of National Curriculum Framework for School Education

The Ministry of Education released a pre-draft version of National Curriculum Framework for School Education on April 6, 2023, and has sought feedback from various stakeholders, including students, parents, teachers, teacher educators, experts, scholars and professionals.

Given the diverse needs of students, multiple pedagogic approaches, learning-teaching material at the different stages of school education, it is felt important to take feedback from this NCF-School Education (SE), MoE has said in a statement.

“While giving your feedback, it needs to be kept in view that this is a pre-draft of the NCF-SE which still requires several rounds of discussion within the National Steering Committee (NSC). Feedback from diverse stakeholders will further help NSC to look critically into different modalities and approaches that this framework is proposing,” the Ministry said.

The pre-draft covers the framework of curriculum for age groups 3 to 18 years. Feedback can be sent by email to ncf.ncert@ciet.nic.in

A key part of the document is inclusion of values and its “rootedness” in India. The pre-draft says, “It is deeply rooted in India. This is in content and learning of languages, in the pedagogical approaches including tools and resources and in philosophical basis — in the aims and in the epistemic approach.”

The document further says that it leans towards making students acquainted with true sources of knowledge, which have been a philosophical preoccupation of ancient Indians. These sources focus on six  pramanas:  pratyaksa, interpreted as perception through five senses;  anumana, which uses inferences to come to new conclusions;  upamana, which is knowing through analogy and comparison;  arthapatti, which involves knowing through circumstantial implication,  anupalabdhi, which includes perception of non-existence, and  sabda, which the document explains is “something an individual can only directly know a fraction of all reality through direct experience and inference but must rely on other experts was acknowledged thousands of years ago”.

A part of the document focuses on the moral development of a child through panchakosha vikas or five-fold development. This concept is an ancient explanation of the importance of the body-mind link in human experience and understanding. The pre-draft recommends developing moral values for the child through a balanced diet, traditional games, yoga asanas, as well as a wide variety of stories, songs, lullabies, poems, prayers to develop a love for cultural context.