On the Cusp of Change-The New Policy Initiatives of CBSE

By Ruby Antony
The
euphoria over the wonderful marks of classes 10 and 12 in the CBSE Board Exams 2019
has not yet died down, but the reality is slowly starting to sink in. The
university cutoffs for admissions are so high that even deserving students who
score more than 90% are not able to secure admission to the college of their
choice. Therefore, the question arises, do these marks really reflect the true ability
of the student or are they inflated in the name of ' moderation' to keep all stakeholders
' happy'? There is an increasing chorus of opinion that the entire examination
and evaluation structure needs to be remodeled to keep in touch with the times.
The
CBSE has realised the gravity of the situation. The premier educational body
has acknowledged this reality and admitted that in the internationally
acknowledged PISA test Indian students fared very badly. Thus, this year it has
proposed some changes in the class 12 exams including more objective type
questions which test the conceptual clarity of the student.
The
CBSE has come out with a slew of policy initiatives meant to make schools 'future
ready'. It has directed schools to adopt learning outcome- based education. The
school is expected to focus on competencies of students rather than mere module-based
learning. Thus, the CBSE has for the first time issued a compendium of learning
outcomes for classes 1to 8 to schools. This is a welcome step as schools now
have a yardstick to measure the progress of a student in achieving various
competencies. Now that the academic year is about to begin, teachers are
tailoring the annual curriculum plan to incorporate these learning outcomes. It
marks a departure from the traditional system which was followed by schools all
these years as the focus is on creative, critical thinking and activity-based
learning. Classroom teaching will now become more engaging and not merely
textbook and teacher centric. The board has mandated that the principal become
the pedagogical leader of their school for the transaction of curriculum and take
the lead in implementing innovative annual pedagogical plans.
In
keeping with the new digital age the CBSE has introduced artificial
intelligence courses for students in classes VIII, IX and X. These courses are
optional.
Providing
much-needed relief to scores of students stressed out by the subject Mathematics,
the board has introduced two levels of mathematics for the secondary level
board exam from March 2020 onwards. Mathematics 'standard' for those who wish
to pursue mathematics at the senior secondary level and mathematics 'basic' for
those who want to attempt a simpler question paper. The latter will not be able
to pursue mathematics at the senior secondary level. The syllabus remains the
same, only the difficulty level of the question paper varies.
Another
innovation this year is the integration of art with education. Contrary to
popular thinking art here includes music, dance, painting culinary arts,
theatre and the entire gamut of performing arts. Such an integration, it is
hoped will lead to art- based enquiry and a deeper understanding of concepts. The
CBSE has issued a booklet containing many suggestions for integrating art in
the curriculum for the year 2019-20.
The
CBSE is carrying out a massive exercise of teacher training to keep them updated
with these changes. Capacity building workshops for training faculty are in full
swing at the start of the academic year. The theme of training this year is "
innovative pedagogy including active learning and experiential learning". HPE
(Health and Physical Education) was introduced last year and one period for
sports everyday was made compulsory for classes 9 to 12. Now, this has been
extended to classes 1 to 8.
The
board has decided to form groups of 4 to 6 neighborhood schools for
collaborative growth. Called as 'Hubs of learning' the attempt is to create an ecosystem for
schools to share best practices and support each other in curriculum planning ,teaching
learning activities and professional development of its faculty . Schools can
share resources like manpower, infrastructure, teaching learning material thus culminating
in an enriched quality of education From organising events like quizzes and art
exhibitions together to exchange of ideas and instructional strategies, schools
are expected to use this shared platform effectively and be mutually beneficial
to each other. The Lead Collaborator School nominated by the CBSE is expected
to get all schools onboard and device the mechanism for self-improvement of
schools which are a part of this hub of learning.
There
is no dearth of effort on the part of CBSE to raise the quality of education. Hopefully
the results will start showing soon. Wishing all the schools the very best in
this journey of discovery. May every student bloom to their full potential and
be a remarkable human being.
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