Karnataka: Schools want reduction in syllabus this year too – Times of India

Last year, when schools were forced to stay close as a safety measure against Covid-19, portions were reduced by as much as 30%. However, this year, at the start of the academic year, the government announced that there will be no reduction in syllabus for any class, including I and II PUC. CBSE too, as early as April, had announced that there will be no reduction.

The association however argues that schools are yet to function at full steam and there is a huge paucity of time. On-campus lessons for classes 9 to 12 began only on August 23 and classes were held only for half a day in batches until last week, when the government finally allowed schools to function at 100% capacity. The association wrote to the minister on October 7.

“Schools have not reopened for on-campus classes for grades 1-5 yet,” said Shashi Kumar D, secretary of the association. “For the rest, we began holding full-day classes only last week. Until then, teachers were repeating the same lessons for different batches, and that too only for three hours a day. Usually, classes begin in May. It is next to impossible to complete portions this year and teachers are under pressure.”

Natesh Kumar of Gurukula International School said learning would be hit if schools are rushed. “We should not be in a tearing hurry to complete portions without students properly understanding concepts,” he said. “If previously a teacher used to solve five problems to get them to understand one concept, now she only has time for two sums. How much can a student grasp?”

Bridging the gap


Teachers also point out that there are learning gaps due to last year’s prolonged closure and these need to be filled before beginning with this year’s syllabus.

“Children have to be brought back on track after the long gap of not writing and reading much,” said Tejaswi Ballari, principal, Poorna Prajna Education Centre, Sri Krishna Nagar. “This gap should be bridged before starting on this year’s syllabus. It would be better if the syllabus is reduced.”

BR Suprit of Oxford Institutions, Ullal, said: “The other concern is attendance is not compulsory and students are aware of this. Many of them prefer to attend online classes, where they do not pay much attention. The burden on teachers has increased since they have to manage both online and regular classes.”

Not the solution


However, educationists believe a reduction in syllabus will not resolve the problem. They say the entire system needs an overhaul.

“Reduction in syllabus is not the way to look at it. What needs to be done instead is to identify and focus on core competencies across the syllabus,” Rishikesh BS, faculty at Azim Premji University. “This is anyway what NEP suggests to improve the quality of school education, irrespective of the pandemic-induced emergency in the education sector.”

However, schools point out that without a change in the assessment pattern, teachers cannot simply focus on core competencies.