Middle schools will now have technical skill subjects – Times of India

By Aditya Wadhawan
The CBSE has introduced 33 new skill subjects for classes VI to VIII for the current academic session. These skill subjects will be taught through the skill modules of 12-15 hours.
Out of the total number, nine skill subjects are related to the technology domain which are Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Coding, Data Science, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Life Cycle of Medicine and Vaccine, Application of Satellites, and study of Rocketry.
Affiliated schools would need to assess the skill modules as per the guidelines provided by CBSE. By introducing skill subjects for classes VI to VIII, CBSE aims to bring 50% of the learners under the ambit of vocational education by 2025, which is in sync with the objectives of NEP 2020. Till May 19, 2023, webinars related to the skill subjects would also be conducted every day for an hour.
Speaking to Education Times, Biswajit Saha, director, CBSE, says, “This will provide early exposure of skill subjects to the students. We had been focusing on introducing the skill subjects in middle schools. The learning content has been written in a simple language that can be easily understood by middle school students.”
The modules on the Application of Satellites and Rocketry have been developed by ISRO and that of Kashmiri embroidery has been developed by taking the feedback of experts from Kashmir who work in the paper mache industry. “Last year, a class VI student developed a mobile app that was showcased in a national-level competition and hence we have categorically focused on introducing technical skill subjects to qualitatively enhance the scientific temperament among students. This would also sharpen their cognitive abilities from the early days.”
“Multiple capacity-building programmes are introduced in collaboration with IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Meta, and many more. These corporates have conducted training teachers to effectively teach these skill subjects. In addition to this, a lot of other training sessions for the technical courses have also been conducted for the teachers,” informs Saha.
Kulbhushan Sharma, national president, National Independent Schools Alliance, says, “As technology is rapidly changing every passing day, it is essential to lay emphasis on technical skill subjects which would bring in a tech-savvy culture amongst the schools. This can be considered as a process of skill counselling for students.”