BANGALORE: The first draft of the revised Diploma in Education (DEd) curriculum has hit a roadblock.
The draft, which was to be submitted to the government by the Department of Public Instruction in March, will be out only after the review committee gets more clarity from the government.
Speaking to Express, DEd Curriculum Review Committee chairperson Dr K Sameer Simha said inclusion of Class 8 in the higher primary bracket along with Classes 6 and 7 needed clarity.
“When I was asked to frame the revised curriculum, it was for Classes 1-7.
However, with the advent of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, Class 8 has to be included in the primary bracket.
But, the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) said Classes 6, 7 and 8 had to be taught by graduate teachers (BEd).
This is the confusion,” said Dr Simha.
In Karnataka, Classes 1-7 are handled by Pre-University (PU) DEd teachers.
This arrangement is not in line with NCTE prescription. The BEd teachers handle high school classes in the state. Now, Dr Simha will have a meeting with state government officials to try to solve this issue. “I want to ask for government’s permission to allow PU D.Ed teachers to handle Classes 1-5, graduate D. Ed teachers to handle Classes 6-8, and B.Ed teachers to teach Classes 9-12,” said Dr Simha.
DEd and RTE
Dr Simha said the new D.Ed curriculum was framed keeping in mind the implementation of the RTE.
“It is important that our teachers are trained with the knowhow of the RTE approach to school education, focusing especially on practice training and science education,” he said.
Science education, he said, took the forefront in the new DEd curriculum.
“The focus is on matching the nature of science with the nature of the child.
A teacher will have to teach the method of science, and not just the subject of science,” he said.
The evaluation of a child would be based on the methodology of learning, with aspects of observation, experimentation and application becoming the parameters, he added.