BENGALURU: Government schools still await a complete picture of what part of the syllabus is eliminated from the proposed 30% cut due to the pandemic.For now, teachers are taking up classes of the entire syllabus. However, as students enter the second half of the academic year, the amount of syllabus becomes relevant to make focused preparations for exams, especially for Class 10 students.
Department officials told TNIE that the proposed syllabus cut was submitted to the government and is awaiting approval. The earlier revision had been withdrawn due to controversy.D Shashi Kumar, general secretary, Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary schools in Karnataka said that knowing the syllabus is crucial in delivering quality education as it would define the bounds within which examinations could be conducted. Not holding assessment to evaluate learning outcome is a violation of fundamental rights of children. Thus far, there is no clarity from the government about the content or percentage of syllabus to be cut, he said.
Commissioner of Public Instructions, Anbu Kumar said reduction was only possible up to 30% and the government order is awaited. Officials are now contemplating postponing the exams beyond March.The government had decided to reduce the Class 6-10 syllabus. But the move stoked controversy when chapters on Tipu Sultan and Hyder Ali were truncated to adjust to 120 working days. The department is now revising timetable as per NCERT norms.
‘Enrol children in school’
Minister for Primary and Secondary Education S Suresh Kumar urged parents to enrol their children
in school as it was in their interest and in line with RTE objectives. Not enrolling students was not a solution as education is a fundamental right. Admission deadlines had been extended twice, but still many parents had not admitted their wards.