CHENNAI: School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Friday told the Assembly that curriculum and textbooks in schools will be revamped to equip students with essential skills and prepare them for the future. In the first phase, Rs 7 crore has been allocated for the initiative, he said while speaking on the demands for grants for the department.
According to officials, the State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) will form a committee to review the syllabus, with the revamp expected to be completed over the next three years. The last major revision took place between 2018 and 2020 to help students prepare for competitive exams such as NEET.
At the time, new textbooks were introduced for classes 1, 6, 9, and 11 in 2018-19 and for the remaining classes in 2019-20. The syllabus was updated for classes 1 to 10 after seven years and for higher secondary after 12 years. The syllabus which was introduced also adopted the ‘learning outcome approach’ in order to prevent rote learning.
“A comprehensive revamp every five years is essential to incorporate changes across various fields in textbooks. While the syllabus is updated annually, a full review will ensure alignment with higher education requirements and address any gaps or impediments in the current syllabus,” a senior official said. The school education department will introduce artificial intelligence, coding, fundamentals of computer science and online tools as part of the syllabus for classes 6 to 9 from the next academic year.
Poyyamozhi also announced a new initiative named THIRAN (Targeted Help for Improving Remediation and Academic Nurturing) at a cost of `19 crore to enhance proficiency in Tamil, English and maths among 13 lakh students enrolled in classes 6 to 8.
The government is yet to take a decision on distribution of laptops. However, smart classrooms and hi-tech labs have been set up in all schools to serve the same purpose. The department is reviewing whether to appoint one physical education teacher for every 250 or 500 students.
In July last, the department issued an order fixing one PET for every 700 students. Poyyamozhi also added that the books to be procured for libraries have been finalised and the distribution will begin soon.
On mobile phone addiction among students, he said steps such as restricting social media for those under 14 years is a national-level policy decision.