The ministry of education held an inter-ministerial meeting on August 9 for seeking inputs for reconfiguring curricular and pedagogical structure under National Curriculum Framework (NCF). 

Senior officials and representatives of all ministries and important bodies, including NCERT, Election Commission of India, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), attended the crucial meeting on development of a new curriculum on lines of the new National Education Policy (NEP).

National Curriculum Framework

• The National Education Policy is a comprehensive framework to guide the development of education in the country. As a policy of education, it not only guides the development of education but also provides directions for regulating and promoting education. 

• The first National Policy on Education was formulated in 1968, the second was in 1986 modified in 1992 and the latest was released on July 29, 2020.

• The Policy proposes the revision and revamping of all aspects of the education structure, including its regulation and governance, to create a new system that is aligned with the aspirational goals of 21st century education.

The policy recommends four National Curriculum Frameworks:

i) National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE)

ii) National Curriculum Framework for Early Childhood Care and Education (NCFECCE) 

iii) National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE)

iv) National Curriculum Framework for Adult Education (NCFAE).

• The development of the NCF is being guided by the National Steering Committee chaired by K. Kasturirangan, supported by the Mandate Group, along with the National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT).  

Preparation of NCFs

• A comprehensive strategy has been worked out jointly by the ministry of education and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). 

• As per this strategy, all states/UTs will first prepare their State Curriculum Frameworks (SCFs) passing through the process of district level consultations, mobile app survey and development of position papers by the state focus groups in 25 areas/themes identified as per the NEP 2020. 

• These draft SCFs will provide inputs to the development of NCFs. 

• At the national level, NCERT will conduct a survey and get feedback from diverse stakeholders on the issues related to curriculum implementation. 

• NCERT will also conduct 2-3 district level consultations in each of the states/UTs for collecting feedback from the grassroot level. 

• Analysing inputs received from the district level consultations, states and national level survey, National Focus Groups will prepare 25 position papers in the identified areas. 

• Drawing insights from these position papers and draft SCFs, four NCFs will be prepared. 

• Draft NCFs will be translated in 22 languages given in VIII Schedule of the Constitution and shared with the states/UTs for their comments. 

• Taking note of their comments, the NCFs will be given final shape and will be placed before the ministry of education for approval. 

• After approval, the documents will be disseminated to states/UTs for revising the draft SCFs and also for the implementation of NCFs.

Highlights of the inter-ministerial meeting

• The meeting focused on how ministries and organisations can contribute in developing a curriculum framework that is responsive and relevant to the developmental needs and interests of learners at different stages of their development.

• Many areas of contribution were subsequently discussed, such as the rapidly changing technology, need for innovation and generation of new ideas, need to focus on crucial areas like climate change, future skill requirements, crucial factors for agricultural growth, knowledge of India, especially in those areas where India is at the forefront for instilling a sense of pride, assistive technology for inclusion, enriching subject knowledge with real-life information, how to promote multilingualism, and integration of sports, fitness and arts. 

• The inputs from ministries would help identify and integrate several pertinent areas, skills and competencies in the NCF at relevant stages.

• The key deliverables of NCF that were discussed at the meet included early childhood care and education, foundational literacy and numeracy, competency based education, flexibility in choice of subjects in secondary classes, reduction of curriculum to core essentials, reimagining vocational education, identification of core skills, multilingualism, citizenship, values like-appreciation of national heritage, respect for public property, taking care of elders, spirit of service, needs of gifted children, experiential learning, integration of arts and craft, toys, community involvement, etc.

• Given the crucial nature of the work undertaken by the MoE in preparing the new NCF, participants shared their ideas on how they would be able to contribute to the process. Ideas such as leveraging the innovation ecosystem of the Department of Science, understanding the efforts that go into agriculture to bring food on the table, the huge role of gram panchayats in ensuring enrolment and retention in schools, importance of imbibing volunteerism in early years, etc. 

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