CBSE to cut syllabus by up to 30% to deal with covid-19 disruption

The Union government has asked the central board of secondary education (CBSE) to revise its curriculum and reduce course load on students by up to 30% in the academic year 2020-21. The direction has been issued considering the time lost to disruptions caused by the spread of covid-19.

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Although the CBSE said core concepts will be retained, there has been concern regarding the topics removed from the syllabus.

Opposition politicians and academics are protesting against the omission of topics such as federalism, citizenship, nationalism, secularism, democracy, and diversity, as well as analysis of recent economic policies such as demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax.

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is responsible for developing the National Curriculum Framework that all school systems across the country follow. It also prints textbooks based on its syllabus each year, which are used in all CBSE schools.

The CBSE course committees, each with about six to seven members, comprises school teachers as well as university professors. They meet every year to deliberate on changes and updates, and recommend a revised syllabus by February, before the new academic session begins.

The course committee suggestions were approved by the CBSE’s Curriculum Committee and then its Governing Body, which includes representatives from the Union HRD Ministry and the Delhi State government, apart from school principals and vice-chancellors.