Heritage to be part of CBSE school curriculum

The Central Board of Secondary Education has introduced an elective subject for classes 11 and 12 titled ‘Knowledge Traditions and Practices’ on a pilot basis. The course aims to provide an overview of India’s traditions, customs and heritage through an inter-disciplinary method.

“The idea is not to glorify the past but encourage students to innovate from what they learn. We want to provide alternatives to children through research-based content on what existed in the past,” said CBSE chairman Vineet Joshi. “We want to bring everything that children learnt till class 10 on one platform.”

CBSE affiliated schools will have an option to offer the new subject with a combination of three other electives and a language course. It will have a 70-mark theory paper with 30-mark research-based project.

Field visits

The research will require field visits to places of historical and cultural importance across India. “As this course aims to introduce knowledge in various disciplines , it will lead to an insight into the Indian thought and psyche,” states the CBSE circular given to schools.

Schools that have offered to introduce the elective on a pilot basis have already been given two out of 12 modules — Astronomy and Metallurgy. The printed version of the course book is under process.

Coming soon

It will be completed soon as CBSE aims at starting the course from the present academic session.  Principals believe it is an interesting subject and a holistic approach of connecting children to their past. “We need to revive traditional practices even in daily lives,” said Ameeta Wattal, principal of Springdales School, Pusa Road.