Minimum learning mandatory from 2018 for elementary classes

 From 2018, it will be mandatory for all government and private schools to ensure that students of the elementary classes at the end of their academic session achieve a minimum learning outcome laid down by the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry

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“We have laid down the minimum learning outcome, incorporating the suggestions from the stakeholders. We are going to make it part of the RTE (Right to Education) Rules and make it mandatory for all schools from the academic session of 2017-18,” HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters on Sunday.

By the time a student completes the academic year of Class VIII, he or she should be able to recognise political, social and economic issues and the way they affect their daily lives across the time and space, according to the learning outcome document prepared by the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

These students must also gain a sense of the working of Indian democracy its institutions and process at the local state and union levels. They should be able to recognize contributions of the different sections of the society, political, social, cultural and environmental process including process of elections to Lok Sabha.

Schools and teachers concerned would also need to ensure that they imbibe the value of Constitution in Class VIII students, make them understand the socio-economic role of their family as well as the government and make them familiar with their own region and their interdependence on other regions under the curriculum of social studies.

The learning outcomes have been developed class-wise from classes I to VIII for environment studies, science, mathematics, social sciences, Hindi, English and Urdu languages.

“This is to help students and teachers make their efforts in the right direction to ensure learning among the students providing quality education. Schools will have to ensure that the stipulated learning outcome is achieved by students of each class by the end of the academic year as it will be made part of the RTE Rule,” a ministry official told DH.