‘Class 12 boards twice a year, choice-based exams’: NCF draft for schools

The Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) was introduced for class 10 in 2009 but was revoked in 2017

The Ministry of Education has invited stakeholders’ feedback on the draft National Curriculum Framework (NCF) which has proposed a marked shift in how exams are conducted.

Among the key suggestions are that exams in class 12 be held twice a year, environmental science be made compulsory for class 10, mobility between various streams, and choice-based exams for students in class 12.

The curriculum, which advocates a shift from the current 10+2 system to the 5+3+3+2 system, and students in class 12 will have to choose disciplines from at least three curricular areas and then four elective areas under each discipline.

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This, the national curriculum framework suggests, will “ensure depth, when they choose a discipline, they have to complete four choice-based courses in that discipline.” Students in class 9 and 10 will have to appear in 8 papers as per the new system; they now sit for five papers.

The draft recommends that environmental science should be a separate subject for class 10 students. “They will focus on a holistic understanding of key concerns and issues related to environmental education through drawing upon their understanding across areas, and the capacities developed in Grade 9,” says the draft framework.

The draft has been prepared by the national steering committee, headed by former ISRO chief K Kasturirangan, following over 500 district-level consultations, and over 50 consultations with different ministries, religious groups, civil society organisations, NGOs and universities where more than 8000 stakeholders participated, the ministry said.

A survey on a mobile app received feedback from around 1,50,000 stakeholders, the ministry said, adding that a “Citizen Centric Survey”, launched by the ministry in August last year, received inputs from more than 12,00,000 stakeholders.