School curriculum in state rejigged to align with NCERT
Extract
from the article:
The Maharashtra government has announced plans to implement an NCERT-based
curriculum starting with Class 1 from the academic year 2025-26. This marks a
significant shift as state board schools will gradually transition to adopting
the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) timetable. The overarching goal
is to synchronize the academic calendar of Maharashtra’s schools with that of
the CBSE, paving the way for a more unified and standardized education
framework across the state.
This move is expected to underpin a more cohesive
educational system which not only aligns with national standards but also
promotes greater parity in learning experiences for students studying under
different boards. It represents an effort to reduce disparities in curriculum
design and bring state students on par with their peers across India,
potentially enhancing competitiveness, mobility, and uniformity in education
delivery.
My
Take:
A. Congratulations,
Smt Varshaji
"Government ties up with Google to start Virtual Classes...Students and
teachers will get access to Google Classroom and G Suite for Education that
will provide solutions to support remote learning. The tools allow interactive
sessions, which will allow teachers to explain lessons, and students can also
ask their doubts while sitting at home...Coronavirus has forced us to adopt the
changes that were supposed to come in the future."
Looking back, I had applauded Maharashtra’s pioneering
vision in integrating virtual classrooms through collaboration with Google.
That initiative truly laid the foundation for modernizing education and brought
forth technological inclusivity at an unprecedented scale within the state. The
current plan to implement an NCERT curriculum resonates with that forward
momentum — it is a natural progression from adopting digital tools to now
standardizing educational content and timetables. Both efforts exhibit a desire
to embrace innovation and uniformity simultaneously, showing how
infrastructural readiness complements curricular reforms. Reflecting on those
earlier strides, it becomes clear that the groundwork for systemic change was
being laid well in advance, and these reforms are reaping the benefits of such
early foresight.
B. Simple
Summary of Sankalp
"Will open 200 Kendriya and Navodaya Vidyalayas by 2024...Will formulate
new regulatory mechanism to provide autonomy to quality
institutions...Providing access to leading journals, free of cost, to students
from National Digital Library of India...Will formulate National Policy for
Reskilling and Upskilling for Industry-responsive workforce."
Reading the current developments in Maharashtra’s school
system against the backdrop of visionary policies like Sankalp, I realize how
deeply interconnected these efforts are. The emphasis on expanding quality
educational institutions and ensuring autonomy aligns well with harmonizing
curricula to a national standard like NCERT. This standardization facilitates
mobility and access to uniformly recognized knowledge frameworks, which is
crucial for students’ holistic growth, consistent with Sankalp’s objectives of
excellence and inclusivity. Furthermore, as the state recalibrates its academic
calendar to mirror the CBSE, this synchronization feeds directly into creating
an ecosystem conducive to reskilling and upskilling in later educational
stages, nurturing a workforce ready for modern challenges. This systemic
alignment reflects the continuous thread from policy vision to ground-level
execution.
Call to
Action:
To the Maharashtra State Council of Educational Research and Training (MSCERT)
and the Education Ministry, I urge you to ensure that the rollout of the NCERT
curriculum is accompanied by comprehensive teacher training and digital
infrastructure readiness, reminiscent of your earlier successful implementation
of virtual classrooms. Equipping educators with the right pedagogical tools and
technological competence is critical for this transition to be meaningful and
effective. Additionally, continuous feedback mechanisms must be established to
incorporate teacher, student, and parent inputs, ensuring adaptability and
inclusiveness in implementation. Let’s collectively embrace this opportunity to
not only standardize education but also to elevate its quality across
Maharashtra, fostering an empowered generation of learners.
With regards,
Hemen Parekh
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