Pune: An intense debate has broken out over school education minister Deepak Kesarkar 's announcement to align the curriculum of state board schools with the CBSE model from the next academic year. Kesarkar said the move will help students excel in competitive exams but education experts and stakeholders point to the the feasibility of implementing such a change, validity of institutions like Balbharati and SCERT, and the availability of sufficient manpower to handle the state's curriculum effectively, among other issues. Experts said adopting the CBSE curriculum for mathematics and science could be acceptable, but cautioned govt against using it for social studies and language due to inherent regional nuances.
History, geography and language education are region-specific, necessitating the inclusion of their elements. A blanket adoption of the central curriculum may undermine the rich cultural and regional diversity that should be reflected in the educational content, they maintained. Senior education expert Vasant Kalpande said, "Balbharati and SCERT have vacant posts raising questions about manpower to handle the state's curriculum.
Implementing the CBSE curriculum for mathematics and science is acceptable. However, using the CBSE curriculum for social studies could be problematic. The CBSE curriculum follows the NCERT framework, which is largely similar to the state's curriculum.
However, announcing the implementation of the pattern before the state curriculum framework is finalised is educationally inappropriate and undermines the autonomy of educational institutions." Another senior educator Dhanvantari Hardikar said the idea of having two subjects from CBSE and the rest from the state board contradicts the New Education Policy which emphasizes a holistic and interdisciplinary approach. Hardikar added, "It seeks to avoid compartmentalization of subjects but in practice that is exactly what will happen.
This bifurcation will also reinforce the (mis)conception that the state curriculum is of a lower quality and that students should not suffer in at least the so called 'important' subjects." Hardikar also said the state curriculum has to rise to the challenge of giving priority to the needs of the students and at the same time respond to high expectations of the national policy, adding that giving bits of regional information in social sciences and the state language curriculum will not be enough. Former vice-president of the state headmasters' association Mahendra Ganpule said there have been many misunderstandings and rules of any language's grammar remain the same and elements in mathematics and science are universal truths.
He said, "History and geography have been allocated 40% at the state level, 40% at the national level, and 20% at the international level in NEP. The only differences are in the examination and semester systems and assessment methods. Additionally, misinformation regarding JEE/NEET is confusing.
After the Std X, students from other boards return to the state board." Retired teacher Kanchan Mahashabde said the real solution lies in addressing the disorder within the education system, filling vacant positions of officers and teachers, and allocating adequate funds to support the system's infrastructure and resources. "Merely copying the central curriculum without addressing these fundamental issues will not suffice in improving the quality of education or aiding students in excelling in competitive exams," she added.
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