National Curriculum Framework - Reviving India’s Education System
“Don’t just teach your children to read. Teach them to question what they read. Teach them to question everything” –George Carlin.
India welcomed the new National Education Policy in 2020 (NEP 2020), which also called for developing a National Curriculum Framework (NCF).. NCFs aim to enhance kids' overall learning and study experiences through a comprehensive overall curriculum reform. A central component of the NCF is Pancha Kosha Vikas (Five-fold Development) of kid –
• Physical development or ‘Sharirik Vikas’ - It is done through games, meditation exercises and other physical exercises or activities where the kid will study the movement value.
• Mental and emotional development or “Mansik Vikas’ - It deals with the creation and builds a positive mindset and enthusiasm towards life.
• Intellectual development or ‘Baudhik Vikas’ – It improves a child's intellect.
• Development of life energy or ‘Pranic Vikas’ - It builds a student to achieve the fundamentals of holistic education.
• Spiritual development or ‘Chaitsik Vikas’ – It teaches about the energy balance and, most importantly, the functioning of all essential systems.
National Curriculum Framework also focuses on multi-disciplinary education and holistic development, advocating for teaching and learning in the mother tongue, continuous expert growth for teachers, and life-long learning.
NCF incorporates the educator and their capabilities, the involvement of communities and parents, issues to access to institutions, support structures, accessible resources, and so on. For your information, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board has also incorporated the curriculum in the CBSE Syllabus.
National Curriculum Framework – An Overview
The National Curriculum Framework aims to address the education losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and pave the way for holistic, integrated and transformative reforms across the Indian education ecosystem.
The framework offers a more balanced education experience encouraging exploration, inquiry and curiosity. NCF prioritises stress-free education and proposes Edtech as an enabler in creating and building a more engaging curriculum.
Based on a recent research on early childhood care and education, this framework aims to be understandable, realistic, usable and relatable by education practitioners, including educators and teachers, school leaders, and system functionaries. To know more about the function of the framework, look below!
• To give guidelines for framework growth in schools
• To set out the broad curriculum within which textbooks and other study materials should be developed
• To offer a basis for the assessment of kids’ learning
• To inform the design and conduct of instructor education programmes
• To guide the development and growth of teacher expert standards
• To offer a curriculum for policy dialogue on school education among different stakeholders.
Strategies for Implementing National Curriculum Framework
India’s Ministry of Education and the National Council of Educational Research and Training combine to enlarge NCF's comprehensive plan to raise the country's education sector standards.
The framework is a result-oriented method that gives enough value to the professional and personal improvement of students' and teachers' skills and knowledge. Following are some of the strategies to support the impact of the NCF given below –
• Effective application of collaborative and coordinative methods to serve as a guiding light.
• The development of knowledge and passion for education to off-campus activities.
• Development of focus groups based on themes or areas.
• Personalised learning support strategy.
• Digital transformation-based learning processes.
• Professional learning community-building activity.
• The paperless approach in the documentation.
Conclusion
The national curriculum framework is deeply rooted in the Indian education system. Following are some more objectives that make the individual understand better about this framework -
• To enable students to understand life outside school.
• To make sure that kids are not limited to education mechanically, without thinking.
• To enrich the current framework and enable it to go beyond textbooks.
• To make education more flexible by integrating examinations with classroom life.
• To nurture an identity of significance informed by managing concerns within the country’s democratic polity.