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New Delhi: A central government committee set up last year to develop a new National Curriculum Framework (NCF) is holding consultations with religious organizations to incorporate their “best practices” into the framework, ThePrint has learned . Other groups consulted include NGOs, businesses, teachers, teacher trainers and parents, among others. The NCF will be a model for school programs across the country. The curriculum framework currently referred to in India is a document from 2005. The new National Education Policy (NEP), approved by the Union Cabinet in 2020, mandates the formulation of a new NCF. The NCF Committee is headed by the former Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), K. Kasturirangan, who also headed the body responsible for formulating the NEP 2020. The exercise is conducted under the supervision of the Council National Research and Training in Education. (NCERT), which works on the curriculum. Sources within NCERT told ThePrint that the committee has, so far, held talks with at least 20 religious groups, including Ramakrishna Mission, Chinmaya Mission, Aurobindo Ashram, Saraswati Vidya Mandir, two organizations Chennai-based Christian missionaries, Alim Madrasah, which runs registered madrasas across the country and other religious organizations that run educational institutions. Confirming the development, NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani told ThePrint: “NCF is a comprehensive exercise and discussions are ongoing with as many groups as possible. The steering committee recently held discussions with a number of faith groups to learn about their best practices. So far, the FNC Steering Committee has held two such meetings. The last one took place on June 28 in Bangalore. According to a source present at the meeting, the various religious groups gave presentations on the “best practices” adopted by them in their schools, such as “how they connect directly with the community and the way they teach their students”. . “Many of the things these groups are implementing are already in line with NEP 2020, such as focusing on a student’s cognitive skills and teaching them about spirituality and values,” the source said, adding that the NCF steering committee seeks to absorb these ideas. . Also read: Gujarat riots, Faiz verses removed from textbooks. NCERT cites ‘overlapping, irrelevant’ roadmap for developing framework A terms of reference document released in April, which provides a roadmap for the development of the NCF, says the new curriculum should aim to help students “acquire the basics of literacy and numeracy, constitutional and other human values including gender equality, 21st century abilities including speaking, writing, multilingualism, scientific temperament , art and aesthetics, problem solving, sustainable living, cultural literacy, socio-emotional skills and the ability to continue to learn independently throughout life, and preparation for teaching higher education and gainful employment. In a press release on Sunday, the Ministry of Education expressed its intention to take into account public comments on this matter. “The Government of India has planned to invite the views of various stakeholders through an online public consultation survey, which will help to gather very useful and crucial inputs for the formulation of the national program framework and also to subsequently design curricula, manuals and other teaching materials. (sic),” the note reads. “All stakeholders, including teachers, principals, school leaders, educators, parents, students, community members, NGOs, experts, public representatives, artists, artisans, farmers and anyone interested in school education and teacher training are invited. participate in this online survey,” he added. (Editing by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri) Also Read: Haryana, Karnataka, Gujarat – BJP States Amend Textbooks, Reignite Old Debate
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