This comes after a petition was filed seeking a common syllabus and curriculum in schools. And responding to the petition, the Centre said, the national framework will be made available in all regional languages and will be based on principles of the policy, frontline curriculum needs, deliberations with stakeholders including State governments, ministries, and expert bodies and that a National Steering Committee for its development has already been formed.
It further informed that NCFSE shall be revisited and updated once every 5-l0 years taking into account frontline curriculum and State Council of Educational Research & Training (SCERT) are to undertake the development of State Curriculum Framework by adoption/adaptation of the national framework.
The petitioner, lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhayay, while filing the petition noted there should have a “uniform education system" having a common school syllabus and curriculum in the mother language while claiming that such a framework will not only remove disparity and discriminatory values but also enhance virtues and improve quality of life.
“Chapter 4 'Curriculum and Pedagogy in Schools' of the "National Education Policy, 2020" under Para 4.30 'National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE) ' mentions that The formulation of a new and comprehensive National Curricular Framework for School Education, NCFSE 2020-21, will be undertaken by the NCERT- based on the principles of this National Education Policy 2020, frontline curriculum needs, and after discussions with all stakeholders including State Governments, Ministries, relevant Departments of the Central Government, and other expert bodies, and will be made available in all regional languages," said the Ministry of Education in its affidavit dated July 14.
“Presently, as per the National Education Policy, 2020, the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) will be developed. In this regard, a comprehensive strategy document has been prepared jointly by the Ministry of Education (MoE) and NCERT… On 21.09.2021, the Ministry of Education formed the National Steering Committee under the chairmanship of Dr. K Kasturirangan for the development of National Curriculum Frameworks," the affidavit, filed through central government lawyer Manish Mohan said.
The Centre, in the affidavit, informed that its Samagra Shiksha scheme—which is an integrated scheme for school education-- aims at providing quality education, bridging social and gender gaps in school education, ensuring equity and inclusion at all levels of school education as well as supports States in implementation of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009.
Provisions have also been made in the scheme for textbooks to all children in government and local body schools including madarsas desirous of introducing the state curriculum, it stated.
