The Hindu : National : Panel to review curriculum framework

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 17, 2004

National

National

Panel to review curriculum framework

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, NOV. 16. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has set in motion an elaborate exercise to review the National Curriculum Framework (NCF).

The review will be carried out by a 30-member National Steering Committee under the former University Grants Commission Chairman, Yashpal, and the NCERT is hopeful of wrapping up the exercise by mid-2005. The NCF was introduced in 2000during the National Democratic Alliance regime.

The decision to review the NCF was taken by the NCERT Executive Committee in July this year in accordance with the recommendations of a three-member panel of historians assigned the task of undertaking a quick review of the history books brought out by the previous regime.

'Nothing political'

The NCERT Director, Krishan Kumar, said at a press conference today that there was nothing political about the review. "It is a routine exercise; the National Policy of Education provides for a five-yearly review. The present curriculum framework was introduced in 2000, and this is the time to begin the next review."

Refusing to comment on the controversy surrounding the curriculum review undertaken during the NDA regime, he said the NCERT was acting "academically and autonomously."

Dr. Kumar said that there had been no interference from the Government but for a letter from the Higher Education Secretary in the Human Resource Development Ministry asking the NCERT to undertake such a review in tune with the 12-year-old Yashpal Committee Report on `Learning without Burden.'

"Only now — as the list of members on the Steering Committee was released to the media — did we send the Ministry a copy," he said.

Among those on the Steering Committee are the social scientist, Ramchandra Guha, the Vice-Chancellor of North Eastern Hill University (Shillong), Mrinal Miri, R. Ramanujam of the Institute of Mathematical Science, the founder-director of Diganter, Rohit Dhankar, Arvind Kumar of Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (Mumbai), and Padma Sarangpani of the National Institute of Advanced Studies (Bangalore).

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