NCERT forms new panel to refine school curriculum

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has established a fresh panel with the purpose of shaping the curriculum and educational materials for students in grades 3rd to 12th.

Headed by MC Pant, chancellor of the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), this committee, comprising 19 members, is known as the National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee (NSTC).

Distinguished personalities, including Sudha Murthy, renowned author and chairperson of Infosys Foundation, Shankar Mahadevan, a notable singer and Sanjeev Sanyal, an economist who serves on the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, have been selected to contribute to this initiative, as per an internal memo from NCERT cited by HT.

The primary objective of the NSTC is to harmonise the curriculum with the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE), which was developed under the guidance of the steering committee led by K Kasturirangan, as a crucial component of the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. 

Although the final version of the NCF-SE has already been presented to the Union Ministry of Education, its public release is still pending, having been unveiled in draft form in April.

The NSTC’s responsibilities encompass the formulation of school syllabi, along with the creation of teaching and learning materials tailored for students in grades 3rd to 12th.

Additionally, this committee will undertake the task of appropriately revising existing textbooks for students in classes 1st and 2nd, ensuring a seamless alignment with the guidelines outlined in the NCF-SE.