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Indian Express
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Maharashtra's controversial third language policy: Why National Curriculum Framework recommends a third language from Class 6
After Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that the government resolutions introducing a third language from Class 1 in state board schools had been scrapped, the controversy has been put to rest for now. The government has also set up a committee, led by economist and educationist Dr Narendra Jadhav, to re-examine the issue. Following Fadnavis's Sunday announcement, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Shiv Sena UBT declared this rollback as a victory ahead of their planned protest on July 5. Difference between national and state curricula There is a significant difference in the stages at which the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) and Maharashtra's State Curriculum Framework for School Education (SCF-SE) introduce a third language in school education. According to the New Education Policy (NEP) floated by the Centre, school education is divided into a 5+3+3+4 pedagogical and curricular structure, replacing the current 10+2 format. The first five years comprise the Foundational Stage, which includes three years of preschool, Class 1, and Class 2. The next three years are the Preparatory Stage, consisting of classes 3 to 5. The next three years constitute the Middle Stage, from classes 6 to 8, and the next four years comprise the Secondary Stage, from classes 9 to 12. NEP says the three-language formula will continue to be implemented with greater flexibility, and no language will be imposed on any state. The purpose of the NCF-SE is to help bring about the changes recommended in NEP. According to NCF-SE, R1 and R2 — the first and second school languages — are introduced from the Preparatory Stage, and by the end of the Middle Stage, a student is expected to understand and appreciate the distinctive features of the language, engage in collaborative discussions, and read and write independently in both the languages. The framework adds a third language is to be introduced in the Middle Stage, which is from Class 6 onwards. 'A new third Language, R3, is introduced in this (Middle) stage. Students acquire familiarity with the spoken form of this language, along with the basics of reading and writing.' However, Maharashtra's SCF-SE differed from NCF by calling for a 'detailed introduction' to R3 in the Preparatory Stage, which is Class 1 to Class 5. 'For this stage and all subsequent stages, efforts should be made to bring the language courses to the same level of 100 marks for R1, R2 and R3,' it says. Expert speak Dhir Jhingran, Member, National Steering Committee for development of NCF, disagrees with formally introducing a third language in school education in Class 1 or Class 3. Jhingran, who is also the founder of the Language and Learning Foundation, told The Indian Express that children should focus on developing a strong proficiency in their first language, and a second language in the early years. 'And there the focus is on building the foundation of strong literacy in two languages, which means comprehension, reading, fluency, writing, et cetera. So it requires those five to seven years to build this kind of proficiency in two languages.' 'If the child has natural exposure to languages, for example, in a household, the grandmother speaks something else, the mother and the father speak something else, you'll find a child is naturally able to pick up to three languages. But the problem is that if a child is formally taught, once you introduce Hindi or whatever as a subject, there'll be a textbook, there'll be teaching, the child has to do writing and there'll be copying work taught in a very dreary and didactic manner, which makes it very difficult for the child to actually learn a language,' he says. He says acquiring a language and gaining literacy in a language are two different matters. 'Acquiring language means that a child at home picks up words and is able to speak, because we work through gestures, and the child picks up in different ways. But once you say literacy, the child has to understand which sound is for what symbol and how do you combine what are the spellings of different words, etc. It's an overload for the child'. Following political and academic backlash over the introduction of the third language, School Education Minister Dada Bhuse announced at the end of June that in classes 1 and 2, students would only be taught oral skills, with written skills to be introduced from class 3. However, this is still three years before the NEP recommendation of Class 6. Jhingran also says increasing the curriculum burden on a child goes contrary to the goals of NEP. 'Someone may argue that in Maharashtra, all children know how to listen to Hindi, and so starting it earlier is less problematic than, say, starting French in grade three. But again, if you teach it as a subject, you're adding to the child's workload. Science, social science, and math curricula are not going away, but you're adding one more subject on which the child will be tested. So that is curricular overload. And NEP actually very clearly says, you should try to reduce the curricular burden.' 'Freedom to make necessary changes' The Maharashtra Government provided various reasons for deciding to implement the third language from Class 1. In a statement shared before the scrapping of the GRs, the School Education and Sports Department said, 'Students enjoy learning a new language and can easily learn it at an easy level at a young age.' It added that in Maharashtra, 10 per cent of students study in non-Marathi medium government-run schools, such as those offering Bengali, Tamil, Kannada, Gujarati, and Urdu. These students are taught Marathi and English from Class 1 in addition to their medium language, and they learn three languages. Therefore, it stated, if students from Marathi-medium schools are not taught a third language, they will lose out on Academic Bank of Credit points for classes 1 to 5. The state also argued that Hindi is familiar to children in Maharashtra from a young age; therefore, it will not academically burden the students. 'The Supreme Court has already made it clear that the National Education Policy 2020 is not binding on any state in the country. Therefore, the state has the freedom to make necessary changes in its own education policy or the National Education Policy 2020…' However, it remains to be seen how the Jadhav committee will re-examine the issue of introducing a third language in school education in Maharashtra in its report, which will be submitted after three months. Soham is a Correspondent with the Indian Express in Pune. A journalism graduate, he was a fact-checker before joining the Express. Soham currently covers education and is also interested in civic issues, health, human rights, and politics. ... Read More
Time of India
31-05-2025
- Science
- Time of India
CBSE allows Class 10 maths basic students to opt for regular math in class 11
Nagpur: The Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to continue allowing students of Class 10 to pursue regular maths (subject code 041) in Class 11, even if they opted for the simpler version of the subject called maths (Basic) in the Class 10 board exam. The maths (Basic) subject was introduced from the 2020 board exams for students who did not wish to pursue maths at higher levels. This meant they could not opt for engineering courses which required maths at Class 11 and 12. However, ever since the board introduced this policy, students who opted for maths (Basic) in Class 10 were allowed to pursue regular maths in Class 11 through special relaxation in the scheme. CBSE has cited 'pandemic and other issues' as the reason that this relaxation kept getting extended every year. Now, the policy relaxation will continue until further notice, meaning students won't have to wait for year-end circulars from CBSE to confirm whether or not they will get the benefit. CBSE's controller of examination, Sanyam Bhardwaj, however, requested principals to ensure that students have the aptitude to pursue regular maths at Class 11. CBSE's latest communication stated that this policy relaxation will cease once the new scheme of studies is implemented "in pursuance to the recommendations of NCF-SE". From the 2025-26 academic session onwards, students who appeared for Maths (Basic), subject code 241, in Class 10 can now apply for maths (041) in Class 11.
NDTV
30-05-2025
- General
- NDTV
CBSE Allows Basic Math Students To Study Standard Math In Class 11
In a significant shift, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has allowed students who studied Basic Mathematics (241) in Class 10 to opt for Mathematics Standard (041) in Class 11, starting from the academic year 2025-26. This initiative offers greater flexibility to students in shaping their academic path, provided they meet certain conditions. The decision, announced in an official notification dated May 27, 2025, marks a shift from the earlier rule where only students who had taken Mathematics Standard (041) in Class 10 were permitted to continue with the subject at the senior secondary level. Students with Basic Math were previously limited to choosing Applied Mathematics in Class 11. According to the circular, heads of schools must assess and ensure that students who wish to switch from Basic Math to core Mathematics in Class 11 have the necessary aptitude and academic preparedness to handle the subject's rigour. The Board has instructed schools to communicate the change to parents and students so they can make informed subject choices while filling the List of Candidates (LOC). Once subjects are finalised in LOC, no modifications will be permitted. This relaxation is a continuation of temporary exemptions introduced during the pandemic years, when students who opted for Basic Math were allowed to take Mathematics (041) in higher classes. However, the CBSE has clarified that the current decision will remain valid only until a new scheme of studies is introduced under the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE). Until then, other provisions of the earlier circular issued on January 10, 2019, will continue to apply. The dual-level Mathematics system was introduced by CBSE in the 2019-20 academic session to offer students options based on their interest and future academic plans. While Mathematics (Standard) caters to those wish to pursue the subject in higher studies, Mathematics (Basic) is designed for those who do not wish to continue with it beyond Class 10.
Indian Express
30-05-2025
- General
- Indian Express
CBSE allows Basic Math students to study subject in Class 11
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has allowed students with basic mathematics in Class 10 to pursue the subject in Class 11 onwards. The decision will be implemented from the 2025-2026 academic session. The notification (dated May 27) asked the school heads to ensure that the student has the ability and aptitude to handle Class 11 mathematics. Notably, in CBSE, two levels of Mathematics for the Secondary School Examination were introduced from the academic session ending March 2020 onwards. The Mathematics (Standard) is for those students who wish to opt for Mathematics (041) at Class 12 level, and the Mathematics (Basic) is for students who are not keen to pursue Mathematics at higher levels. In the previous sessions, CBSE had given an exemption to offer Mathematics (041) in classes 10th and 12th to the students who offered Mathematics (Basic) in Class 10; however, the decision was affected because of the pandemic and other issues. As per the change, the relaxation students who offered Mathematics Basic (241) are now also allowed to offer Mathematics (041) in Class 11. 'Before permitting Mathematics (041) in class XI to such students, the head of the Institution/School should satisfy that the students have the aptitude and ability to pursue Mathematics (041) in class 11th,' read the notification. It is important for parents to note that once the subject is filled in LOC, no changes will be entertained. However, the Board informed that this relaxation will not be applicable once the new scheme of studies is implemented. The new scheme of studies will be based on the recommendations of the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE). Meanwhile, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will start registrations for the CBSE supplementary exams for private students today. The registration facility is for both classes 10th and 12th. Students who are interested and want to apply for the CBSE supplementary results can visit the official website. Moreover, CBSE Class 12 students are permitted to register for the improvement exams in one subject; on the other hand, Class 1o students can improve their scores in up to two subjects.
India Today
20-05-2025
- General
- India Today
Delhi government schools to begin pre-vocational classes for Classes 6 to 8
The Delhi government has announced the launch of a pre-vocational education programme for students in Classes 6 to 8 in its schools starting from the academic year 2025–26. The programme, aligned with the National Education Policy and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023, aims to equip students with vital life skills and early exposure to vocational the initial rollout, a new subject titled Kaushal Bodh will be introduced in Class 6, gradually expanding to Classes 7 and 8 in the coming years. The curriculum is structured around three key areas: Work with Life Forms, Work with Machines and Materials, and Work in Human Services. Students will be required to complete one project under each category annually, with a total of 110 hours dedicated to these skill-building tasks such as organic farming, carpentry, pottery, embroidery, cooking with millets, and basic electrical work will form the core of this initiative. Teachers will play a crucial role in guiding students through these projects, ensuring safety, collaboration, and the application of practical knowledge. Assessment will include written tests, oral presentations, activity logs, portfolios, and teacher evaluations. School heads are tasked with ensuring proper execution of the projects and supporting teacher training to integrate vocational learning within the classroom further support the programme, the Directorate of Education will organise Kaushal Melas, where students will present their work through live demonstrations. The initiative is expected to enhance critical thinking, teamwork, and lay a strong foundation for future vocational learning and career Watch
