national curriculum framework 2005

1. NATIONAL CURRICULUM
FRAMEWORK
2005

2. WHAT IS NCF?
• A framework for developing syllabi, textbooks and teaching practices
within the school education programs in India.
• Main issues focused are educational purpose, educational experience,
organization of experience and assessing learner.
• Difference between Curriculum and Syllabus.

3. WHY NCF?
• Yash Pal committee, Learning Without Burden learning has become a
source of burden and stress on children and their parents.
• Considering these problems, Executive committee of NCERT decided
to revise the curriculum across all the schools in India.

4. GUIDING PRINCIPLES
• Connecting knowledge to life outside the schools.
• Ensuring learning shifts away from rote learning methods.
(experiential learning)
• Enriching curriculum to provide overall development of a student
rather than textbook centric.
• Nurturing democratic values enshrined in our constitution.
(Equality, social justice, gender and caste etc)

5. • Universal Elementary Education
• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA): Aims to ensure five years of primary
education for all in the age group of 6-14 by 2007 and eight years of
schooling by 2010.
• Respect the diversity in the socio-economic backgrounds including
children’s native wisdom and knowledge.

6. LEARNING AND KNOWLEDGE
• Primacy of Active learner – ‘Child-centered’ Pedagogy
• Learners in Context
Finding their voices, nurturing curiosity, pursuing investigation,
sharing and integrating their knowledge.
• Holistic approach to learning and development.(eg:living and non-
living things)
• Introduction of Common School System
• Inclusive environment with flexible curriculum.
• Constructive learning – Intelligent Guessing
• In the name of Objectivity, flexibility and creativity is compromised.
• Questions based learning.

7. • Using Play-way methods and activities, dilution of learning by giving
things which are below their capability.
• Involving local communities
• Many schools have first generation school goers. Pedagogy must be
reoriented when the child’s home provides any direct support for
formal education.

8. CURRICULAR AREAS,SCHOOL STAGES AND ASSESSMENT
LANGUAGE:
• Importance of Home language or Mother tongue.
• Multi lingual characteristic of Indian society poses complex challenges
as well as range of opportunities.
• 3 language Formula
• Including Tribal languages in the curriculum.
• Constitution states that a child should be provided with adequate
facilities for instruction in mother-tongue in the primary stage of his
education.
• Sanskrit – Modern Indian Language.

9. MATHEMATICS:
• A feeling of Fear and failure
• Ability to think logically, formulate and handle abstractions.
COMPUTER SCIENCE:
• Technology use in domains of education in the fast changing world.
• Challenges at Indian schools in attaining this.

10. SCIENCE:
Basic criteria of validity of science curriculum
• Cognitive – age appropriate and within cognitive reach of children
• Content – must convey significant and scientifically correct content
• Process – engaging learner in acquiring the methods and processes
• Historical – be informed by a historical perspective(Newton’s law)
• Environmental – considering environmental issues like pollution etc.
• Ethical - promoting the values of honesty, objectivity, concern for
others etc.
At the primary stage, Science and Social science as ‘Environmental
Sciences’, with health as an important component.

11. SOCIAL SCIENCES:
• Focus on conceptual understanding rather than line up of facts to be
memorized for examinations.
• Critical reflection on social issues like poverty, child labor, illiteracy
and caste and class inequalities etc.
• Interdisciplinary approaches to promote key national concerns like
gender issues, social justice, humanitarian rights and sensitivity to
marginalized groups.
• Civics should be recast as political science.

12. WORK:
• From pre-primary stage to senior secondary stage, a pedagogy of
work centric education.(Eg: Montessori system)
• In order to acquire knowledge, develop values and multiple skills.
ART:
• Folk and classical forms of art and heritage facts should be introduced
as integral components.
• At every stage, art should be a subject.

13. PEACE:
• Peace oriented values
• Peace education in teacher education.
HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION:
• For overall development improving fine and gross motor skills and
coordination in team games.
• Include Yoga
HABITAT LEARNING:
• Environment education in the form of issues and concerns.

14. ASSESSMENT:
• Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation
• Primary stage, purely qualitative judgement and no test or
examination instead assessment based on observations through
everyday activities.
• Formative and Summative Assessments
• Term-end assessment weightage should be decreased.
• Use of Open-ended questions and Open-book examinations
• Progress Reports