The document discusses the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) of India. It provides guidelines for educational purposes, experiences, organization of experiences, and learner assessment. The 2005 NCF was based on constructivist psychology and involved extensive consultations. Key features included reducing academic stress, making education more relevant and meaningful. It recommended changes to subject curricula like mathematics, sciences, and social sciences. The NCF emphasized creating an enabling learning environment and systemic reforms like flexible examinations.

1. Dr. Jugnu Khatter Bhatia

3. Introduction
National Curriculum Framework (NCF) is a document seeks
to provide a framework within which teachers and schools
can choose and plan experiences that they think children
would have:
 It addresses four issues such as educational purpose,
educational experiences, an organization of experience and
assessing learner.
 NCF differs from curriculum and syllabus. It provides
guidelines on different aspects of education.
 Earlier NCFs were based on Behaviorist psychology but
NCF 2005 is based on Constructivist theory.
 NCF 2005 owes its present shape and form to the flurry of
ideas generated through a series of intensive deliberations by
eminent scholars from different disciplines, principals,
teachers and parents, NCERT faculty etc.

5. Development of NCF 2005
NPE 1986, assigned a special role to NCERT in preparing
and promoting NCF.
Yash Pal Committee Report, ‘Learning without Burden’
(1993) observes that learning has become a source of burden
and stress on children and their parents.
National Steering Committee was set up under the
Chairmanship of Prof. Yashpal
Considering these observations, Executive Committee of
NCERT decided at its meeting of July 14, 2004, to revise the
National Curriculum Framework.
The process of development of NCF was initiated in
November, 2004 by setting up various structures like
National Steering Committee Chaired by Prof. Yash Pal and
twenty-one National Focus Groups on themes of curricular
areas, systemic reforms and national concerns.

6. Wide ranging deliberations and inputs from multiple sources
involving different levels of stakeholders helped in shaping
the draft of NCF.
The draft NCF was translated into 22 languages listed in the
VIII Schedule of the Constitution. The translated versions
were widely disseminated and consultations with
stakeholders at district and local level helped in developing
the final draft.
The NCF was approved by Central Advisory Board on
Education(CABE) on 7th September, 2005.

7. NCF 2005 begins with a quotation from Tagore’s essay
‘Civilization and Progress’ in which the poet reminds us that
a ‘Creative Spirit ‘ and ‘ generous joy’ are keys in childhood
, both of which can be distorted by an unthinking adult
world.
It stressed the need to employ educational technology to
improve the quality of education.
The policy led to two major centrally sponsored schemes,
educational technology and computer literacy.

9. Features of NCF 2005
1
• Perspective of NCF
2
• Learning and knowledge
3
• Curricular Area, school Stages and Assessment
4
• School and Classroom Environment
5
• Systematic Reforms

12. Curricular areas, school stages
and Assessment
Recommends significant changes in
Maths, Natural Sciences, Social
Sciences
Overall view to reduce stress, make
education more relevant, meaningful

13. 1. Languages
To implement 3-language formula
Emphasis on mother tongue as medium of
instruction
Curriculum should contain multi-lingual proficiency
only if mother tongue is considered as second
language
Focus on all skills

14. 2. Mathematics
Teaching of Mathematics to focus on
child’s resources to think and reason,
to visualize abstractions and to solve
problems.

15. 3. Sciences
Teaching of science to focus on
methods and processes that will
nurture thinking process, curiosity and
creativity

16. 4. Social Sciences
Social sciences to be considered from
disciplinary perspective with rooms
for:
Integrated approach in the treatment
of significant themes
Enabling pedagogic practices for
promoting thinking process, decision
making and critical reflection

17. 5. Draws attention on four other areas
a. Art Education: covers music, dance, visual arts and
theatre which on interactive approaches not instruction
aesthetic awareness and enable children to express
themselves in different forms.
b. Health and Physical Education: Health depends
upon nutrition and planned physical activities.
c. Education for Peace: As a precondition to snub
growing violence and intolerance
f. Work and Education: As it can create a social
temper and agencies offering work opportunities
outside the school should be formally recognized.

18. School and Classroom
environment
Critical pre-requisites for improved performance
– minimum infrastructure and material facilities
and support for planning a flexible daily schedule
Focus on nurturing an enabling environment
Revisits tradition notions of discipline
Discuss needs for providing space to parents
and community
Discuss other learning sites and resources like
Texts and Books, Libraries and laboratories and
media and ICT
Addresses the need for plurality of material and
Teacher autonomy/professional independence
to use such material

19. Systemic Reforms
Covers needs for academic planning
for monitoring quality
Teacher education should focus on
developing professional identity of the
Teacher
Examination reforms to reduce
psychological stress particularly on
children in class X and XII

20. Examination reforms
highlight:
Shift from content based testing to
problem solving and competency
based assessment
Examinations of shorter duration
Flexible time limit
Change in typology of questions
No public examination till class VIII
Class X board exam to be made
optional (in long term)

21. Teacher Education Reforms
emphasize on preparation of teacher
to
View learning as a search for
meaning out of personal experience,
and knowledge generation at a
continuously evolving process of
reflective learning.
View knowledge not as an external
reality embedded in textbooks, but as
constructed in the shared context of
teaching-learning and personal
experience

22. Guidelines for Syllabus
Development
1. Development of syllabi and textbooks based on following considerations
Appropriateness of topics and themes for relevant stages of children’s
development
Continuity from one level to the next
Pervasive resonance of all the values enshrined in the constitution of India the
organization of knowledge in all subjects
Inter-disciplinary and thematic linkages between topics listed for different school
subjects, which falls under different discrete disciplinary areas.
Linkage between school knowledge and concern in all subjects and at all levels
Sensitivity to gender, caste, class, peace, health and need of children with
disability
Integration of work related attitudes and values in every subject and all levels
Need to nurture aesthetic sensibility and values
2. Linkage between school and college syllabi, avoid overlapping
3. Using potential of media and new information technology in all subjects
4. Encouraging flexibility and creativity in all areas of knowledge and its construction
by children.

23. Development of Support
Material
Audio/video programmes on NCF-2005 and textbooks
Source-book on learning assessment
Exemplar problems in Science and Mathematics
Science and Mathematics kits
Teachers’ handbooks and manuals.
Teacher Training Packages.
Developed syllabi and textbooks in new areas such as
Heritage Craft, Media Studies, Art Education, Health
and Physical Education, etc.
Taken various initiatives in the area of ECCE (Early
Childhood Care Education), Gender, Inclusive
Education, Peace, Vocational Education, Guidance
and Counseling, ICT, etc.

24. Overall Evaluation
NCF 2005 highlights the following aspects:
The value of Interaction with environment,
peers and older people to enhance learning.
That learning task must be designed to
enable children to seek knowledge other
than text books.
The need to move away from “Herbartian”
lesson plan to prepare plans and activities
that challenge children to think and try out
what they are learning.

26. A- Examination Reforms-
Needs and Essentials
1. Reforms regarding Paper Setting : Good
questions categorized according to level of
difficulty, topic/area, concept/competency being
evaluated and time estimated to solve.
2. Reforms about examining and reporting:
Financial and funding issues must be taken care
of. Malpractices should be reduced.
3. Emphasis on school based and Internal
Assessment : Flexible and implementable
scheme of CCE, for diagnosis, remediation and
enhancing of learning .

27. B- Assessment and Evaluation
1. The purpose of Assessment :To improve whole
process of teaching and learning. Realization of
Objectives of Education.
2. Assessing Learners: Comprehensive
assessment to indicate the progress of the
learner towards their wholesome development.
Redefine and use new parameters for evaluation
and feedback.
3. Assessment in the course of Teaching :
continuous ongoing observational and qualitative
assessment of learners

28. 4. Curricular areas that cannot be tested for
marks: Qualitative assessment should be made
an integral part of the system
5. Design and Conduct of Assessment:
Improvement in the conduct of examination and
the new practices like Open book Examination,
On Demand Examination.
6. Self-Assessment and feedback: Feedback
should be constantly be available to them by a
variety of ways.

29. 7. Areas that require fresh thinking: Need of
evolving and maintaining credibility in assessment.
Assessment of various skills and competences of
learners related to creative aspects.
8. Assessment at different Stages:
Upto Class II: assessment through qualitative
judgement of their progress.
Class III to Class VIII: use of various devices of
Assessment for quantitative and Qualitative
Judgment of achievement in Scholastic and non-
scholastic areas.
Class IX to Class XII: Helping them to focus on
present and planning for the future.