The National Curriculum Framework 2005 aimed to reform India's education system. It was developed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training under the leadership of Prof. Yash Pal with input from various committees and public consultations. The framework sought to shift away from rote learning and make education more flexible, learner-centered, and connected to the outside world. It recommended reforms across various subjects, focusing on developing critical thinking, using local knowledge and experiences, and evaluating students in a comprehensive manner. It also emphasized the need to improve school infrastructure, resources, and the overall learning environment to be more inclusive, participatory, and supportive of democratic values.

1. NATIONAL CURRICULUM
FRAMEWORK: 2005
NCERT, New Delhi

2. Changing the face and spirit

3. Came in to Existence
• Chairman Prof. Yash Pal, formerly
Chairperson University Grants
Commission
• Assisted by Twenty-one focus
groups
• Methodology: Analysis of existing
curriculum, consultation of
commission and committees
documents, consultations with
Educationists, planners,
Administrators, Principals,
headmasters, teachers, parents,
students, general public

4. Input Documents
• National Curriculum Framework:
1975,1984, 1988, 2000
• Secondary Education
Commission: 1952-53
• Education Commission: 1964-66
• National Education Policy:1968,
1986, and POA:1992
• Chattopadhyay Commission:
1984
• Learning Without Burden: 1993

5. Five Guiding Principals
1. Connecting knowledge to outside
world
2. Shifting focus from rote learning
3. Enriching curriculum beyond text
books
4. Making evaluation/monitoring more
flexible and integrated to classroom
work
5. Nurturing and overriding identity
informed by caring concerns with in
democratic polity of the country

6. Basic spirit behind NCF-2005
• Constructivism: Believing in ability
of child to construct the knowledge.
• Freedom to learn and participate
• Teacher as an autonomous
Facilitator
• Evaluation as tool to find strengths
rather than weaknesses
• Quality, Quantity and
Universalisation
• Commitment to democratic values
and ways

7. Observations about Indian Schools
• Inflexible and resistant to
change
• Learning is isolated activity
• Discourage creative thinking
• Human capacity to create is
ignored
• Pretends to make future
ignore present
• Lack of Equality, Equity and
Quality

8. Questions NCF-2005 Addresses
• What educational purposes should
the school seek to achieve?
• What educational experiences can
be provided that are likely to
achieve these purposes?
• How can these educational
experiences be meaningfully
organized?
• How can we ensure that these
educational purposes are indeed
being accomplished?

9. Learning and Knowledge
• Learners in context: child’s voices,
experiences and interests a say in
classroom proceedings
• Holistic curriculum: inclusive
knowledge and participation
• Use inherent motivation: to know,
understand, apply and for higher
cognitive abilities
• Use variety: ways and means to
teach as they learn in variety of ways

10. Learning and Knowledge (contd.)
• Use experiences attained from inside
and outside school.
• Engage the child in concept
generation for deeper learning and
longer retention.
• Allow constructivism to operate in
the class
• Interactions are the most effective
tool of learning.
• Neither teacher and nor text books
are authority to learning.

11. Learning and Knowledge (contd.)
• learning experiences for competencies
rather than measurable traits.
• Individualized activity based lessons
• Involve critical pedagogy in teaching
• Ignore stereotype regarding learn ability
• Use conflicts as opportunity to teach social
concepts in true perspective.
• Knowledge be covered under domains:
cognitive, affective and co native

12. Learning and Knowledge (contd.)
• Objective and subjective
knowledge are complementary
• Associate child knowledge with
local knowledge
• Associate school knowledge
with community knowledge
• Knowledge be started from
integrated form to disciplinary
form beyond elementary stage.

13. Curricular Areas
• Language: Rationale
– Primary be covered in home language.
– Allow multilingual expression.
– English need be studied.
– In English medium schools Indian
languages need be valorized.
– Performance should be assessed as
language proficiency.
– Language teacher need to have high
proficiency.
– Language skills cut across all subjects.
– Three language formula be revitalized.

14. Curricular Areas (contd.)
• Mathematics: Ratinale
– Making attitude is the key, learn to enjoy, no
fear.
– Develop as interdisciplinary manner to make
meaningful.
– Less stress on computation use integrated
approach between different branches of
mathematics.
– Arrest interest and enhance resources of
student.
– Use variety of tools available to mathematics
– Curriculum should progress from play way to
abstract terminology, symbols, procedures
and techniques.
– Should be taught at more than one levels.

15. Curricular Areas (contd.)
• Computer Science:
– Ensure availability and accessibility of
both hardware and software.
• Science:
Need be true to the child true to life
and true to science. it needs be valid
in all dimensions.
– Cognitive validity
– Content validity
– Process validity
– Historical validity
– Environmental validity
– Ethical validity

16. Curricular Areas (contd.)
• Science (contd.)
– Use science to eliminate social evils,
superstitions, injustice, poverty
discrimination and highlighting
oneness of humanity.
– Science be used to inculcate values
like industriousness, patience, env.
intellectual honesty and the like.
– Rote learning be replaced by
experimentation, creativity and
heuristics.

17. Curricular Areas (contd.)
• Science at school stages
– Primary stage: Nurturing curiosity about the word
around the child.
– Upper primary: Learning principals of science through
hands on experiences and familiar observations
– Secondary : Experimentation as a tool to verify
theoretical bases.
– Higher Secondary stage: As separate discipline with
emphasis on experimentation/technology usage to
learn problem solving. Introduce optional science
disciplines rather than adding more contents to the
existing disciplines.

18. Curricular Areas (contd.)
• Social Science
– should aim at raising students’ awareness
through interdisciplinary critically exploring
and questioning the familiar social reality
and visualizing the means to attain a socially
just order, sustainable environment and
thriving democracy by inculcating
fundamental values enshrined in
constitution.
– Focus on conceptual understanding rather
lining up of facts to be memorized for exam.
– Use term Political science instead of Civics.
– Include human rights and gender justice
other social issues
– Development be one of the contents.

19. Curricular Areas (contd.)
• Social sciences at school stages
– Primary: integration of natural and social
environment taught through illustrations from
immediate environment
– In class III to V Environmental science EVS will focus
on health of environment and urgency to save it.
– Upper primary: history, geography, political science
and economics
– Secondary: History, Geography, Political Science,
Sociology and Economics. It should include
problems and opportunities they have.

20. Curricular Areas (contd.)
– Higher Secondary: offer number of
choices without putting under streams
including philosophy, Psychology,
anthropology and even commerce.
• Art Education:
– both visual and performing arts need to
be brought back to glory from state of
neglect.
– Should be made compulsory till Xth class
and variety of options be offered in
music, dance, visual arts including crafts
and theater.

21. Curricular Areas (contd.)
– Highlight rich heritage o the country.
– At +2 stage art should be offered as
specialized course with intention of deep
understanding of aesthetics.
• Health & Physical Education:
– Should be a core subject till secondary
stage and optional at higher secondary
stage.
– Medical care, Hygienic school
environment, school lunch (mid day
meal), health including Yoga and physical
education programme be made
components of the curriculum. Ensure
participation of every student in HSP.

22. Curricular Areas (contd.)
• Work Education:
– Work related generic competences be
pursued at every level. Use it as
potential pedagogy for knowledge
acquisition.
• Education for Peace:
– Nurturing non-violent peaceful conflict
resolution behaviour and skills.
– Encompasses respect for human rights,
justice, tolerance, cooperation, social
responsibility, respect for cultural
diversity and commitment to
democratic values.

23. Curricular Areas (contd.)
• Education for Peace: (contd.)
• Infused in all subjects and activities
of the school.
• Pieces activities may include peace
clubs, peace educating films, peace
workshop, celebrating cultural
diversity and gender justice etc.

24. School and Classroom Environment
• Physical Environment:
– Space
– Building
– Furniture
– Equipment
– Time
• Psychological Environment
• Participatory Environment
• Inclusive and Barrier free Access
• Discipline and Participatory Management

25. School and Classroom Environment (contd.)
• Space for Parents and Community
• Learning Resources
– Library
– Text Book
– Education Technology
– Tools & Laboratories
– Other space and sites
– Local resources
– Pooling resources
– Teacher’s Autonomy

26. Systemic Reforms
• Paradigm shift
– Teacher centric stable design to learner centric flexible
process.
– Teacher direction and decision to learner autonomy.
– Teacher guidance and monitoring to facilitator and
agent of encouragement to learning.
– Passive reception to active participation in learning.
– Learning in classroom to learning in wider social
context.
– Knowledge given to knowledge constructed and
evolved.
– Disciplinary focus to multidisciplinary focus
– Linear exposure to multiple and divergent exposure
– Exam and appraisal at times to CCE

27. Envisioned Examination Reforms
• No board exam before 10+2.
• AS many exam as student want to appear.
• Replace “Pass”, “Fail” terminology with reappear,
retake re-examination.
• Re-examination at the earliest to save an year.
• Difficult subjects may be examined at standard and
higher level.
• Flexible time limit.
• Guidance counseling/helpline.
• Question banks and Open book exams

28. Examination (contd.)
– Grades and percentile ranks
– Transparency in evaluation
and re-evaluation
• Concern for Quality
• Work Centered Education
• Vocational Educational
Training

29. Innovations in Ideas and Practice
• Plurality of Text books
• Encouraging innovations
• Use of technology
• New Partnerships- Role of
NGOs, Civil Society Groups,
Teacher Organizations

30. Thanks For Attention
Grover Vijay K
D A V College of Education, Abohar (Punjab)
grovervijayk@gmail.com