Delhi govt’s ‘Deshbhakti’ curriculum for children in final stages

Oct 10, 2020
New Delhi:The Delhi government’s ‘Deshbhakti’ curriculum for children up to the age of 14 is in the final stages of preparation, it said on Saturday.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday reviewed the proposed curriculum while chairing a third joint review meeting to take stock of the work done so far regarding the state examination board and the new curriculum committee.

The work on the new curriculum started last year after the announcement by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The curriculum and board committees were constituted in July this year to recommend the new curriculum for children up to the age of 14 and setting up of the Delhi Examination Board.

Both committees are likely to submit their recommendations by mid-November.

Explaining the key features of the curriculum, Sisodia said: “The assessment will be the basis of Deshbhakti curriculum. Understanding of the teacher on where his/her ward stands today and thereafter on issues like inclusiveness, gender, different forms of discrimination, integrity, care for public property, and natural resources will be the key to enable the child to become true ‘deshbhakt’ or patriot.”

The curriculum panel — mandated to recommend the new curriculum — presented the design for enabling children in the age group of 3-8 gain diverse knowledge, competencies, values and attitudes.

“Along similar lines, the committee will recommend the curriculum for children in the age groups of 8-11 and 11-14 as well,” a Delhi government statement said.

Sisodia appreciated the approach of the curriculum committee that seeks to connect the curriculum with real-life situations, and emphasised that the proposed learning goals should be simple and clear enough for the parents to understand and thus be active participants in their children’s learning.

“During the parent-teacher meetings, I have often seen teachers and parents talking only about the subjects and marks obtained by the students. Through our new curriculum and assessment practice, the conversation between them should shift to the overall growth of the child,” said the the Deputy CM.

Sisodia said that the meeting proposed the structure of the new board along with its functions, and that the “assessment is an integral part of Curriculum. Learning does not happen only inside the schools; a child learns from his or her environment outside school also. A robust assessment system should capture every aspect of a child’s growth”.

He asked the committee members to create tools for parents also, whereby they can see the progress of their children.

Sisodia said that the “era of one-time assessment through one examination is over now. We require a system where we are able to track the entire journey of a child, a 360- degree view, capturing different aspects of learning. It is possible to implement such a system through effective use of technology”.

He appreciated the efforts of the committee members and said that their work is very critical in transforming the education system of Delhi.IANS