Teachers, parents welcome NCF for kids, split over learning in mother-tongue | Education News,The Indian Express
From welcoming ideas like limited use of textbooks and assessment through observation and analysing creativity to ‘questionable suggestions’ like the use of mother-tongue in classrooms, which experts feel can get problematic in a multi-cultural environment, there is much to talk about NCF
From welcoming ideas like the emphasis on creative ways of teaching, limited use of textbooks and assessment through observation and analysing creativity to ‘questionable suggestions’ like the use of mother-tongue in classrooms, which experts feel can get problematic in a multi-cultural environment, there is much to talk about.
The “National Curriculum Framework (NCF) for the foundation stage” is expected to be the basis for all pedagogy adopted by schools, pre-schools, and anganwadis for children studying between nursery and Class 2 in institutional setups.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan who launched the NCF for the foundation level termed it the “most challenging” and “most responsible” task.
“Research has shown that over 85 per cent of an individual’s brain development occurs by the age of 6-8 years. Therefore, it is very important what children at this young age be taught and how they are being taught,” he said.
Maithili Tambe, CEO, The Academy School (TAS) which became one of the city’s first schools to set up experiential NEP stations for students for hands-on learning, welcomed the NCF. “Firstly, we needed some kind of a regulatory body talking about curriculum and pedagogy in the foundational years, which was missing so far, so in that sense, it is welcome. It acknowledges the importance of learning in the preschool age but at the same time, does not take a myopic view of learning as a pen-paper method. There are several welcome things like creative ways of teaching-learning, emphasis on life and social skills, and focus on brain development and motor skills in children. Even take the assessment, for example, it asks teachers to observe children in their natural setup rather than tests and examinations which means assessment as per what students are doing rather than what we want them to do. Even asking schools not to follow textbooks in early years is good because many schools put a lot of pressure on finishing academics as per a set syllabus on students,” she said.
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