Syllabus to be pared for shortened academic year in K’taka

Mangaluru: Although both the state and central governments have relaxed restrictions of the lockdown primarily to steer the economy back on track, the rising number of Covid-19 cases across Karnataka is likely to further delay reopening of schools and colleges for the 2020-21 academic year. Karnataka primary and secondary education minister S Suresh Kumar pointed out that the government had taken note of the circumstances, and hinted at the possibility of truncating the academic year.
Such a proposition, the minister said, would entail paring the syllabus down in proportion to the reduced number of teaching hours. The department of public instruction (DPI) is mulling over reducing the portions for the upcoming academic year.
The minister, participating in a meeting attended by senior DPI officials, directed them to identify lessons and units in textbooks for classes from I to X that can be removed. He said that additional portions from I and II PU too must be removed in order to ensure that students do not have to cram too much in the limited time they are to be left with.
Suresh Kumar asked the officials to prepare a detailed report on the proposal. “The amount of syllabus pared must be proportional to the teaching hours lost owing to the pandemic. The syllabus must include a component on Covid-19 for students of all classes and the changes it has wrought on society,” he said.
However, the minister said that the Covid-19 component must be framed in such a manner that is appropriate to the age of students. He further added that the component must be added in the syllabus at the Teachers’ Training Institute. “Covid-19 will be an integral component in the academic syllabus going forward. The DPI will leverage its Makkalvani YouTube channel as an alternative learning tool and lessons for classes I to X will be developed. Subject wise experts will develop content which will serve as reference for teachers and students in future,” Suresh Kumar said.