New school syllabus in Andhra, semester system to be introduced from class 1

VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government has introduced several changes in the school education syllabus, which will be implemented from the coming academic year.

“The State Educational Research Institute has conducted a huge exercise to design a new syllabus for each standard. Primary education systems of almost 10 countries, including Australia and the US, and the SCERT syllabi of 15 Indian states were thoroughly examined before designing the syllabi,” School Education Commissioner V Chinna Veerabhadrudu said.

As many as 84 types of textbooks and 63 types of workbooks have been designed for Classes 1 to 6. 

“The textbooks are also printed in Tamil, Odia, Kannada and Urdu for schools in the State where these languages are the medium of education,” he added. 

The syllabi for Telugu, English and Mathematics have been changed for Classes 1 and 2; Telugu, English, Mathematics and Science textbooks have been changed for Classes 3 to 5; and the syllabi for Telugu, English, Mathematics, Science and Social Science have been changed for Class 6.

Officials claimed that for the first time in India, the “semester” system will be introduced from Class 1 in the State from this academic year. The textbooks have sections for three trimesters.

While lessons are printed in Telugu on one page, the same information is printed in English on the adjacent page to facilitate learning. 

Besides this, priority has been given to Telugu culture and traditions, and the writings of 116 Telugu poets are part of the curriculum. 

“Also, for the first time, we have made workbooks available to students. We will also give handbooks to teachers and parents. These workbooks and textbooks are designed with colourful cartoons and characters to attract students,” said Veerabhadrudu.