BENGALURU: The examinations for the second PU course will be conducted in May second week and for SSLC in June first week.
Primary and secondary education minister S Suresh Kumar on Wednesday said the department has identified portions for the exams and these will be delivered to all schools. The department will ensure that minimum syllabus will be selected so that students will not be overloaded.
In a U-turn, the government said there won’t be any cut in syllabus for Class 1 to Class 9, but a different method will be adopted to ease the burden on children. An alternative academic schedule has been finalised.
According to sources, in the alternative schedule, the department has identified a main competency from each chapter the child needs to progress to the next class. The teacher will be guided to teach that competency instead of the full chapter. Resource teachers will help teachers identify the competency.
Academic year may start on July 1
Assessment will be carried out at the school level to test the children’s learning ability. Each grade will be given a competence, based on which they will be assessed.
The Karnataka Textbook Society had cut the syllabus by 30% for all classes. However, following a controversy on content about on Tipu Sultan, Christianity and Islam, it was rolled back. Even though KTS had prepared a new syllabus, it was never released. Headmasters will be allowed to decide on the syllabus for Classes 1-9, an official said.
“Most children have not had a minimum learning process this year. What are we supposed to assess? The learning outcome is already bad, it will turn worse if we do not have a definite plan to implement,” said D Sashi Kumar, secretary, Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka.
Sources said the next academic year may start on July 1 instead of the usual June schedule. Meanwhile, experts slammed the government for the last-minute changes.