Exams would be based on this portion but those preparing for competitive tests should prepare according to the respective syllabus, officials said.

Schools in the State could not be reopened in June due to the COVID pandemic, which had an effect on normal classroom transaction. Hence, it was not possible to cover all the portions designed for the entire academic year, which prompted this move, sources added.

Thus, after calculating the availability of transactional periods in 2021-22 academic year, 50-54 per cent of the syllabus for Classes 1 to 8 and 60-65 per cent of the syllabus for Classes 9-12 would be given priority.

“The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), which decides school curriculum, has undertaken prioritisation of syllabus without compromising the coverage of all the learning outcomes,” said a senior School Education Department official.

The Chief Educational Officers (CEOs) would communicate the topics of the prioritised syllabus to schools, the official said, adding that schools were also instructed that the examination would be conducted only based on the priority portion.

However, the official added that the students who appear for competitive exams should prepare as per the syllabus for the test concerned.

Noting how students were promoted to the next class without having undergone any school-based assessment or board examinations last year, he said, “ To mitigate learning loss, the SCERT has developed refresher course module that covers the basic and important concepts based on critical learning outcomes of the previous classes.”

Citing an example, the official said the refresher course module of Class 9 contains the basic concepts up to Class 7 and all the important concepts from Class 8.

“It can be covered in 45-50 days, and then an assessment based on the concepts of the refresher course could be conducted. Based on the assessment, reinforcement can be given wherever it requires. Then the concepts from the current class could be taught. This will enable students to attain the required learning outcomes and facilitate the smooth transition from the previous class to the current one,” he said.

The official added that CEOs would send the soft copy of the refresher course module to all schools and would also monitor the learning process.