Academic authority nod must for school syllabus, says Odisha government

BHUBANESWAR:  The State government on Thursday reiterated that the syllabus being taught at the elementary level in public schools will have to be approved by the Directorate of Teacher Education and State Council Of Educational Research & Training (SCERT) under the School and Mass Education department which has been notified as the State Academic Authority.

Set up along the lines of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), the directorate will lay down the curriculum and evaluation procedure for elementary education as per Section 29 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 and Rule 21 of Orissa RCFCE Rule, 2010.

Director of TE and SCERT Roopa Roshan Sahoo said the curriculum, syllabus, textbooks and supplementary materials to be used in Classes I to VIII developed by different departments, directorates or agencies will have to be approved by the State Academic Authority for implementation.
Though the Directorate of TE and SCERT was declared as the academic authority back in 2010, it was not being effectively implemented as far as syllabus and course curriculum is concerned.