New syllabus may mar chances of UP Board students in NEET, JEE
The new syllabus introduced by the UP Board for students of intermediate threatens to mar their chances of qualifying all-India medical and engineering entrance examinations.
The UP Board, one of the world’s largest examination bodies, has done away with important topics in chemistry (class 12) which is vital to clearing the qualifying examination for professional courses like National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).
Finalised as part of the Board’s new curriculum introduced on May 5, the new syllabus for chemistry has done away with topics like biological reactions in human body, DNA, RNA and knowledge of different proteins and vitamins.
Topics on human hormones and their functions have also been omitted in the new curriculum. A change was effected in the curriculum in 2012 when the UP Board embraced the syllabus endorsed by the Council of Board of School Education in India (COBSEI) and introduced many of these topics to ensure its students did not lag behind in national-level competitive examinations.
According to experts in the subject, the syllabus is similar to the one being followed before 2012 and is not suitable for candidates appearing for medical and engineering entrance examinations.
Teachers concede that omission of topics such as structure of glucose, Oligosaccharides (sucrose, lactose, maltose), polysaccharides (starch, cellulose, glycogen) protein-amino acids, peptide bonds and primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure of proteins from the curriculum could prove costly for students.
Most of the students appearing for engineering and medical examinations opt for chemistry as a subject in UP Board. In 2016, 15.80 lakh registered for chemistry as a subject out of whom 15.53 lakh appeared for the examination. A total of 13.97 lakh students cleared the chemistry examination.
TEACHER’S TAKE
The curriculum should be revised once in three years and efforts should be made to include innovative topics. Good knowledge of bio-molecules is vital for interdisciplinary studies and is the need of the hour. I believe the latest changes in UP Board course curriculum need to be re-looked in the interest of the students.”
RD Shukla, lecturer (chemistry), Government Inter College, Allahabad
OFFICIALSPEAK
“The curriculum has been amended on the basis of a report submitted by subject experts. We will take feedback from parents, teachers and students and, if required, make necessary changes.”
Shail Yadav, secretary, UP Board .
TOPICS ON HUMAN HORMONES AND THEIR FUNCTIONS HAVE ALSO BEEN OMITTED IN THE NEW CURRICULUM.