Thinner books, lighter bags for schoolkids soon

NEWDELHI: We want to promote a problemsolving approach. A workshop also took place recently to chalk out a plan to ensure students are not burdened by heavy textbooks

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is close to finalising changes in school curriculum that will not only take the focus away from rote learning but also make books thinner and bags lighter, senior officials in the apex body that oversees school curricula said on Sunday.

The curriculum committee of the NCERT has decided to reduce the current workload by tweaking it based on fresh learning outcomes. The plan will encourage testing the creative and critical thinking of students, according to a senior NCERT official.

“The idea is to focus on experiential learning. We want to promote H SENAPATY, NCERT director

a problem-solving approach. A workshop also took place recently to chalk out a plan to ensure students are not burdened physically or mentally by heavy textbooks,” NCERT director Hrushikesh Senapaty said.

He added that the body is working on reducing the content based on the recently notified learning outcomes, which are the minimum levels of learning expected of students in each class. These outcomes will help teachers monitor students against expected benchmarks.

The NCERT had recently developed learning outcomes for each class across subjects -Hindi, English, Urdu, Mathematics, Environmental Studies, Science and Social Sciences -- up to the Class 8.

Carrying schoolbags that weigh between 5 and 10 kg is common for eight- to 13-year-old children in India as most institutions insist they bring about a dozen books and notebooks to school every day. With the added load of lunch boxes and water bottles, this can trigger back and