Maharashtra SCERT to design curriculum for Aanganwadis in line with NEP

Maharashtra has rolled out its implementation plan for National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 which recommends restructuring of the school education from existing pattern of 10 + 2 years to 5 + 3 + 3 + 4 years wherein first five years will be known as foundational learning stage.

Phase one is starting with curriculum development for the first five years of foundational learning (three years of pre-school and classes I and II). A 13-member expert committee has been formed which is tasked to submit a recommendation report by October end.

Earlier this week, a meeting was held between the SCERT and the state’s school education minister Deepak Kesarkar along with other officers from the school education department wherein this decision was taken.

“Now there will be few workshops and strategy meetings of the committee which will begin the first phase of creating SCF in line with the NCF 2023. Plan is to roll out the new curriculum for the foundational stage from the upcoming academic year of 2024-25 and then begin brainstorming on the second phase which will include preparatory stage covering children between ages – 8 to 11 years,” said an official from the SCERT.

Nationally, it is for the first time that the pre-primary section is brought under the school education spectrum. But in Maharashtra, a broad framework was designed for Aanganwadi by SCERT in the year 2017. “It was titled Aakar. The idea was to bring academic learning outcomes in functioning of Aanganwadis which until then only focused on nutrition.

However, they ran under the ministry of women and child development (WCD). But now in line with NEP 2020, it will be the first time that a structural curriculum for academic and other development will be designed for Aanganwadis,” said an official from the school education department.

According to the NCF, this curriculum will put emphasis on physical, socio-emotional, ethical, cognitive, aesthetic and cultural development along with language and numeric literacy of children.

“The SCF will follow the NCF guidelines, except adding or adaptation of few local particulars of cultural and social understandings. Important learning outcomes and developmental milestones will be defined for each stage. But there will be no exam-based evaluation. Assessment for the first three years will largely be based on teachers, observation alone. Toys, games, playbooks, picture-books will be designed for children for effective learning,” said an SCERT official.