Centre to nudge states to adopt play-based teaching at pre-school, primary level

The module comes in the form of a container filled with toys, games, puzzles, puppets, posters, flash cards, and story cards, among others.

“If a variety of materials is kept in a container and we ask children to take it out one by one and play and learn from them, this will mesmerize them, and they will take it as if some magic is happening,” according to a concept note developed by the Ministry of Education.

According to a National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) official, Pradhan has directed the council to coordinate with the Kasturirangan committee and hold orientation sessions with the states to popularise the module.

The module seeks to bring to practice the key recommendation of the National Curriculum Framework – Foundational Stage (NCF-FS) that teaching at this stage should be play-based instead of forcing students to take up textbooks.

A concept note on the NCF-FS points out that apart from the module developed by the committee, other contents can be imagined to achieve the same goals.

“State education departments are encouraged to develop similar materials for the foundational stage. As in this case, any such material should be consistent with the state’s curriculum framework and syllabus for the foundational stage, which in turn is expected to draw from the guiding principles of the NCF-FS,” it states.

According to the NCF-FS, launched in October last year, research demonstrates that children under the age of 8 tend to avoid following linear, age-based educational trajectories. “It is only at about the age of 8 that children begin to converge in their learning trajectories…In particular, it is only at about the age of 8 that children begin to adapt to more structured learning,” it notes.

The NCF will set the stage for changes in the school syllabus. The NCF for the foundational stage will be followed by its editions for higher classes, as well as teacher and adult education, over the next few months.