The NCF can open classroom windows

For anyone involved in school education, the NCERT8217;s new draft National Curriculum Framework 2005 NCF, comes as a breath of fresh air. Read in conjunction with the 21 Position Papers which were the first stage in its development, it combines a search for equity, tolerance, secularism and social transformation with a solidly educational base. Never before from a state body, have we had such a pragmatic, child-centred and educationally fleshed-out document. And it8217;s largely though not wholly free of platitudes.

Like the most significant education policy documents of yesteryear8212;the 8217;47 Secondary Education Commission or the 8217;66 Kothari Commission reports, for instance8212;the vision of the NCF is of an egalitarian, democratic society. But perhaps more than any earlier one, it is rooted in practicing education. The NCF suggests that the traditional conflict between equality and quality will be resolved via an educational solution 8212; ie, what you teach and how you teach it. There are sections devoted to a pedagogic solution for those who currently drop out of the system because what they are learning in school is too alien. For instance, it points to the total failure of the existing approach to vocational education. The reality is students today rarely branch out after the Class X exam into vocational colleges, as was originally intended in the 102 system. The NCF proposes a flexible vocational educational certificate and diploma programme with multiple entry and exit points. It will enable a child to accumulate credits by attending Vocational Educational and Training centres, creating linkages with existing programmes. Such a structure enables both rural and urban children of different classes to gain credits in areas of relevance to them. It is likely that, as with UK8217;s National Vocational Qualifications, this structure will encourage many to take a mix of academic and vocational qualifications, thus beginning to bridge a class divide between students studying traditional academic subjects and those who gain vocational credits.

Similarly, we also need to recognise the changing employment market. Today, growth is taking place in services, not in manufacturing as projected in the 8217;60s. This requires different skills. The NCF points to a need to develop skills of flexibility, analytic thinking, and sorting information. Much has been written on the colonial origins of the system, most starkly seen in the Board examinations, which only values regurgitating information. The NCF suggests doing away with Class X Board exams for those continuing into Class XI. It also encourages students to work over a period to achieve a given level by allowing re-takes and exams spread over three years.

While this document does not fully answer questions on what will be learned in each subject, it leaves no doubt about the desirable approach to learning. It is a relief to find that constructivist learning is at last at the heart of the education process. Constructivism enables the learner to move from the known to the unknown, the particular to the general. Instead of restricting learning to the 8216;drawing in the textbook or a list of words8217;, it is possible for children to participate in the generation of knowledge. The NCF suggests activities like observing local phenomena, like the names of local plant species, for instance, or local songs. Effectively mediated by the teacher and the textbook, this approach creates a dynamic, exciting learning atmosphere. Sensibly the NCF balances this with a call for greater critical awareness on the part of curriculum developers/ teachers, to ensure that 8216;local8217; knowledge does not reaffirm existing regressive ideas.

All this demands a wholly different pedagogic approach from teachers. While the NCF spells out the crucial need for in-service teacher training to enable this we also need to emphasise that the Framework8217;s successful implementation is crucially dependent on a vast national teacher development programme.

Finally, the ideals of secularism, tolerance and national identity infuse the entire pedagogic approach. It is a relief to get away from the wholly unreal idea that these values can be taught by lecturing students about them. Every teacher knows that there is nothing more guaranteed to end a student8217;s interest than overt statements about national integration. Students learn these ideals indirectly 8212; from learning about other societies, learning to reflect, to question their own assumptions, to analyse a story/picture with which they are engaged. As our own history has shown, there are no shortcuts in creating intelligent, knowledgeable and enabled young people.

The writer has been a school teacher for 22 years