A word dreaded by each student. It may bring a sense of confidence in few and some may have anxiety attacks but the thought of exams always brings a range of emotions in everyone. Do you know what’s worse than exams?
The infinite loop of wait for exam schedule, time, syllabus. Since the last four months, the students along with their parents have been waiting to know the exact fate of the exams. Some prayed for it to be cancelled, some for its delay but at least everybody prayed for the dilemma to end.
Finally, HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal announced CBSE syllabus reduction by 30% for the academic year 2020-2021 for classes 9-12. The announcement was made on 7th July. The major reason behind the decision was a huge reduction in offline classroom teaching capacity due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
CBSE also notified the same after taking suggestions from NCERT. The major concern of learning outcomes has not been compromised and care has been taken to ensure all core concepts are retained in the syllabus.
CBSE also has instructed students that even though syllabus has been reduced by 30% yet students should understand the topic well to ensure proper learning of related topics. However, the reduced syllabus will not be part of the Internal Assessment and year-end Board Examination.
The reduction in the syllabus has been done by the respective course committee of the CBSE after having received more than 1500 suggestions from educationists.
CBSE had earlier reduced the portion slightly in April but due to lockdown extension, a bigger chunk of reduction in the syllabus was finalized.
Portions Reduced:
Class 12
| Political Science | India’s relations with its neighbours, sections on social movements, regional aspirations, the changing nature of India’s economic development, and the Planning Commission |
| Business Studies | Demonetization, Goods and Services Tax, or the impact of government policy changes on business with special reference to liberalization, privatization, and globalization in India |
| History | Chapters on understanding partition, or peasants, zamindars and the State |
Class 11
| Political Science | Federalism, citizenship, secularism, and nationalism |
| Core English | Exercises to write a letter to the editor, or apply for a job with a resume. |
Class 10
| Social Science | Chapters on forests and wildlife in contemporary India, chapters on democracy and diversity; gender, religion and caste; popular struggles and movements; and, challenges to democracy. |
| Science | The functioning of the human eye, basic concepts of evolution, several practical experiments including tests on acetic acid, mounting a leaf peel, and studying the comparative cleaning capacity of soap in hard and soft water. |
Finally, students may breathe a happy cheer after hearing the news though few still are reluctant and want the exams to be cancelled.
Schools are being planned to re-open after August according to HRD Minister Mr Pokhriyal and until then affected 25crore students have resumed their learning via various e-learning and distance learning methods.
Let’s hope the pandemic ends soon and life returns to a normal.
