The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to drop chapters on citizenship, nationalism, secularism, democracy, gender, religion and caste from the syllabus of Classes 9 to 12. The move is aimed at reducing course load on students amid the COVID-19 crisis, Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' announced on July 7.
The chapters which gave Political Science students an introduction to the key socio-political constructs were earlier part of the CBSE syllabus, News18 reported.
For Class 11, chapters on citizenship, nationalism, secularism from 'Political Theory' topic have been completely deleted, while topics federalism, growth of local government in India has been omitted from the 'Indian Constitution at Work' topic.
Class 12 students will not be required to study chapters on demonetisation, planning commission, five-year plans, social movements in India and India’s relations with neighbours Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
Track this blog for LIVE updates on the COVID-19 outbreak
Similarly, for Class 10, complete chapters deleted from political science syllabus include democracy and diversity, gender, religion and caste, popular struggles and challenges to democracy.
"Considering the importance of learning achievement, it has been decided to rationalise syllabus up to 30 percent by retaining the core concepts," Nishank tweeted on Tuesday.
The Union Minister further said the changes made in the syllabi have been finalised by the respective course committees with the approval of the curriculum committee and the Governing Body of the Board.
"The heads of schools and teachers have been advised by the board to ensure that the topics that have been reduced are also explained to the students to the extent required to connect different topics. However, the reduced syllabus will not be part of the topics for internal assessment and year-end board examination," he said.
Universities and schools across the country have been closed since March 16 when the Centre announced a nationwide lockdown as one of the measures to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. While the government has eased several restrictions, schools and colleges continue to remain closed.
Click here for Moneycontrol's full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
