The department of psychology and foundation of education of NCERT is presently finalizing the guidelines for the test, which will be taken in Class 9, by implementing it at regional institutes, including Kendriya Vidyalayas, on trial basis. The test will be implemented soon, said sources.
This is not going to be a test only rather it’s more about judging students’ aptitude. Students have their own strength and weakness as per subjects. And this test will help them discover the techniques they already posses. This is not a textbook-based test. It will check the students’ perceptive ability and mechanical reasoning, among other factors, reported Hindustan Times quoting an NCERT official.
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Students will take the test, comprising verbal and non-verbal sections and seven sub-tests, at individual-level. Besides, diagrams and figures will be used to test the verbal, mechanical, abstract, spatial and perceptive rationale of the students, the official added.
NCERT is also in discussions with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to implement it in all the affiliated schools of the board. Meanwhile, the council has already made it clear that it will provide all the required tools and materials to CBSE for the test, sources said.
The consultation in collaboration with the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) will be held on August 24, an official said.
The Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) had earlier directed its schools to exempt students up to Class 2 from bringing school bags and restricted the number of books carried till class 8.
The HRD ministry has also been planning to introduce comprehensive norms on the issue.
A pilot project has also been initiated across 25 Kendriya Vidyalayas to provide digital learning to students through tablets.
"We will be reviewing steps taken by states following the CBSE advisory and examine the best practices to formulate a standard operating procedure," Priyank Kanoongo, Member - RTE and Education, NCPCR said.
An official of the Ministry of Women and Child Development said the step was being taken to provide relief to school students who often suffer from physical ailments due to carrying heavy school bags.
Shagun is an over-arching initiative to improve school education system by creating a junction for all online portals and websites relating to various activities of the Department of School Education and Literacy in the Government of India and all States and Union Territories.
Coined from two different words- ‘Shala’ meaning Schools and ‘Gunvatta’ meaning Quality, Shagun will act as the online junction of different websites and portals into a single platform will enhance the accessibility of information relating to schools and will ensure a holistic approach to transform education sector.
The Minister informed that websites of 1200 Kendriya Vidyalayas, 600 Navodaya Vidyalayas, 18000 other CBSE affiliated schools, 30 SCERTs, 19000 organisations affiliated with NTCE among others are integrated with Shagun.
Report cards of 15 lakh schools all over the country will be available on the newly created junction.
The portal seeks to connect approximately 92 lakh teachers and 26 crore students. The Minister added that the website provides a very robust feedback mechanism. People can directly give their feedback about schools which will further increase the public participation and will ensure accountability and transparency.
The nine central schools where the smart classrooms wee inaugurated include six in Bhubaneswar, two in Khurda Road and one in Cuttack.
The 184 classrooms were converted to smart classrooms at a cost of Rs four crore, as part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), officials said.
Some 12,300 students are likely to benefit from the initiative, they said.
The smart classrooms will be equipped with computers, specialised software for learning, audience response technology, assistive listening devices, networking and audio-visual capabilities, the officials said.
Speaking on the occasion, Pradhan said he was inspired to start smart classrooms in India after his 2005 tour of the United States.
"With the inauguration of the 184 smart classrooms in Odisha, digitised at a cost of Rs four crore, we have 400 smart classrooms across the country developed by ONGC at a total cost of Rs eight crore," he said.
Pradhan said the smart classrooms will enlarge the horizon of knowledge.
184 Smart classrooms benefiting over 12,000 students in 9 Kendriya Vidyalayas at Cuttack, Khurda & Bhubaneswar sponsored by ONGC inaugurated; Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan says, “Smart classrooms will strengthen the education system.” pic.twitter.com/pjbhUh6uV7
— OTV (@otvnews) September 14, 2019
Citing examples of former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and eminent space scientist Kailasavadivoo Sivan, Pradhan urged the students of the Kendriya Vidyalayas to strive for achieving their goals.
With agency inputs
He informed that the 'Adarsh Vidyalayas' will be set up across the country. The objective of the 'Adarsh Vidyalaya Scheme' would be to create one primary and one elementary school in each block and one secondary and one senior secondary school in each district. It would have a safe learning environment where a wide range of learning experiences will be offered.
The Minister said a total of 15,552 schools would be developed as 'Adarsh Vidyalayas'. These additional funds amounting to Rs 4,684 crore (comprising the state's share) would be given as a component of the "Samagra Shiksha Yojana".
There is also talk of making elaborate arrangements for education in tribal areas as well.
Nishank said, "The establishment of 750 Eklavya schools in tribal-dominated areas and setting up of a Central university in Leh would strengthen the country's educational system. It has also been proposed to open 100 new army schools in association with NGOs and private schools."
The Minister told IANS that one primary and one elementary school per block that is, 7,047 primary and 7,047 elementary schools are proposed in this budget.
They would be given funding for adequate infrastructure and pre-primary level kindergarten including quality interventions, capacity building of teachers, teaching material, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and smart classroom facilities.
While talking about the proposed allocation of Rs 50,000 crore for the NRF, the Union Minister said, "Knowledge creation and research have an important role in developing and maintaining a large and vibrant economy. This not only uplifts the society, but also provides inspiration in continuously taking the nation to even greater heights."
He said that the budget of 'Aatmanirbhar' (self-reliant) India has given importance to the NRF which would ensure strengthening of the overall research ecosystem in the country along with focusing on identified national priority areas.
Nishank said, "With the vision of National Education Policy 2020 to provide good quality education and to make it accessible and affordable for all, the 'Adarsh Vidyalaya Yojana' under the "Samagra Shiksha Yojana" and proposal to start world-class schools in Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas," has been made.
He praised the budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, saying, "This budget has been prepared keeping in mind the development of the entire country. Its provisions will strengthen the entire education system of the country."
A total of 100 new Sainik Schools will also be set up in partnership with NGOs, private schools and states.
"More than 15,000 schools will be qualitatively strengthened to include all components of the National Education Policy. They shall emerge as exemplar schools in their regions, handholding and mentoring other schools to achieve the ideals of the policy," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her budget speech.
Making board exams easy, reduction of curriculum to core concepts, replacement of 10+2 structure of school curricula with a 5+3+3+4 structure and teaching up to at least class 5 in the mother tongue or a regional language, are among the many school education reforms outlined in the new National Education Policy, which was announced last year. This is the first budget after the notification of the new NEP.
"A total of 100 new Sainik Schools will be set up in partnership with NGOs, private schools and states," Sitharaman said.
The Sainik Schools are a system of schools in India established and managed by the Sainik Schools Society under the Ministry of Defence. There are over 30 Sainik Schools in the country at present.
The Ministry of Education's Department of School Education and Literacy will receive Rs 54,873.66 crore for the upcoming financial year as against Rs 59,845 crore last year.
The funds for the Kendriya Vidyalayas saw an increase as the KVs have been issued Rs 6,800 crore for the upcoming financial year as compared to Rs 5,516 crore last year.
The budget allocation to Navodaya Vidyalayas has been increased by Rs 500 crore. Last year, Rs 3,300 crore were allocated to Navodaya Vidyalayas while for this year, the funds have been raised to Rs 3,800 crore.
The mid-day meal scheme saw an increase of Rs 500 crore as the total allocation has been raised to Rs 11,500 crore from Rs 11,000 last year.
(With Inputs From PTI)
According to the data compiled on February 11, 2021 from all the KVs, an average of 42% students of Class 9, 65% students of Class 10, 48% students of Class 11 and 67% students of Class 12 are physically attending classes all over the country.
“These figures are dynamic and trends indicate consistent increase every day. Face-to-face classes for class 1 to 8 have also been started in some KVs where State Governments have permitted to open Schools for junior grades,” said an official statement
Regular contact with the parents and guardians is being established by the schools in case of any apprehension from students/parents. Students are being permitted with the prior consent of their guardians.
The SOPs issued by the State and Central Governments are being followed completely in view of the Corona Pandemic. All KVs are clearly advised to follow staggered timings for the students of various classes and ensure adequate safety measures including maintenance of proper physical distance in the classrooms.
However, for students who are not attending the School, the provision of online classes is also running. Students are also in touch with their teachers through various digital platforms, the statement added.
(With PIB Inputs)
The framework is aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) vision of achieving global standard in assessments. The new framework, which is a result of extensive collaboration and consultation between UK experts and Indian school system stakeholders, was launched on Wednesday.
Launching the '#CBSE Assessment Framework for Science, Maths and English classes' as part of @cbseindia29 competency based #education Project by #CBSE and @BritishCouncil. @EduMinOfIndia @PIB_India @MIB_India @DDNewslive https://t.co/aMupZwSXGS
— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) March 24, 2021
As per a PIB release, the competency-based assessment framework is to strengthen India’s existing school education system for secondary level (classes 6-10) and improve the overall learning outcomes of students across India, mainly covering three subjects- English (reading), Science, and Maths.
“The framework is a part of the CBSE Competency Based Education Project that aims to replace the existing rote learning model with a competency-based framework as directed in the NEP 2020 over the next 2-3 years,” said Pokhriyal.
The framework is the basis for a larger project exercise currently underway where 40 assessment designers, 180 test item writers and 360 master trainer mentors are being trained in using this framework to create Model Question bank and collection of Ideal Lesson Plans.
In the first phase selected Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, UT Chandigarh and private schools across the country will participate in the programme which will be rolled out to all 25,000 CBSE schools in India by 2024.
This project will directly support 15 education leaders, 2,000 school principals, 15 senior govt leaders, 180 test item writers, 360 master trainers which will further impact 25,000 CBSE schools that include 2,000 JNV’s and KV’s, 132,000 teachers and 20 million learners by 2024, the official release read.