An expert panel appointed by the Union government for preparing the new National Curriculum Framework (NCF) is likely to recommend board examinations twice a year and a semester system for Class 12, and the freedom for students to pursue a mix of science and humanities to reduce the rigid boundaries separating arts, commerce and science in classes 11 and 12 across school boards. Once the recommendations, being drafted by a 12-member steering committee under former chairperson of ISRO K Kasturirangan, are adopted, the structure of classes 9 and 10 will also undergo a major change, with students expected to clear eight papers. Currently, students across most boards, including CBSE, have to pass at least five subjects in Class 10. For Class 10 students, the committee is likely to suggest an annual system. Holding board exams twice a year for Class 12 will enable students to appear in courses they have completed and feel ready for. The system will also gradually move towards facilitating “on demand” exams as suggested in the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, according to a person familiar with the ongoing discussions. The draft NCF document, sources said, is almost ready and will be uploaded for public feedback soon. The NCF was last revised in 2005 under the Congress-led UPA government. Based on the new NCF, changes will also be brought about in textbooks, starting with the ones issued by the NCERT and taught in schools affiliated to the CBSE. It will also restructure various other aspects of the classroom, including choice of subjects, pattern of teaching, and assessment based on the NEP 2020 framework. Currently, in Class 12, CBSE students appear for the board exam in at least five subjects and a maximum of six and there is little scope for them to pursue multidisciplinary education. In other words, a student who has picked a combination of Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry cannot simultaneously study History or Political Science. But under the proposed system, that will be possible as the NEP envisages “no hard separation” among arts, humanities, and sciences, said a source. The steering committee of the NCF is likely to propose that students complete 16 “choice-based courses” during Classes 11-12. "So, in theory, the student will have the freedom to pursue Physics, History and Mathematics, if she wants,” said a source, who did not wish to be identified. The Indian Express has learnt that the committee has identified eight curricular areas – Humanities, Science, Social Science, Maths and Computing, Vocational Education, Sports and inter-disciplinary areas – under which a basket of subjects will be on offer in Class 12. For instance, under Humanities, a school can offer Language, Literature and Philosophy as subjects. Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics will be offered under the Science curricular area, and History, Geography, Political Science, Psychology, Economics and Sociology under Humanities. A student will have to study 16 choice-based courses spread across at least three curricular areas (out of eight). So, in practice, a student can opt to complete 16 choice-based courses across Humanities, Maths and Computing, and Science. “What is being suggested is possible in theory, yes. But one will have to see whether this can be implemented given the current realities of how students enter higher education. If universities continue to stick to the science-commerce-arts segregation, then multidisciplinarity in school education will not work. In fact, students will not exercise that choice at all,” said a committee member.
