In news– The Union Education Minister has released the ‘Mandate Document: Guidelines for the Development of the National Curriculum Framework (NCF)’ recently.
About the Mandate document-
- The Mandate document is responsible for the development of the process of the NCF, its structure, objectives and some of the basic principles from the NEP 2020 that will inform the development of the four NCFs.
- The document works as a bridge between the NEP 2020 and the NCF.
- As per the Minister, National Education Policy 2020 is the ‘Philosophy’, National Curriculum Framework is the ‘Pathway’ and the mandate document released is the ‘Constitution’ to champion the changing demands of the 21st century and positively impact the future.
The National Curriculum Framework-
- Central to the implementation of the transformative National Education Policy 2020 is the new NCF which will empower and enable outstanding teaching and learning in the country, by converting the vision of the NEP 2020 into reality in our schools and classrooms.
- The development of the NCF is being guided by the National Steering Committee (NSC), chaired by Dr K Kasturirangan, supported by the Mandate Group, along with the National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT).
- The NCF includes the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE), the National Curriculum Framework for Early Childhood Care & Education (NCFECCE), the National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE), and the National Curriculum Framework for Adult Education (NCFAE).
Some of the essential characteristics of the National Curriculum Framework, as envisioned in the Mandate Document:
- It sets the mechanisms for the development of a coherent and comprehensive NCF, fully leveraging the widespread consultations already underway.
- The process is designed to ensure the seamless integration – vertically (across Stages) and horizontally (across subjects in the same Stage) in the NEP 2020 – to ensure holistic, integrated, and multidisciplinary education.
- It enables the critical linkage between the curriculum of schools with the curriculum of Teacher Education as an integral part of the transformative reforms envisioned by the NEP 2020 in the overall Teacher Education sector.
- It informs the creation of opportunities for life-long learning for all citizens in the country.
- Anchored and informed by sound theory and cutting-edge research, yet using simple language with real-life illustrations from classrooms and schools in a variety of contexts.
- It will also fully account for other initiatives like NIPUN Bharat, the National Mission for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy by the Ministry of Education, which are being implemented with the required urgency even as the NCF is being developed.
Further reading: https://journalsofindia.com/national-education-policynep-2020/
Source: PIB
