Due to the Corona situation, the syllabus of primary and secondary level curriculum is being shortened. 30 to 40 percent of the syllabus is being reduced. The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) has made a plan to teach 70 percent of the unfinished syllabus when the educational institution opens in October and 60 percent when it opens in November.
According to the proposal, if it is not possible to open the educational institution in September, it will be planned to start class activities in October or November. According to both plans, the total textbook has been reduced from 25 to a maximum of 40 percent. 30 to 35 percent of the curriculum has been taught before the Corona situation began. Annual examinations will be held at the end of December on the total syllabus.
Meanwhile, due to the Corona situation, the ongoing general holiday in the country’s educational institutions is scheduled to end on August 31. However, in the current situation of virus outbreak, the holiday may be extended in September. Such hints were found during the talks with the policy makers of the two ministries (Ministry of Primary and Mass Education). It is known that the final decision will be taken in a day or two.
In this context, the Minister of State for Primary and Mass Education Zakir Hossain said that the situation in Corona has not returned to normal yet. So the leave of the educational institution may be further extended. He said it would not be possible to open the educational institution even in September. However, the decision will be announced in a day or two after the discussion between the two ministries.
It is learned that a virtual meeting has been called at the ministry on Tuesday to finalize the draft policy and strategy for post-Covid education activities.
According to sources in the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, three plans have been made. One of them was how much of the textbook syllabus would be taught if the school opened in September. Since the institution is not likely to open in September, it is not being discussed today. Plan-2 and Plan-3 prepared for the months of October and November will be presented in today’s meeting.
Meanwhile, the NCTB is working on a strategy for lower secondary education. At present, three separate plans have been prepared for the sixth, seventh and eighth classes in NCTB. No text compression policy will be adopted for ninth grade. Textbooks will be made at this level for two years. What is left to be taught in the ninth grade will be taught in the tenth grade. At this level also, the proposal is being sent to the ministry to take the annual examination by December.
According to NCTB sources, three alternative proposals have been made for post-Corona class activities for lower secondary level students. The proposal has been made for possible working days after the opening of the educational institution. According to him, if it is possible to run the class activities for a minimum of 30 days, how much of the textbook will be taught has been identified. In addition, it has been identified how much can be taught in 50 and 30 working days.
According to the source, it may not be possible to open the educational institution on September 01. So two of the three options are being proposed.
News Room, August 25,2020