The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has been advised by the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry to reduce the curriculum for Classes 9 to 12 up to 30 per cent by retaining the core concepts amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Taking to Twitter, Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said, "Looking at the extraordinary situation prevailing in the country and the world, CBSE was advised to revise the curriculum and reduce course load for the students of Class 9th to 12th. Considering the importance of learning achievement, it has been decided to rationalize syllabus up to 30% by retaining the core concepts."
The HRD minister added that the ministry had received over 1,500 suggestions from educationists on the reduction of syllabus.
"To aid the decision, a few weeks back I also invited suggestions from all educationists on the reduction of #SyllabusForStudents2020 and I am glad to share that we received more than 1.5K suggestions. Thank you, everyone, for the overwhelming response," Pokhriyal said in another tweet.
On June 6, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had also raised the concern and pitched for a 30 per cent syllabus reduction.
Educational institutions across the country have been closed since March 16 when the Centre announced a countrywide classroom shutdown to contain the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The Centre announced a nationwide lockdown on March 24 and it came into effect on March 25 to combat the virus. Although several lockdown restrictions have been eased, schools and colleges continue to remain closed amid the pandemic.
