23 hours Ago
Gurugram: With the new academic session underway, the Gurugram Teachers’ Association has raised concerns over non-supply of textbooks for Class 1 to 8 students at government schools. The association on Saturday complained to the state education department, informing that the books that were anticipated to arrive by March second week, are now being assured of only after April 15. According to the association, the delay has been caused due to syllabus revisions following the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
As a result, learning has been disrupted across 367 primary schools catering to nearly 50,000 students in Class 1 to 5 (primary), and 25,000 students (approx.) in 98 middle schools, where students in Class 6 to 8 study subjects including Hindi, English, mathematics, science, social science, and optional subjects. “The students are forced to study from obsolete curriculum while waiting for new textbooks.
The education department has asked schools to collect old books from students of last year’s batch. But it’s not possible to meet every student’s requirement this way,” said an association member. In total, around 75,000 sets of books are yet to reach the schools.
As a temporary arrangement, schools are using leftover books from book banks, and those donated by previous batches. “Last year, the books arrived on time and were available at the start of academic session. This year, they are yet to be received.
To prevent students’ study from getting affected, books from the students who have moved to the next classes have been procured...
After getting new books, the old ones will be replaced,” said Dushyant Thakran, principal, Government Primary School, Sushant Lok. Explaining the delay, Manoj Lakra, district education coordinator, said, “The earlier curriculum followed a constructivist approach (learning theory that emphasises active learning and the construction of knowledge through experience and interaction). With the NEP 2020, the focus has shifted to competency-based education.
Textbooks and teaching materials are now being redesigned accordingly. Students in Class 5 and 8, in particular, may require more time to grasp this new approach, which involves competency-based content and exercises.”.
