Odisha Government to reduce School Syllabus for 2020-21 Academic year

Following the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown issue, the Odisha government has decided to reduce the school syllabus for the current academic year. An Expert Committee has been appointed by the state government to take decisions on the reduction of curriculum.

Meanwhile, National Boards like the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Indian Board of Secondary Education (ICSE) along with some other state boards, have already reduced their curriculum by 25 to 30% for the current academic year.

Syllabus reduction will depend on Reopening of Schools

“We were waiting for the Chief Minister’s approval on reducing the school curriculum. The expert Committees formed will work on curtianling the syllabus and the chapters to be scrapped,” said School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Das while speaking to the media.

He also said, “the percentage of syllabus to be scrapped will depend on the reopening of schools in the state. Since the schools will remain closed untill August 31, 2020 and the future situation is unpredictable. The amount of curriculum to be scrapped will depend on the number of days of academic session that will be left for continuation of classroom teaching.

The Minister further added that the State Council of Education Researc and Training (SCERT) will decide on the rationalisation of curriculum for Class I to VIII and the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) will take the decision on the course of Class XI and XII in the state.

Addressing the media, Basudev Bhatt, the chairman of Odisha Abhibhabak Mahasang said, the decision taken by the state government to reduce the syllabus is welcome and if things don’t get normal in the next couple of months then suggestions will be made to reschedule the current academic session and restart a fresh from December so that students do not miss anything from the curriculum.

However, students feel it would be better if they are made known in advance which chapters to be omitted and to be studied. If students are intimidated by the chapters to be omitted in advance, it will be easier for them to continue their studies at home.

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