 THE NEW PATTERN AT A GLANCE

Appendix A

In order to link education with productivity which is the need of today and to improve the quality of education, the Indian Education Commission (1964-66) recommended educational reconstruction by introducing a broadly uniform pattern of 10 + 2 + 3 throughout the country and reorganising curricula at all stages of education. The recommendation was accepted by Government of India vide its National Policy on Education (1968). It received further mandate from All India forums such as the Conference of Education Secretaries and Directors of Education, Conference of the Chief Ministers and Education Ministers of the States, the Inter University Board and the Conference of the Boards of Secondary Education in India. The Central Advisory Board of Education too endorsed the recommendation in September 1972 and reiterated it in its meeting held in Delhi.

2. Accordingly, the Central Board decided to introduce the new pattern of Education in class IX from the academic session beginning 1st May, 1975. Under the new scheme two distinct stages have been visualised, one upto class X and the other upto class XII, both forming part of the school education.

3. For the first stage i.e. upto class X, the Education Commission strongly recommended "an undifferentiated course of General Education for all, without any diversification of studies" to promote harmonious development of the students. The Commission was of the view that by the end of first 10 years of schooling the special interests and abilities of the student would have been generally discovered. It, therefore, recommended a diversified education coupled with vocational education for the subsequent classes i.e. XI and XII.

Important Features

4. The new curriculum for classes IX and X, thus envisages a comprehensive course of General Education with provision for work experience. While providing this course two important factors have been prominent:

(i) On completion of the secondary stage some students might leave the school and enter into the world of work;

(ii) while some others will either join Polytechnics or institutions of similar nature or pursue the Higher Secondary course of the Board where they could opt for academic/vocational courses.

The secondary stage thus will be terminal for some and preparatory for higher studies for others. The new courses have been designed to meet these two requirements. The courses are comprehensive in coverage and acquaint the students with the essential details of the fundamentals to build a suitable base for the future course of action.

Harmonious Development

5. As recommended by the Education Commission a minimum essential core of knowledge, for promotion of intellectual capacities. has been provided by way of reaching subjects like languages, Mathematics. Sciences and Social Sciences. For fuller development of the physical, emotional and other aspects of the pupil's personality, provision has been made for work experience/ community service, health and physical education and other activites.

6. In their comprehensiveness the syllabuses provide a wide range of information to develop students into well in formed citizens. Emphasis has been laid on making the knowledge as relevant to life as possible by weaving the content around day-to-day-experiences. Wherever possible, application of knowledge has also been emphasized to help the students solve their simple day-to-day problems. In social sciences, simple Project Work has been introduced to make the knowledge functional and more relevant to the surroundings the students live in.

Education for Democratic Living

7. The goals of national integration, training for democratic living, cooperativeness, cultural and religious

tolerance have been duly emphasised in the courses of languages and social sciences and find ample scope in Community Service.

Education for Modernisation

8. The contents which have gone into the syllabuses of these subjects are forward looking. Important developments in the respective areas have been incorporated and the dead wood has been eliminated for modernisation. Stress has been laid on recent scientific, technological, social and economic developments in sciences and social sciences. To broaden the outlook, developments in other parts of the world too have been put in proper lime-light while changes on the national scene receive greater importance.

Work Experience

9. A significant feature of the new course is to provide opportunities to students to be productive and selfreliant. With the introduction of work experience a step in the direction of inculcating right attitudes towards work has been taken. A large number of work experiences have been included in the curriculum to suit the tastes of the students and resources of the schools. The important areas to which work experiences relate are Engineering, Agriculture, Domestic Science, Commerce. Fine Arts and other trades which have great utility in domestic and other areas of work.

Community Service

10. The schools may undertake suitable activities of Community Service in lieu of or in addition to work experience. Such activities may include projects of village uplift, slum clearance, adoption of a mohalla or a locality for its improvement, work in hospitals to help and nurse the sick and poor, attending to the families of a group of workers of a factory, removal of illiteracy, etc. Schemes on this behalf may be submitted to the Board by the schools for consideration.

Synthesis Of Old and New

11. The entire restructuring is only a first step towards making education a process for fuller development (selfrealisation). Though forward looking in nature the scheme is not a radical departure from the old one as the new syllabi and courses base their foundations on the old concepts and knowledge which are familiar to the teachers and the taught. It can be characterised as a synthesis of what was good in the old scheme with the demands of the changing world. In the traditional areas it emphasises functional knowledge; on the other hand, in non-traditional areas it stresses work-oriented education so as to make the experience of the students more meaningful and relevant to life.

Specific Objectives

12. The education in classes IX and X is aimed at the following specific outcomes:

(i) To provide a core of knowledge so as to create a general base which Would enable pupils to undertake work or pursue further studies-academic or vocational, both formal and non-formal.

(ii) To promote understanding of facts and appreciation of fundamental concepts of basic laws of Nature and their operations and also to introduce the students to the methodology of applying such knowledge to the solving of everyday problems in a scientific manner.

(iii) To promote understanding of man and his environment; physical, historical, social, political and economic, with special reference to India and its institutions.

(iv) To imbibe in the students habit to work and develop a sense of dignity of labour.

(v) To enable students to discover their interests and aptitudes.

(vi) To promote knowledge of healthy living and physical well being.

Scientific Pattern of Examination

13. In accordance with the spirit of the curriculum the scheme of evaluation and assessment has been modernized and simplified with the dual purpose in mind i.e. to improve both the quality of testing and the standards of teaching. The pattern of examination envisages the following improvements:

(i) Continuous evaluation of the student's growth by the teachers themselves has been provided in certain areas. Besides being continuous the assessment will be internal in respect of the third language, work experience, community service, health and physical education. In these areas the stress will be on promoting interests and growth of the students rather than certifying their achievement at this stage.

(ii) The results will be declared in terms of grades on a five-point scale instead of marks and divisions as in the past. At the end of Secondary School Examination, subjectwise grades will be awarded. Hence the practice of adding up marks of different subjects and giving a single cumulative division has been done away with. Under this scheme no candidate will be declared pass or fail. It is hoped that this significant change in the system of examination will help the students and teachers to identify interests and opportunities and help the students in choosing their careers without being affected by the achievements in other subject areas. This would also create a sense of optimism among the students and encourage them to find their own place in the society in accordance with their suitability rather than being stigmatized as fail.

I. SCHEME OF STUDIES

The following are the subjects of study for classes IX & X under the new 10 years pattern of school education:-

(1) & (2) Two Languages:

Hindi, English, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Manipuri, Oriya, Punjabi, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Sanskrit, French, German, Russian, Arabic, Persian, Nepali, Portuguese and Tibetan.

(3) Mathematics

(4) (a) Physics

(b) Chemistry

(5) (a) History & Civics

(b) Geography, Economics & Commerce

(6) Work Experience (any one from the list given below) or in lieu thereof Community Service including participation in meaningful and challenging programmes of Community Service and national reconstruction-emphasis to be on self- help, character formation and on developing sense of social commitment and dignity of labour.

List of Work Experiences

1. Electric Gadgets, their servicing and maintenance

2. Electronics: Radio Mechanism

3. Basic Engineering: Craft Studies (Mechanical)

4. Basic Engineering: Craft Studies (Wood Work)

5. Agriculture (Crop Production)

6. Gardening

7. Horticulture

8. Seed Production

9. Dairy Farming

10. Poultry

11. Bee-keeping

12. Sericulture

13. Lac Culture

14. Fishery

15. Bakery and Confectionery

16. Book Craft

17. Leather Work

18. Paper Craft and Papier Mache

19. Clay Modelling and Papier Mache

20. Pottery

21. Commercial Art

22. Designing-Dyeing & Printing

23. Sculpture

24. Music (Vocal)

25. Music (Melodic Instruments)

26. Music (Percussion Instruments)

27. Maintenance & Repair of Musical Instruments

28. Creative Dance

29. Theatre Craft

30. Puppetry

31. Tailoring and Embroidery

32. Meal Planning, Preparation and Preservation

33. Block Printing, Tie and Dye

34. Maintenance and Repair of Household Gadgets

35. Domestic Science

36. Toy-making

37. Typewriting--- English

38. Typewriting-- Hindi

39. Photography

40. Printing

41. Plastics

42. Masonry Work

43. Manufacture of Sports Goods

44. Spinning & Weaving

45. Batik Work

46. Nursing

47. Child Care

48. First Aid

49. Library Science

N.B. --This is only an illustrative list. Schools may submit to the Board for consideration draft syllabus for any other work experience, if they think it worth introducing, keeping in view the facilities available in the neighbourhood.

(7) Health and Physical Education

(8) Additional language (optional) (Please see footnote (iii) below)

Notes

(i) It is expected that all the students would have studied three languages up to class VIII. Those students who could not clear the third language in class VIII, and have been promoted to class IX shall be examined by the schools concerned at the end of class IX in the same syllabus and textbooks as are prescribed for class VIII. Those who are still unable to clear the third language at the end of class IX may be given another opportunity in class X. No student shall be eligible to appear at the Secondary School Examination of the Board at the end of class X unless he has cleared the third language.

(ii) Of the three languages to be offered, as stated above, Hindi and English should have been studied at least upto class VIII.

(iii) A candidate is also permitted, if lie wishes, to offer an additional language from the following provided it is different from those offered under the compulsory group: