From 10+2 to Now 5+3+3+4 School Curriculum Structure in India

29th July 2020 is going to be a golden date in the history of the Indian education system. After 34 years, the education system of our nation has revolutionized. The NEP was drafted in 2019 and approved in 2019.  The Human Resource Development Ministry will now be known as the ‘Education Ministry’. The Indian government has finally proven that children are tomorrow's future and thus their development in every sphere has to be worked on. This thorough change meets the development and interest of children. The new education policy of 2020 covers the holistic development of children which was indeed required for a long time. The New education policy aims to make India a ‘Global Knowledge Superpower’. The Right To Education, which is a right for children of 4-16 yrs of age provided education to all the children across the nation. The policy covers education for each and every child belonging to the age group of 3-18yrs. One of the major highlights of the policy was the change of format from 10+2 to 5+3+3+4. The new format comprises 15yrs of education. 3 years of preschool or Anganwadi and 12 years of school. 

• Children of age group 3-8 will be in the foundation stage. Pre-primary/ Anganwadi and class 1, 2 will be included in this stage.

• Children of age group 8-11 will be in the preparatory stage. Classes 3-5. The main focus will be on language and numeracy skills. 

• Classes 6-8 will be under the middle stage. The spotlight would be on critical learning objectives and not on rote learning.

• The secondary stage will include classes 9-12. 

In order to keep a track of the development, key stage assessment at classes 3,5,8 will be there. Assessment in other years will shift to a "regular and formative" style that is more "competency-based”. These strategies provide flexibility in the way that credit can be rewarded. 

Board exams will still be held for classes 10 and 12, but the pressure and importance will be quite less. The paper this time will be designed in a different manner to aid the students. Standards for this will be established by a new national assessment center - PARAKH which stands for Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development. Language has been a major focus. Teaching in local language for classes till 5 and most probably till 8, is another great step by the NEP to keep us connected to the roots. Students from class 8-11 will be able to choose subjects. There will be no longer rigid separation in the arts and science stream. The influence of technology in education will be key for future education. A basic program for parents of children below 3yrs will be given. An academic credit system will be introduced. It will be like a bank account for students. Practical knowledge of the students will be tested. Application-based questions will be included in the new design of papers.

Now can we hope our education system will be on par with modern countries!

By: Anvi Tyagi

Class 9

DWPS, Noida Ex.