With no physical classes, middle school syllabi may be reduced by up to 50%

Kolkata: Schools are planning to provide relief to the students by reducing the load of syllabus between classes VI and VIII, following in the footsteps of the ministry of human resource development.

Several institutes have decided to reduce the curriculum in middle schools from 10% to 50% depending on the reopening dates for in-classroom academic activities.

St James’ School principal TH Ireland said they were likely to reduce the syllabus by up to 50%. “I shall take a call after speaking with the subject coordinators. However, in middle school, we are looking at decreasing the subject load by almost 50%. Online classes are not a replacement for classroom studies. It is also difficult to hold evaluations over the internet,” he said.

He pointed out that topics that do not have relevance in ICSE Class X examinations will be removed from the syllabus. “We shall include matter, which is of significance in the senior classes,” he said.

Another CISCE-affiliated school principal felt he would have to omit only 10% of the syllabus if the classes resume in July. “If we resume classes in August as suggested by HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, we may have to let go of 15% of the curriculum in the middle school,” he said. Even CBSE-affiliated schools have already started to reduce the syllabus. At Birla Bharati School, principal Apala Dutta is considering to remove 30% curriculum at least from the 2020-2021 session. “We have decided to curb the mid-assessment syllabus,” said Datta.

The schools are making omissions based on three aspects. “First, all topics which have relevance in senior classes shall remain in the curriculum. Second, any topic that builds a students’ foundation will remain in the academic year. Third, chapters repeated from earlier classes will be removed,” informed an English academic advisor associated with a CBSE school.

Seema Sapru, principal of The Heritage School, said she would wait for communication and directives from CISCE. “The Council has already suggested a curriculam to the affiliated schools. I shall wait for them to inform us about any reduction in the middle school syllabus,” she said. South Point School has planned for a combination of hybrid and in-classroom studies after academic activities resume. “There will be a reduction in the syllabus for middle school students. We are yet to fix the amount of load to be removed,” said spokesperson Krishna Damani.


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