Takes learning to TV and YouTube channels
Mumbai: The Maharashtra education department announced a 25% slash in syllabus for students from Classes I- XII. State education minister Varsha Gaikwad announced that the reduction has been brought about due to loss of physical classroom teaching hours owing to Covid-19 pandemic. Classes have already started online from June 15 for the state board students.
In a brief video released, Gaikwad explained that though the classes could not be started, the learning must continue in different ways. A detailed note on the exact chapters deleted from 110 subjects as varied as Agricultural Science to Home Science, Arts etc has been uploaded on the website maa.ac.in. Looking at the uproar created by the deletion of the certain chapters when the CBSE had slashed its syllabus by 30% recently, the state board took utmost care to not just list out the chapters deleted but also provided explanations on why they were omitted.
While many parts of the syllabus were omitted citing that students could self-study those chapters, others were deleted citing as too difficult to be taught to students (online).
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While the teaching may have moved online, the state is clear that it won’t be able to cover the entire gamut of teaching syllabus online. Teachers of Classes XI and XII have been asked to conduct only 60% of the practicals by ensuring safe distancing. Junior colleges have also been asked to avoid dissections and experiments involving microscope’s since they are shared by many students.
Also, while conducting biochemical experiments, teachers have been advised to strictly avoid pipetting by mouth. Seema Shaikh, principal of Pradnya Bodhini High School stated: “We have already covered a few parts of the syllabus since we started our classes on June 15 onwards. Online teaching demands a lot of effort for preparation for teachers and hence slashing of syllabus was needed. We have already started online assessments on Google to determine learning outcomes of students.”
The syllabus cut has been handled by the State Maharashtra State Council for Education Research and Training (MSCERT). The MSCERT has already started four YouTube channels for Classes I – X of Marathi and Urdu mediums and is expected to upload more content soon for Hindi and English medium students too. With state surveys conducted by MSCERT revealing a wide digital gap, the state is working to reach out to students through other modes of communication like television. Daily educational capsules for Classes I- VIII will be telecast on DD Sahyadri from July 20.
