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NEW SCHOOL CURRICULUM

A step forward yet concerns remain
AZMIN AZRAN
A year on, the newly introduced competency-based curriculum for primary and secondary schools faces more challenges than addressed.
While the inadequately-trained teachers are struggling to cope with the complex new curriculum, parents are divided over the development of necessary basics for their children due to a shift from the age-old terminal examination-based education system.
Educationists say the skill-focused curriculum is a positive step forward but the lack of enough training for teachers and logistical support for educational institutions for its successful implementation remain as concerns.
The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) introduced a competency-based curriculum for classes one, six and seven in 2023 with a plan to incorporate all the classes up to 10 by 2025.
The competency-based education is a shift from the traditional rote memorisation to an outcome‐based approach to ensure proficiency in learning by students through demonstration of the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes required for dealing with real-life situations at the age and grade-appropriate level.
According to the National Curriculum Framework 2021, students will be evaluated using a combination of the continuous assessments made by teachers during school weeks, and summative assessments that will take place twice a year.
Instead of grades, teachers will use three shapes -- triangles, circles, and squares -- to track a student’s expertise in competence. Using this, a range of qualitative evaluations will be formulated for each subject, helping students understand their strengths and weaknesses.
However, the pertinent question is if the parents and teachers understand these changes, and what concerns they have about it.
Sumaiya Shaid, parent of a class-6 student at Dhaka’s Holy Cross Girls High School, said her biggest concern was that her daughter was not studying very hard in the absence of regular exams.
“When they announced it first, they explained to us that it would be good for the kids. There would be less competition, they would learn more and they would be able to learn by themselves. As there are no regular exams like before, I don’t see her studying too hard.”
Sumaiya, however, was impressed with an assignment of her daughter.
“As part of an assignment, my daughter had to make a budget for personal expenses. I would have struggled to do this even as an adult, but my daughter did it by herself,” she added.
The other parents did not have similar optimism.
“I’m worried if my child will develop the necessary basics,” said a parent, wishing to remain unnamed, of a class-6 student at Dhaka’s St Joseph Higher Secondary School.
This parent, however, said that her child was enjoying the new curriculum, specifically the mathematics and science textbooks.
“He told me that this might be difficult for students who rely on memorisation, but for others, it’s easier,” the parent added.
Susmita Roy, a mother of a class-7 student at Dinajpur Zilla School, said she was particularly perplexed at the inclusion of cooking classes.
“My son has successfully incorporated some Speaking
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