The syllabus and the textbook
Aashna Gada and Kavita Anand
Teachers, school leaders and parents have long recognized the critical importance of textbooks in providing good quality education. Textbooks provide a basic framework of the syllabus. They make the teaching and learning process more systematic and standardized. It especially helps in cases when the teachers need to know the knowledge base on which examinations will be held. Hence, we know that a textbook is important. But what constitutes a good textbook? How do we ensure that the textbook is corresponding to the learner’s needs?
The CBSE introduced a new syllabus in 2019 for grades 11 and 12 home science and the teachers are not content with it. A pan India group of 303 home science teachers have raised several concerns about the new syllabus and the reference books provided by the NCERT.
In 2009, NCERT published a set of two books entitled “Human Ecology and Family Life Sciences”(HEFS). These books were neither reference nor recommended for home science by the CBSE. In 2014, the home science syllabus of grade 11 was revised by CBSE to suit the aforementioned books. But since the books still covered only a limited part of the syllabus, the books were granted only reference status. On the basis of teachers’ objections, the amended syllabus was withdrawn and the 2014 syllabus was continued. In 2018, CBSE amended the syllabus and uploaded it on their website.
In 2019 the CBSE once again uploaded the 2018 syllabus. The two books published in 2009, which had remained unedited for ten years were expected to be used as reference books according to the NCERT website. Ms Anju Chauhan, a home science teacher and author, said, “We find it quite alarming that instead of editing the books in question and despite the course name staying as home science, there is a huge mismatch between the course title, course objectives, book title, book content and the levels of the books and students.”
Teachers of home science raised several concerns about the syllabus and textbooks in a letter to the CBSE. They pointed out that the books, written in 2009, had outdated content. They include old and outdated schemes and at the same time do not mention new government schemes related to the subject.
The teachers felt the excessive content was a burden on the children and basic aspects to understand the more complex topics were missing. The topics which were in the 2014 revised syllabus of CBSE for grades 11 and 12 had been clubbed together in grade 11. According to Ms Chauhan, “The level of class 12 books is of postgraduate level.” She points out that home science as a subject is mostly chosen by children who are either not able to cope with maths or sciences or want to focus on sciences to prepare for competitive entrance exams and so opt for an easier 5th subject. Other than that, it is also a subject offered to children with disabilities. Pushpa Balian, a home science teacher and author of the 10th std textbook, says, “The new syllabus is more of an introduction to the various options which are available to a child, rather than delving into the deep concepts of the subject. It is sort of an introduction to the various careers available to the child.”
Teachers who are textbook writers have also expressed their concerns about the lack of availability of the books. Balian said, “For some reason, these new textbooks weren’t available to the students. On top of that, they cost around `515 each. In India, especially the poor families cannot afford such an expensive textbook. Other than that, these textbooks have large paragraphs instead of pointers. This promotes rote learning. They also lack illustrations. This makes the books boring and monotonous for the children. Additionally, the examples given in these textbooks are examples from western countries. This makes it difficult for the children to relate to the examples. The examples have gender biases and stereotypes that can unconsciously affect children’s minds. The new syllabus is highly theory-based. The number of practicals have reduced. These practicals lack hands-on learning. Most practicals are centred around questionnaires and observances.”
The teachers sent letters to the CBSE and NCERT departments voicing their concerns. Finally, a meeting was held on the 19th of February, 2020 to discuss these issues. This consisted of the officials in the CBSE and NCERT as well as various teacher representatives. Dr Joseph Emmanuel, the academic director of the CBSE acknowledged that there was a cognizable problem and Dr Pragya Thakur, the joint secretary of academics, admitted to gaps in the syllabus and agreed to resolve it by reviewing the syllabus. Dr Khanna, a teacher representative, felt that cut and paste from HEFS to home science, was bound to cause confusion and lead to a haphazard syllabus. He said that the syllabus could not be based on books. Rather, books should be written using the guidelines of the syllabus and teachers should be given training before implementation.
Ms. Chauhan said that during her 14 years tenure (2000-2014) in the course committee, they always planned the syllabus three years in advance. She also wondered why there had been no workshops or seminars to update the teachers in time about the change in syllabus. The meeting went on for approximately two hours and the teachers were still unsure about the outcome of the meeting since no final decision was communicated.
All these issues escalated after the Covid situation as the schools had shifted online. Teaching a practical based subject completely online, with no prior preparation was difficult for the teachers. The teachers and students were already adjusting to many new things. They were even unsure about which syllabus to teach.
Since the NCERT textbooks do not completely cater to the students’ needs, other teachers author textbooks for students. Ms Pushpa Balian didn’t start as an author. While teaching her students, she used to read several books and combine the important information to make her own notes. Then, when she was presented with an opportunity to author a textbook, those notes came in handy. She wanted the textbook to be student-friendly, something that is suitable even to the last benchers. She had noticed as a mother and a teacher that textbooks do not always reach out to the students like they should because of the way they are written. She said, “Sometimes we are carried away with our own knowledge because we as educators know much more than a child. So, we write from the pedestal of that teacher.” She said that while writing her textbook, she writes from the point of view of the children. She uses pointers instead of long paragraphs. She tries to include illustrations wherever possible and highlights important points in the textbooks. She tries to give real-life examples such that the students can actually relate to them and engage with the textbook. She makes sure that her examples are gender-neutral. There’s a mindset that home science is only for girls, and she wants to break that mindset. “I wanted to ensure that the complexity of the curriculum is maintained, but with the simplicity of a child’s mind,” she says. “I want the textbook to be a tool to empower the child to be the master of his own learning.”
| Some lessons for CBSE Interview with Dr. Sandhya Kumar, DD (Academic), NIOS The open school was set up in 1979 as a project of the CBSE and from the very beginning, home science was one of the major subjects offered to the students. In 1989, it became an autonomous body. It was recognized as a national board. In 1991, it became the National Open School and conducted its first exam as an independent body. In 2002, it was renamed the National Institute of Open Schooling, NIOS. Home science has always been given a lot of importance as it is an application-based subject. NEP talks about modular education, life skills, developing skills that learners can apply in their day-to-day lives. Home science already has most of these things that NEP is talking about. It is important for each and everyone, whether male or female. In fact, about 49 per cent of the learners who take up home science are men. Many children with disabilities also choose to take home science. When asked about the learning material provided by NIOS, Sandhya says, “We realized that our learners have different needs than the learners who go to school. For the ones who go to school, the teachers may be providing extra information than what is there in the textbooks. But our learners totally depend on the learning material that we provide. So that is why we give a lot of importance to that.” The open school has also taken a project with the UNFPA (The United Nations Population Fund) under which they have integrated life skills in five subjects. Home science is one of those subjects. The learning material has been designed in such a way that it develops these life skills in the learners. They conducted a survey that showed that the material was significantly helpful in developing life skills. Sandhya says, “I can proudly say that the learning material provided by the open school is largely being used by the home science teachers across India.” Many CBSE teachers are not happy with the books provided by the NCERT but they find the NIOS learning material helpful. They find it very easy as it is produced for self-learning. The students who do home science from the open school also take up higher education in other colleges. The NIOS certificate is recognized by colleges and open school students are at par with the students who have done home science in schools. However, open school students are not easily accepted. It is wrongly assumed that open school learners are second-grade learners. Sandhya points out, “Anyone who comes into the open school is because the formal school has failed them. Every school has different types of students. The formal schools simply push those students who are strugglers because the schools don’t have the time and resources to help these strugglers. Hence, these strugglers have to come to the open school. As far as content or subject knowledge is concerned, our learners are at par with those who have studied in formal schools.” Sandhya believes that the NIOS curriculum should be adopted by all schools as it maps out what the NEP has asked for. Nevertheless, she doesn’t see it happening in the future. She feels that the CBSE can learn from NIOS and make their learning material more child-friendly. As told to Kavita Anand |
Aashna Gada is an empathetic individual passionate about psychology and education. She truly believes that every child deserves a quality education and wants to try her best to provide it. She can be reached at aashnargada@gmail.com.
Kavita Anand is Executive Director, Adhyayan Quality Education Services. She can be reached at kavita.anand@adhyayan.asia.
