Dr. Joseph Emmanuel, the Director (Academics) at the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), underscored the importance of closing the divide between schools and higher education institutions.“The biggest gap we face now is to be in sync with higher education institutions. CBSE offers nearly 200 courses at class 10 and 12 level but students are not in a position to completely avail benefits of these subjects due to restrictions in getting admission to higher education institutions,” Dr Emmanuel said. The director of academics was present at the G20 state level summit in Indore. The conference deliberated on themes like life skills, mental health, safety and well-being. The event was hosted in Daly College.
“There is a need for alignment between these two educational tiers, underlining the challenge of students with unconventional subject combinations being unable to find suitable courses at higher education level,” said Emmanuel. During the conference, Dr. Joseph also stressed the need to align CBSE with the principles of NEP 2020, i.e., equity, excellence, accessibility and inclusivity. “The implementation of NEP 2020 will be gradual, with a focus on four key areas in stage one: teaching and learning practices, assessment reforms, capacity building of teachers, and systemic reforms for evaluating students and schools,” he stated. “The concept of a holistic progress card will be introduced emphasizing learner, parent, and teacher involvement in a 360-degree evaluation for learning support”. CBSE will be introducing courses on robotics and drone technology.
“We are trying to add courses on robotics and drone technology. Although, as a part of ATAL mission, robotics is being covered to certain extent but as a course we will be introducing it officially in the coming years along with drone technology”, CBSE director of training and skill education Dr Biswajit Saha informed. CBSE has also collaborated with National Stock Exchange and tech giants. It is willing to bring in augmented and virtual reality into classrooms. “The government is emphasizing on skill education at middle school level. CBSE has already introduced 33 skill modules, including gardening, tourism, and khadi, aiming to equip students with at least one skill set during their middle to senior classes. Students pursuing skill courses will earn transferrable credits under National Credit Framework when pursuing higher education”, Saha affirmed.
