Freedom from homework for kids

Updated on: Thursday, December 24, 2009

Kolkata: Children will now be spared the ordeal of homework, with the West Bengal Board of Primary Education considering doing away with it for students up to Class V.

Instead, they will be required to solve the worksheets at the end of each book which, board sources said, should be enough for learning. Textbooks have also been made “child-friendly, interesting and interactive,” said a board official.

“Worksheets have already been introduced in the Class I maths textbook. It will be extended to Class II from the 2010-2011 session. We have tried to reduce the burden by lessening the number of problems and making books illustrative and colourful. We are trying to implement a new methodology in maths till Class V to remove homework altogether,” said the official.

Changes are also on the anvil for English textbooks. Emphasis will be given on improving oral fluency and decreasing the burden on students between classes I and V. “

We’ve adopted a policy of doing away with homework in line with the Right to Education Bill, 2009. The legislation calls upon state governments to incorporate a no-homework norm for primary schoolkids,” the official said. Shyam Narayan Bandyopadhyay, headmaster of Hindu School, welcomed the move. “It is indeed good news. If this system is implemented, kids will be relieved of stress.

Other boards have already implemented a no homework system,” he said.

School education minister Partha De said the curricula for primary and secondary students were being reviewed. “We have prepared a syllabus, which is being reviewed. It will be implemented after consulting experts and teachers. Depending on the response from students, changes will be introduced,” he said.

Freedom from homework for kids

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