Primary school to be extended up to std V

Updated on: Tuesday, June 28, 2011

For a long time, schools stuffed our children with more than they could digest. Suddenly, there is a feeling that chapters from history and maps of the world were introduced a year too early for generations of kids. The union human resources development ministry has now decided to take a massive correctional step. Indian schools will extend the primary class to include standard V. And elementary schooling will stretch for an additional year, instead of closing at class VII. This translates to more than just an internal rejig within the two school units – primary and secondary. For one, social studies will now be introduced in class VI. Ditto with science and environmental sciences.

“School subjects have evolved through their own complicated histories. However, educationists the world over believe that learning in the first five years of schooling should be integrated without subject-specific compartmentalisation, and teaching children to study concepts at earlier ages in an attempt to prepare them to ‘compete’ in the world is counterproductive,” said a note from the HRD ministry. Education ministers have been asked to shift from a seven (4+3) to an eight-year (5+3) elementary education cycle by the next academic year. “It is important to provide age relevant curricula and learning systems to our children,” said ministry officials.

Primary school to be extended up to std V

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