Goa council clips syllabus from Class I to VIII by 30%

PANAJI: The state council for educational research and training (SCERT) has curtailed the syllabus from Class I to VIII by 30% for the academic year 2020-21 due to the pandemic. The council has also told schools to encourage self-study of topics which have been curtailed.
The state government is yet to take a call on allowing students back on campus as per the Centre’s Unlock guidelines, as many parents remain averse to the idea due to the pandemic.
TOI had reported in July that the SCERT has begun the work of identifying topics to be curtailed from the syllabus for the current academic year.
“There is no curtailment of any portion of grammar and language skills in all language subjects at the upper primary level,” SCERT has told schools. “As far as possible, teachers may encourage students to self-study the portion which is curtailed and assist them in solving difficulties.” SCERT also said that approval for truncation of the syllabus has been taken from the directorate of education.
The curtailed portion should not be included in the term-end examination, the SCERT has told schools.
SCERT has said in its circular that it had constituted a board of studies from Class I to VIII to identify the topics in the syllabus to curtail, and based on their recommendation, it decided the topics to be kept out.
At the primary school level, the topics curtailed are mainly in language subjects of English, Konkani, Marathi and Urdu, and in environmental studies. From Class V to VIII, the topics marked for self-study range across languages, to mathematics, science and social science.
In Class VIII, in the science subject, sub-topics have been curtailed from the chapters on synthetic fibres and plastics, coal and petroleum, combustion and flame, conservation of plants and animals, and reproduction in animals, among others.
In July this year, the Goa board of secondary and higher secondary education had already announced curtailment of syllabus from Class IX to XII from 28-30% in select subjects.