Taking a cue from the CBSE, the Rajasthan government is planning to cut short the syllabus for the current academic session on the basis of number of working days of schools.
The state government has directed the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) and the Rajasthan State Council of Educational Research and Training (RSCERT) to form a committee and review the syllabus.
"Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the number of working days of schools has reduced so the Directorate of Secondary Education, Bikaner has directed the Board of Secondary Education Ajmer and RSCERT, Udaipur in this regard to take a decision to cut the syllabus in education and students' interest. Soon, a final decision will be taken," School Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasara said.
He said the Directorate of School Education releases a working days calendar every year but it is yet to be released for this academic session.
Instructions have been given to the Rajasthan board for reviewing the syllabus of classes 9 to 12 and the RSCERT to review the syllabus for classes 1 to 8. They will form a committee and review the course, he said.
According to the School Education Department, the number of working days from July 2019 to March 2020 was 207, including 27 workdays in July. If the schools remain closed after July, then workdays will further reduce.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has rationalised the syllabus for classes 9 to 12 for the academic year 2020-21 by up to 30 per cent to make up for academic loss caused due to COVID-19.
"Looking at the extraordinary situation prevailing in the country and the world, CBSE was advised to revise the curriculum and reduce course load for the students of classes 9 to 12," Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ''Nishank'' had tweeted on July 7.
"Considering the importance of learning achievement, it has been decided to rationalize syllabus up to 30 per cent by retaining the core concepts," he added.