Hyderabad: The National Council of Educational Research and Training has strictly ordered CBSE schools to follow the new ground rules that have been set for homework. As per the new rules, students will not be assigned homework till Class II. Similarly, students from Classes III-V will be allotted only two hours of homework on a weekly basis. The decision was taken to ensure that students were not overburdened with work at their home, thereby affecting the quality of their life.
Vani Vishwa, a primary school teacher says, “It is a good decision because the council has decided to increase extra-curricular activities and students can also go home with a free mind. Daily revision should be ensured by parents. However, there should not be too many worksheets and holiday homework for young students.”
The council stressed that too much of importance on homework increases rote learning. “Asking children to do the same sums done in school and repeatedly writing the same portion at home introduces them to rote learning at a young age which will affect the quality of their learning later,” says Vani.
The NCERT issued instructions after a complaint was filed that the CBSE was not following the syllabus set by NCERT and they are overburdening students. The council has also suggested granting autonomy to schools so that they can set timetables. “This suggestion is just to ensure that schools can modify their timetables as per their convenience and make sure that students do not have to learn all subjects on a daily basis. Subjects can be taught alternatively,” says a CBSE official. He also stated that schools cannot use the autonomy status to introduce new courses.
The council also spoke against discriminatory practices happening in schools across the country where students are labelled as “excellent, average, poor” before being divided into sections as per their marks. The council stated, “The demonising effect of such labelling is devastating on children. Parents need to be vigilant about these practices, and rather than taking pride of the fact that their wards are studying in a school where these practices prevail, they need to stand against these to prevent discrimination.”
