Trim syllabus for state board students, demand teachers

Chennai: Teachers want lighter textbooks and a trimmed syllabus for state board students.

The Tamil Nadu govt has announced the revision of the state board curriculum and textbooks for all classes after a gap of six years. This is to be done in a phased manner from 2025-26 to 2029-30.

Teachers welcomed the move but want the size and content of textbooks reduced based on the number of transactional hours in classrooms. They said the present textbooks are voluminous, and some lessons are not updated with current examples.

The syllabus and textbooks were revised from 2017 to 2019 to prepare state board students for national-level competitive exams after the introduction of the NEET for medical admissions. The higher secondary syllabus was updated after a gap of 12 years.

"The textbooks are too heavy for children; they have to carry two volumes in higher classes. The books should be in-depth at the same time with fewer pages," said S Dhilip, an English teacher.

V Shanthi, a commerce teacher, said teachers struggle to complete the portion. "Earlier, with less content, we used to take two to three periods for certain topics. This is not possible now as we can't complete the portion in time. The textbooks must be interesting, and they should take feedback from us on prioritising topics," she said.

P Perumalsamy, a retired physics teacher, said state board textbooks are visually appealing compared to NCERT textbooks, with more pictures, QR codes, and illustrations. "However, classroom teaching is still mark-based. The focus must change to ensure attainment of minimum learning levels for each class," he said.

N Vijayan, who wrote textbooks for state board students, said CBSE has reduced nearly 20% of the syllabus for key subjects. "State board students have more lessons. The revision of the syllabus and textbooks should focus on quality rather than quantity," he said. He sought a greater role for schoolteachers in revising the syllabus and writing the textbooks.

A subject expert involved in the revision of textbooks in 2017, also agreed that the syllabus needs to be trimmed. But he said the earlier revision was to prepare state board students for national-level competitive exams.

"The intended changes in classroom teaching and learning did not happen in the past five years. Along with the revision, there should be continuous and regular in-service training for teachers to update their knowledge. Only then will classroom-level learning change," he said.