School Curriculum Revision Process Begins

School Curriculum Revision Process Begins in Nepal

The Government of Nepal has started the process of revising the overall school curriculum, from early childhood development to Grade 12, to reflect the changing context.

For this purpose, the Ministry of Education and Sports has formed a task force to revise the curriculum framework under the coordination of Prof. Dr. Bal Chandra Luitel, Dean of Kathmandu University School of Education. The nine-member task force held its first meeting with Education Minister Sasmit Pokharel on Tuesday and formally began its work.

The task force has moved ahead with the aim of preparing its report within six months. Coordinator Luitel said the Education Minister had been informed that, if work proceeds under the current situation, the report would be prepared and submitted within six months. According to him, the timeline may also be extended if necessary.

For the revision of the framework, the task force will form 22 groups and hold discussions. Students, teachers, industrialists, businesspersons, the younger generation, and others will be included in the discussions. Recent innovations in the field of science and technology will also be connected with the curriculum.

After the task force submits its report on the curriculum framework, the work of revising school curricula by level and subject will begin. According to the plan, curriculum revision will be carried out by considering early childhood development to Grade 3 as one level, Grades 4 to 8 as another level, and Grades 9 to 12 as one level.

Coordinator Luitel said the scope of the task force’s report would be broad. According to him, based on that report, another group will decide what the curriculum of each level should be like and which subject curricula should be reduced or expanded.

If the work moves ahead according to the current plan, the government plans to begin teaching and learning under the new curriculum from the coming academic session. The issue of reducing or increasing the teaching load caused by the government’s two-day weekly holiday will also be addressed during the curriculum revision process.

The National Curriculum Framework is considered the main guiding document for school education. It is also taken as a roadmap for reforming school education. Nepal’s first national framework for school education was prepared and implemented in 2063. It was revised in 2071. After the promulgation of the Constitution and the country’s transition to a federal structure, another National Curriculum Framework was prepared in 2076 to organize the roles of the federal, provincial, and local levels.