The Curriculum Development Center, Sanothimi, under the Ministry of Education and Sports, Government of Nepal, has published the new curriculum for the subject “Environment Science” for NEB Classes 11 and 12 under the secondary education level. Named the “Secondary Education Curriculum, 2082,” this curriculum aims to provide students with scientific knowledge about growing population, urbanization, development, and the sustainable use of resources.
According to the curriculum, the total credit hour for Environment Science in Classes 11 and 12 has been fixed at 5, with 160 annual working hours. The subject code is 4131 for Class 11 and 4141 for Class 12. Out of the total 160 working hours, 120 hours have been allocated for theoretical learning and 40 hours for practical and project work.
Table of Content
- Level-Wise Competencies of the Curriculum
- Structure and Learning Outcomes of the Class 11 Curriculum
- Structure and Learning Outcomes of the Class 12 Curriculum
- Practical and Project Work for Classes 11 and 12
- Suggested Practical Tasks for Class 11
- Suggested Practical Tasks for Class 12
- Learning Facilitation and Student Evaluation Process
- Internal Assessment Criteria
- Detailed Assessment Criteria for Practical and Project Work
- Download Book
Key Takeaways
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CDC Nepal has introduced a new Environment Science curriculum for Classes 11 and 12 under the Secondary Education Curriculum, 2082.
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The subject has 5 credit hours and 160 annual working hours in each class.
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Out of the total hours, 120 hours are for theory and 40 hours are for practical and project work.
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The subject code is 4131 for Class 11 and 4141 for Class 12.
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The curriculum focuses on real environmental issues such as pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, disaster risk, waste management, and sustainable use of resources.
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Class 11 covers the foundation of environment science, including ecology, environmental resources, pollution, climate science, hazards, policies, ecosystem services, and technology.
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Class 12 builds on this with topics such as environmental spheres, ecosystem dynamics, biodiversity conservation, pollution control, climate resilience, disaster risk management, environmental assessment, governance, sustainability, and green entrepreneurship.
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Students will not study theory only; they must also complete 8 practical or project tasks out of 15 in each class.
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Practical work includes field visits, water and soil testing, waste analysis, biodiversity studies, local policy documentation, disaster-related studies, and environmental assessment activities.
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The final evaluation will include 25% internal assessment and 75% written examination, with internal marks based on class participation, trimester exams, practical work, presentation, and report submission.
Level-Wise Competencies of the Curriculum
After completing this curriculum, students will be able to understand and analyze the different spheres of the Earth and their interrelationships. The curriculum will teach students to assess the causes of environmental degradation, apply strategies for pollution and disaster control, and communicate evidence-based solutions in local communities.
It also aims to develop students’ capacity to assess terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, manage environmental resources sustainably, understand the importance of biodiversity conservation, and use environmental technology in national development.
Structure and Learning Outcomes of the Class 11 Curriculum
The theoretical section of the Class 11 curriculum has been divided into 10 different themes. The detailed description, learning outcomes, and assigned working hours for each theme are as follows:
1. Fundamentals of Environment and Environment Science
Working Hours: 10
Learning Outcomes: Students will understand the concept of environment and environment science, explain its scope and importance, analyze environmental changes caused by social development, understand the interrelationship between humans and the environment, and explain the principles of environmental stewardship.
Scope of Content: Concept of environment and environment science, scope and importance, environment and social development, human interdependence with the environment, and environmental stewardship.
2. Ecology and Ecosystem
Working Hours: 15
Learning Outcomes: Students will define ecology and its importance, clarify its basic principles, identify the components of an ecosystem, explain different types of ecosystems and their characteristics, and understand the concepts of food chain, food web, and trophic level.
Scope of Content: Concept and principles of ecology, components and types of ecosystems, food chain, food web, and trophic level.
3. Environmental Resources
Working Hours: 15
Learning Outcomes: Students will define environmental resources, classify them into continuous, renewable, and non-renewable resources, explain the importance of biological resources, analyze major forest types and deforestation in Nepal, evaluate water resources and hydropower, analyze minerals and soil, and assess demand-supply trends of energy resources.
Scope of Content: Concept and types of environmental resources, biological resources, forest resources, Nepal’s forest types, fragmentation and degradation, water resources, minerals and soil, and energy resources.
4. Environmental Pollution and Degradation
Working Hours: 15
Learning Outcomes: Students will define environmental pollution, describe air, water, land, noise, and radiation pollution, analyze sources of pollutants, assess the effects of pollution on human health and agriculture, analyze prevailing pollution in Nepal, and evaluate environmental degradation in the Chure region.
Scope of Content: Concept and types of pollution, causes and sources, effects of pollution, state of pollution in Nepal, and environmental degradation of sensitive areas, including Nepal’s Chure region.
5. Climate Science
Working Hours: 10
Learning Outcomes: Students will define weather and climate, explain the concepts of insolation and heat budget, define greenhouse effect and global warming, analyze the effects of climate change, and assess evidence of climate change in Nepal’s Himalayan region.
Scope of Content: Concept of weather and climate, insolation and heat budget, greenhouse effect, impacts of climate change, and climate change in the Nepali context.
6. Environmental Hazards
Working Hours: 10
Learning Outcomes: Students will define the concepts of hazard, risk, and disaster, explain natural and human-induced hazards, and assess the prevalence of environmental hazards in the Nepali context.
Scope of Content: Concept and differences between risk and disaster, types of hazards, climate and non-climate hazards, and environmental hazards in the Nepali context.
7. Solid Waste Management
Working Hours: 10
Learning Outcomes: Students will identify solid waste management practices, analyze types and sources of waste, assess environmental impacts, explain management approaches including the 5-R principle, and discuss management technologies such as dumping, landfilling, and composting.
Scope of Content: Concept of waste management, types, sources and characteristics, environmental impacts, management approaches, and technologies.
8. Environmental Policies
Working Hours: 10
Learning Outcomes: Students will analyze the concept of environmental policies and laws, identify their historical development, evaluate the importance of policies, and explain the concept of environmental and social safeguards.
Scope of Content: Concept of policy and law, development process, importance, sectoral policies in Nepal, and environmental and social safeguards.
9. Ecosystem Services
Working Hours: 15
Learning Outcomes: Students will define the concept of ecosystem services, classify their types, evaluate their value, analyze the concept of payment for ecosystem services, and describe the services provided by different ecosystems in Nepal.
Scope of Content: Definition, types, value, payment concept, and ecosystem services in Nepal.
10. Technology and Environment
Working Hours: 10
Learning Outcomes: Students will analyze the relationship between technology and the environment, evaluate the impact of technology on the environment, define the concept of technological hazards, and demonstrate the use of Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) in environmental management.
Scope of Content: Concept of technology and environment, impacts, assessment of energy technology, technological hazards, and use of technology in the environment, including RS and GIS.
Structure and Learning Outcomes of the Class 12 Curriculum
The Class 12 curriculum will also have 120 theoretical hours and includes the following 10 themes:
1. Environmental Spheres
Working Hours: 15
Scope of Content: Concept of environmental spheres, structure and vertical zonation of the atmosphere, hydrosphere and water cycle, lithosphere, including physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil, and biosphere.
2. Ecosystem Dynamics
Working Hours: 15
Scope of Content: Concept of ecosystem dynamics, population dynamics, reproductive strategies, including R and K selection, energy flow, and nutrient cycles, including biogeochemical and water cycles.
3. Biodiversity Conservation
Working Hours: 10
Scope of Content: Concept and importance of conservation, status and threats of biodiversity in Nepal, conservation initiatives, including in-situ and ex-situ conservation, policy provisions, including CBD and CITES, and environmental sustainability.
4. Environmental Pollution Control and Management
Working Hours: 15
Scope of Content: Air pollution control technology, water pollution control technology, including primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment, soil/land and noise pollution control, and concept of ecosystem restoration.
5. Climate Change Resilience
Working Hours: 10
Scope of Content: Concept of climate change resilience, risk, adaptation and mitigation, impacts in the Himalayas, and national and international initiatives, including NAPA, LAPA, UNFCCC, and the Paris Agreement.
6. Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Working Hours: 10
Scope of Content: Disaster risk management cycle, loss and damage, mitigation approaches, Early Warning System (EWS), and community-based initiatives in Nepal.
7. Environmental Assessment
Working Hours: 15
Scope of Content: Concept of environmental assessment, differences among BES, IEE, and EIA, assessment steps, environmental standards, and environmental management systems.
8. Environmental Governance
Working Hours: 10
Scope of Content: Concept of governance, environmental provisions in the Constitution of Nepal, Environment Protection Act and Regulations, environmental justice, and internationally binding legal bodies.
9. Environmental Economics and Sustainability
Working Hours: 10
Scope of Content: Concept of economics, circular economy, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), SDGs in the Nepali context, and sustainable use of environmental resources.
10. Green Entrepreneurship
Working Hours: 10
Scope of Content: Concept of green entrepreneurship, importance of green technology, green business and eco-design, eco-tourism, and green entrepreneurship in the Nepali context.
Practical and Project Work for Classes 11 and 12
The curriculum has allocated 40 hours of practical and project work in each class to put theoretical learning into practice. Students must complete any 8 tasks out of the 15 listed below, with 5 hours assigned for each task.
Suggested Practical Tasks for Class 11
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Documentation of cultural practices related to the environment and natural resources.
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Preparation of a checklist of plant species in a local forest, including their identification and uses.
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Visit to an ecosystem and drawing of a biomass pyramid.
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Illustration of the energy consumption scenario in different regions of Nepal.
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Visit to an aquatic ecosystem and identification of pollutant sources.
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Analysis of temperature and rainfall trends from a local weather station.
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Collection of water samples from an aquatic system and measurement of pH, temperature, and Total Suspended Solids (TSS).
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Determination of pH and Electrical Conductivity (EC) of soil from agricultural land or forest.
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Determination of soil moisture content.
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Preparation of a list of biotic and abiotic components of an aquatic ecosystem and identification of services.
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Visit to a wastewater treatment plant and development of a model of the treatment plant.
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Collection and type analysis of solid waste generated from households.
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Documentation of existing environmental policies of the local level.
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Analysis of the use of energy-related technologies in Nepal.
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Preparation of a map of local natural resources and development of a management plan for sustainable use.
Suggested Practical Tasks for Class 12
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Analysis of local-level population trends and assessment of environmental impacts.
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Preparation of a report on local initiatives carried out to reduce pollution, such as Sithi Nakha.
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Collection of air quality monitoring data and comparison with standards.
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Sketching of catchment area features and land use with the help of a topographic map.
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Measurement and comparison of the physical and chemical quality of river/stream water.
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Visit to a development project and preparation of a flowchart of the Environmental Assessment (EA) process.
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Visit to a protected area and preparation of a report on the status of biodiversity conservation.
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Documentation of loss and damage caused by disasters in the community.
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Documentation of the existing disaster preparedness plan of the local government.
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Preparation of a report on the impacts of human-induced activities on the soil environment.
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Visit to a landfill or dumping site and preparation of a report on its characteristics and challenges.
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Field study of an ex-situ conservation area, such as a zoo or botanical garden.
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Visit to a local industry and listing of energy consumption, raw materials, and pollution control technology.
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Preparation of a list and report of environmental problems in one’s ward.
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Production and presentation of a video on exemplary environmental initiatives of the local community.
Learning Facilitation and Student Evaluation Process
The curriculum provides that learning will be facilitated through theoretical methods, including lectures, discussions, and seminars; practical methods, including laboratory experiments and field visits; and project-based learning methods, including research, surveys, and model construction.
For the final evaluation of students, 25 percent weight has been allocated for internal assessment and 75 percent for external assessment through written examination.
Internal Assessment Criteria
Class Participation: Daily attendance, homework and classwork, and participation in learning
Marks: 3
Trimester Examination: 3 marks from each trimester examination
Marks: 6
Practical and Project Work: Activities, report preparation, and presentation
Marks: 16
Total Marks: 25
Detailed Assessment Criteria for Practical and Project Work
The detailed assessment criteria for practical and project work, carrying 16 marks, are as follows:
Laboratory Experiment/Field Activity
Total Marks: 8
Planning/Equipment Preparation/Field Activity: 2 marks
Observation/Testing: 2 marks
Tabulation, Data Processing, and Analysis: 2 marks
Result Interpretation and Conclusion: 2 marks
Presentation
Total Marks: 4
Understanding of Practical and Project Work: 2 marks
Presentation Skills and Management: 2 marks
This includes clarity, confidence, eye contact, logical structure, use of visual materials, deep understanding, and managerial arrangement.
Practical and Project Work Report
Total Marks: 4
Record: 4 marks
Marks will be given on the basis of number, completeness, quality, and timely submission.
Through this revised curriculum, the Curriculum Development Center expects students to develop concrete skills related to environmental conservation, research, and sustainable development.
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Environment Science Curriculum for Classes 11 and 12
