Foundational Stage

• This Stage is for students aged between 3 and 8.(Class Nursery-II)
• The Learning Standards for this Stage have been set based on domains of development — Physical Development, Socio-emotional and Ethical Development, Cognitive Development, Aesthetic and Cultural Development, and Language and Literacy Development.
• Developing Foundational Literacy and Numeracy finds adequate emphasis in this Stage. Children learn two languages (R1 and R2) and are expected to achieve Foundational Literacy in R1 by the end of this Stage.
• The content to achieve these Learning Standards are predominantly concrete play materials, such as toys, puzzles, picture books, and manipulative during the first three years.
• The pedagogy is largely play-based and emphasises nurturing, caring relationships between the Teacher and the children. There is a balance between self-paced individual learning and group activities. Systematic guidance is provided for developing Foundational Literacy and Numeracy.
• Assessments are conducted largely in the form of qualitative observations by Teachers.

Preparatory Stage

• This Stage is for students aged between 8 and 11.(Class III-V)
• The Learning Standards for this Stage have been set for two languages within Language Education (R1 and R2), Mathematics, Art Education, Physical Education, and The World Around Us (as an interdisciplinary area of study). Work and pre-vocational skills are included as part of The World Around Us curriculum.
• Activity – and discovery-based pedagogy play a big role in the Preparatory Stage classroom. Students are encouraged, gradually, to be active participants in more formal classroom settings. Practice and other activities to develop fluency should find a place during school hours and as homework.
• Short formal written assessments are conducted at this Stage. Teachers’ observation of students’ work continues to form an important assessment mechanism. Periodic summative assessments is utilised to supplement the more regular formative assessments. Summative assessments at the end of this Stage are based on the Competencies defined in the Learning Standards.

Middle Stage

• This Stage is for students aged between 11 and 14.(Class VI-VIII)
• Students need to learn three languages (R1, R2, and R3) in this Stage. Learning Standards are set for these languages as well as for Mathematics, Art Education, and Physical Education. Vocational Education finds its own curricular space and Learning Standards. These areas represent different forms of knowledge and students are expected to gain a more formal understanding of the nature of as well as of the methods of inquiry in each form.
• The pedagogy adopted in this Stage is a judicious balance of direct instruction as well as opportunities for exploration and inquiry.
• Assessments are more formal and explicit. Assessment design has a very important role to play in shifting the focus from content retention to conceptual understanding and fluency in the methods of inquiry.

Secondary Stage

• This Stage is for students aged between 14 and 18.(Class IX-XII)
• Phase 1 — Grades 9 and 10:
• All students would continue to engage with all the Curricular Areas as in the Middle Stage. In addition, students would study Environmental Education as an Interdisciplinary Area of study. They would develop capacities for reasoning and argumentation for issues in the public sphere along with ethical and moral reasoning.
• Phase 2 — Grades 11 and 12:
• Choice-based courses are to be offered to enable flexibility and choice for students and to remove hard separations between disciplines and academic areas.
• Students need to study two subjects from Language Education at least one of which must be a language native to India. Literature subjects are also contained in Language Education at this level.

iii. Students need to choose four subjects (with an optional fifth subject) from at least two of the following three groups

1) Group 2: Art Education, Physical Education, Vocational Education

2) Group 3: Social Science and Humanities, Interdisciplinary Areas

3) Group 4: Science, Mathematics and Computational Thinking

1. This scheme allows for both breadth of study as well as gaining disciplinary depth. To allow for interesting combinations, there is no further restrictions for students to choose specific streams.
2. Pedagogy at this Stage expect more independent learning from the students. More opportunities for self-study and group work are encouraged.

Art and Physical Education (Nursery-XII)

Art and Physical Education are given their due emphasis in NCF. To give a holistic education to students, it is important to see these areas as part of the main curriculum and not just as ‘co-curricular’ or ‘extra-curricular’ activities.

1. The aim of Art Education is to promote joy in exploring and creating artwork; develop imagination and creativity; and develop empathy and sensitivity and a sense of belonging to our culture.
2. The aim of Physical Education is to promote a love for physical activity and sports; develop capacities for skilful engagement in physical activity and sports; and develop resilience, empathy, and cooperation.

c.In Physical Education, at the Foundational Stage, the focus is on the development of gross and fine motor skills through free play. In the Preparatory Stage, local games are introduced but maintain fluidity and not specific rules of play. The Middle Stage contains more structured sessions and skill development. The Secondary Stage provides opportunities and choices for gaining depth in specific sports. Throughout all Stages, mind-body wellness is promoted through activities and practices such as Yoga as well as through education in healthy lifestyles and good nutrition.

1. Assessments are more performance-based in these domains. Thus, a wider variety of assessment tools need to be employed including detailed observation reports and student portfolios.
2. The last period in the Secondary Stage timetable is recommended to be an optional extra time for students to engage in their preferred art or sports activities. Local artists, artisans, and sportspersons can engage with the students in schools to give a wider exposure, including leading to participation in interschool sports competitions and other clubs or interschool activities.

Vocational Education (Class VI-XII)

School education should prepare students not just to understand the world around them, but also to do productive work. These capacities for work would enable students to be productive members of their households as well as participate in the economy. Thus, this NCF sees Vocational Education as an integral part of the curriculum.

1. Through the Curricular Area of Vocational Education, students would be exposed to and develop basic skills in three forms of work — work with life forms, work with machines and materials, and work in human services.
2. The school curriculum at the Preparatory and Middle Stages would endeavour to build relevant capacities in the abovementioned three forms of work. As we can easily observe, these forms of work not only provide the necessary breadth in capacities for productive work, but they also become the foundation for developing capacities in vocations in primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors of the economy, thus meaningfully contributing to the aim of economic participation.
3. In the Secondary Stage of four years, the first two years would work towards consolidating these capacities to develop transferable skills that serve students well in any vocation. In the last two years of schooling in the Secondary Stage, students will be given opportunities to specialise in specific vocations of their choice.
4. The content of Vocational Education should be locally relevant as far as possible and, at the same time, respond to the aspirations of students. In the Secondary Stage, the Learning Standards should align with the National Skills and Qualifications Framework (NSQF) levels.
5. The content must instil respect for the dignity of labour.
6. The pedagogy should balance ‘making and thinking’ in a manner that is relevant for vocations. Workshops and projects are effective ways of teaching vocational capacities. Internships and apprenticeships are encouraged while taking safety considerations into account.
7. Assessments should be based on observations, portfolios, and projects and should not just focus on capacities and skills, but also values and dispositions.

Environmental Education(Class IX-XII)

One of the biggest challenges in the 21st century is the conservation of the natural environment. Even when looked at purely from a human point of view, environmental degradation becomes a justice and equity issue. NEP 2020 recognises this challenge and the need for a meaningful educational response. This NCF gives the required emphasis to developing Knowledge, Capacities, Values, and Dispositions that would develop both awareness and abilities to act responsibly in environmentally sustainable practices.

Students also need to develop capacities for interdisciplinary thinking, since most real-life problems need interdisciplinary solutions. Understanding and responding to the problem of environmental degradation and climate change needs interdisciplinary thinking too. Thus, this NCF focusses on Environmental Education as part of the Education in Interdisciplinary Areas in Grades 9 and 10.

1. India has had a long tradition of understanding the intimate connection between nature and human life. However, the pressures of modern life have fractured the bonds between the natural environment and human beings. Ideally, knowledge from ancient times to the modern should converge towards sustainable solutions to the growing environmental challenges. Environmental education constitutes an important step in this direction. By incorporating topics from various subject areas, students will learn to appreciate the nuances and complexity of the human-nature equilibrium and the impact and trade-offs of different decisions taken at a societal or even individual level.
2. The main aims of Environmental Education are to:
3. Create a strong foundation of environmental literacy, which includes understanding

the interlinkages between ecological, social, economic, and political factors.

1. Develop a more compassionate attitude towards the natural environment, drawing

upon teachings from ancient Indian traditions and practices, the Indian Constitution, as

well as scientific research on the effects of modern human activity on the environment.

iii. Develop an action-oriented mindset and skillset so as to promote environmental

causes, with a solid understanding of how individual, societal, national, and global

actions can help us restore the balance between humans and nature and thereby save

our planet and ourselves.

1. In the Foundational Stage, spending time in nature is an integral part of pedagogy, encouraging children to observe and interact sensitively with plants, animals, insects, and birds. Stories, poems, and songs should have elements of the environment and appreciation of nature.
2. In the Preparatory Stage, through the study of The World Around Us, students begin to appreciate the interdependence between human society and the natural environment.
3. In the Middle Stage, concepts related to the environment are integrated into Science and Social Science. The interactions between the natural world and the human world are understood through both scientific and social scientific models of inquiry. 35 National Curriculum Framework for School Education
4. In Grades 9 and 10 of the Secondary Stage, Environmental Education is part of Interdisciplinary Areas. Students will view Environmental Education from a socialecological perspective, as opposed to a perspective informed primarily by either Science or Social Science. They would develop capacities for reasoning and argumentation including ethical and moral considerations. They would use these capacities in the context of debates around environmental conservation and protection that integrate understanding from the sciences on ecological and climate processes and understanding from the social sciences on ideas of justice, equity, and human well-being.