Mythili Ramchand, Ritesh Khunyakari, Arindam Bose - Learning Without Burden - Where Are We A Quarter Century After The Yash Pal Committee Report - Routledge (2022)

Learning without Burden
This book looks at education reforms, planning and policy through an

exploration of the Yash Pal Committee report (1993) in India, which made
recommendations to improve the quality of learning while reducing cogni-
tive burden on students.
It analyses the wide-ranging impact the report had on curriculum, peda-
gogy, teacher education reforms and the national policy on education. The
book examines the legacy of the report, tracing the various deliberations
and critical engagements with issues around literacy, language and math-
ematics learning, curriculum reforms and classroom practices, assessment
and evaluation. It reviews contemporary developments in research on learn-
ing in diverse disciplines and languages through the lens of the recommen-
dations made by the Learning without Burden report while engaging with
challenges and systemic issues which limit inclusivity and access to quality
education.
Drawing on extensive research and first-hand academic and teaching
experience, this book will attract attention and interest of students and
researchers of educational policy and analysis, linguistics, sociology and
South Asian studies. It will also be of interest to policy makers, think tanks
and civil society organisations.
Mythili Ramchand is a Professor at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS),

Mumbai, India. She has designed and anchored several cross-country
teacher education programmes including the Post Graduation Certification
programme on Contemporary Education Perspectives for teacher educators.
She is currently engaged in comparative research on initial teacher educa-
tion across BRICS countries and the UK.
Ritesh Khunyakari is an Associate Professor at Tata Institute of Social

Sciences (TISS), Hyderabad, India. He has a PhD in Science Education from
the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, TIFR, Mumbai. He has
been involved in developing courses for various undergraduate, postgrad-
uate and doctoral programmes of TISS. He is also involved in teaching,
research and development activities, projects and activities involving col-
laboration with organisations and institutions.
Arindam Bose is an Associate Professor at Tata Institute of Social Sciences

(TISS), Mumbai, India and a Visiting Faculty at the Federal University of São
Paulo (UNIFESP), Brazil. He is the current Vice President of the International
Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (IGPME). He has
served on several national committees for DEd and BEd course design and
textbook and curriculum development committees. His research area is in
Mathematics Education.
Learning without Burden
Where are We a Quarter Century after the

Yash Pal Committee Report?
Edited by Mythili Ramchand,

Ritesh Khunyakari and Arindam Bose
First published 2023
by Routledge
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© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Mythili Ramchand, Ritesh Khunyakari and Arindam Bose;
individual chapters, the contributors
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-0-367-48709-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-29067-6 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-04605-9 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059
Typeset in Sabon
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Contents
List of Figures vii

List of Tables x
Editors’ Bio-notes xi
Authors’ Bio-notes xii
Acknowledgment xvi
Foreword xvii
A Note on Illustrations xx
1 Unpacking the Construct of Burden 1

RITESH KHUNYAKARI, MYTHILI RAMCHAND AND ARINDAM BOSE
PART 1
Systemic Perspectives 35
2 Policy Perspectives on Learning without Burden 37

ARCHANA MEHENDALE
3 Initial Teacher Education: Possibilities and Limits of

Curriculum Reform 57
SHIKHA TAKKER AND MYTHILI RAMCHAND
4 Reforms in Curriculum and Textbooks: Challenges and

Possibilities 83
HRIDAYKANT DEWAN
5 From the Tall Tower to a Lush Garden 104

R. RAMANUJAM
6 Assessment and Learning in Indian Context: Compelling

Association, Invariance or an Educational Folly? 120
RITESH KHUNYAKARI
7 Learning without Burden in the Era of Connected Computers 144

AMIT DHAKULKAR
vi Contents
8 Education of Children with Diverse Learning Needs 163

JAYANTHI NARAYAN
9 The Demands of Ethical Learning and Character Development

in Our Changing Times 183
ALOK MATHUR
PART 2
Perspectives from Domains 209
10 Learning in the Arts and Aesthetic Development 211

RITU GOPAL
11 Growing into Literacy: Part 1: The Building Blocks of Literacy 236

JANE SAHI
12 Growing into Literacy: Part 2: The Devanagari and Telugu

scripts: Tools to Lighten the Burden of Learning Literacy 251
MAXINE BERNTSEN
13 Understand Language to Acquire It: The Burden Is

Incomprehensibility 268
R. AMRITAVALLI
14 The Unfinished Agenda of Mathematics Curriculum Reform 282

K. SUBRAMANIAM
15 Strengthening Learning through Visuospatial Experiences:

Initiatives from the Indian Context 305
RITESH KHUNYAKARI, SHAMIN PADALKAR, FARHAT ARA AND GARIMA SINGH
PART 3
Looking Back to Look Forward 351
16 Reflections on the Process and Impact of the Learning without

Burden Report: Key Take-aways from the Interviews of Two
Members of the National Advisory Committee 353
MYTHILI RAMCHAND, ARINDAM BOSE AND RITESH KHUNYAKARI
Epilogue 423
ARINDAM BOSE, MYTHILI RAMCHAND AND RITESH KHUNYAKARI
Index 427
Figures
1.1 The burden of academic load visualised through R.K.

Laxman’s cartoons. Source: R.K. Laxman. We pay Tribute
to R.K. Laxman on his 100th Birth Anniversary 7
3.1 Re-imagining teacher education landscape. Source: Authors 69
3.2 Pre-service teacher education programme at TISS. Source:
Authors 76
6.1 Relation between curriculum, pedagogy and assessment.
Source: Author 125
6.2 Resource provided for paper modelling of DNA structure.
Source: Author 134
6.3 Learning concepts around DNA through a modelling
engagement. Source: Author 135
7.1 The load of learning. Source: Author 146
7.2 The XO Laptop from the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC)
Project was specifically designed keeping children in mind.
Source: Author 146
7.3 The textbook and real-world cake cutting. Source: Author 149
7.4 Writing with a pen is a difficult skill. Source: Author 150
7.5 Typing with a computer. Source: Author 151
9.1 Aspects of human nature Source: Author. I am grateful to
Professor Jayashree Ramadas for her suggestions for refin-
ing Figure 9.1 as well as Figure 9.2 188
9.2 Aspects of morality, ethical learning and goodness Source:
Author 192
11.1 Story making with wooden blocks. Source: Photograph by
Saumyananda Sahi 237
11.2 Different stages of sneezing. Source: Photograph by
11.3 “Bed going for a walk” – drawing with explanation by a
three-year-old. Source: Photograph by Saumyananda Sahi 240
11.4 Here a three-year-old was looking at a newspaper and mak-
ing his own version on a piece of paper that was provided,
viii Figures
entitled BEAR NEWS. Note the blending of letters, numer-

als and markings. Source: Photograph by Saumyananda Sahi 241
11.5 “The dots are the moon’s writing, but you can’t read it –
it’s a secret”. Source: Photograph by Saumyananda Sahi 242
11.6 A make-believe bus journey. Source: Photograph by
12.1 The Devanagari script 255
12.2 Barakhadi. Source: Author 257
12.3 Telugu script. Source: Author 258
14.1 The Chunking Method. Source: Author 296
15.1 Student’s diagram of the sun-earth-moon system – an exam-
ple of incoherent diagram (the earth and the moon are not
in their orbits and the moon’s orbit is not around the earth) 313
15.2 Student’s diagram for explanation of day-night based on
revolution of the Earth – an example of incorrect explana-
tion using correct mental model. Source: Shamin Padalkar 314
15.3 Gesture for space internalisation – using a stretched hand to
estimate an angle, typically used in amateur astronomy to
determine the position of a star above the horizon. Source:
Shamin Padalkar 315
15.4 (a) Internalisation of phenomenon through gesture tracing
the path of the sun. (b) Diagram representing the path of
the sun at different points of time on the Tropic of Cancer 315
15.5 Gesture for model internalisation – right-hand thumb ges-
ture to identify direction of rotation of the Earth. The same
gesture can be carried out on a diagram 316
15.6 Grade 5 student (schematic) depiction of HDS in textbook
and through a students’ drawing. Source: Garima Singh 321
15.7 Students’ mental models of HDS captured through draw-
ings. (a) Grade 6 (male) student’s model – partial (mouth to
torso), (b) Grade 5 (male) student’s model – complete/end-
to-end (mouth to anus). Source: Garima Singh 322
15.8 Glimpse of students’ visual documentations from the field
trips. Source: Farhat Ara 326
15.9a Designs showing tendencies of behaviour emulations: (a) an
MDF engraver inspired from the drumming behaviour of a
woodpecker Source: Farhat Ara 329
15.9b A canopy design inspired from the canopy feeding behav-
iour of a black heron Source: Farhat Ara 330
15.9c Flexible and collapsible packaging/container inspired from
the barrel cactus with the team’s ideation on the working
mechanism of the packaging (bottom). Source: Farhat Ara 331
15.10 Designs showing tendencies of form emulations for inspira-
tion: (a) a fog collector inspired from the beach spider lily
Figures ix
flower, (b) a vegetable chopper inspired from the grinding

teeth of a parrot fish. Source: Farhat Ara 332
15.11 Design productions of a group depicting the evolving design
idea from the initial (a) exploratory sketches to (b) detailing
the designed product. Source: Ritesh Khunyakari 336
15.12 Design-and-make task manifested through (a) explora-
tory sketches, (b) problems and potential solutions, and (c)
detailing of the designed product. Source: Ritesh Khunyakari 337
Tables
1.1 Dimensions of burden (load) characterised in the LwB report. 9

1.2 Burden (curriculum load) schematised as “Nature” and
“Cause” of problem in the LwB report. 26
2.1 Recommendations of the Yash Pal Committee and observa-
tions of the Chaturvedi Committee 44
3.1 Model Teacher Education Curriculum (NCTE, 2009) 69
3.2 Teacher Education Curriculum (TISS, 2018) 75
6.1 Assessment as, of and for learning exemplified in the case of
DNA teaching and in relation to Earl’s (2003) characterisa-
tion (cf. grey rows) 139
14.1 Comparing learning progressions for the topic of division in
primary classes 292
15.1 Number of gestures which served three main functions in
visuospatial thinking 317
15.2 Comparative analysis of visuals in NCERT and TSCERT
textbooks 320
Editors’ Bio-notes
Mythili Ramchand: ORCID: 0000-0001-8762-1026

Mythili Ramchand is a Professor at Tata Institute of Social Sciences
(TISS), Mumbai. She has designed and anchored several cross-country
teacher education programmes including the Post graduate Certification
programme on Contemporary Education Perspectives for teacher educa-
tors. She is currently engaged in comparative research on initial teacher
education across BRICS countries and the UK.
Ritesh Khunyakari: ORCID: 0000-0003-1666-5296
Dr Ritesh Khunyakari is an Associate Professor at Tata Institute of
Social Sciences (TISS), Hyderabad. He has a PhD in Science Education
from the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, TIFR, Mumbai.
He has been involved in developing courses for various undergraduate,
postgraduate and doctoral programmes of TISS. He is also involved in
teaching, research and development activities, projects and activities
involving collaboration with organisations and institutions.
Arindam Bose: ORCID: 0000-0003-2209-2092
Arindam Bose is an Associate Professor at Tata Institute of Social Sci-
ences (TISS), Mumbai and a Visiting Faculty at Federal University of São
Paulo (UNIFESP), Brazil. He is the current Vice President of the Interna-
tional Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (IGPME). He
has served on several national committees for DEd and BEd course design
and textbook and curriculum development committees. His research area
is in Mathematics Education.
Authors’ Bio-notes
R Amritavalli ORCID: 0000-0002-4731-9866

R Amritavalli is a theoretical linguist with an interest in first and sec-
ond language acquisition. She has authored print, audio and video mate-
rials for English teaching and teacher-training. She was a member of the
National Focus Group on the Teaching of English (National Curriculum
Framework 2005). Her ideas on language in the classroom are articu-
lated in English in Deprived Circumstances (CUP India, 2007), Language
as a Dynamic Text (Hyderabad: Allied, CIEFL Akshara series1999), and
articles in ELTJ, EFLJ and LLT.
Farhat Ara ORCID: 0000-0002-6124-1815
Farhat Ara is a science educator, researcher and a Faculty at Srishti
Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology, a constituent of Manipal
Academy of Higher Education, Bangalore. She is also the Head of Studies
for the Creative Education course at Srishti since August 2021. A PhD in
Design and Technology Education with her practice rooted strongly in
the constructivist philosophy, she works at the intersection of Education,
Biology, Technology, Design, Literature, and Art. Her courses tap into
diverse interests of students and allows for multiple forms of expressions
by creating synergies among different disciplines and areas of studies.
Maxine Berntsen
Maxine Bernsten is a Professor Emerita at Tata Institute of Social
Sciences (TISS), Hyderabad. She was born in Michigan, USA and has
been living in India for more than sixty years now. She has a PhD in
linguistics and Indian languages and is a recipient of multiple fellowships
including Fulbright-Hays fellowship for her dissertation on social varia-
tion in the Marathi speech in Phaltan, Maharashtra, India. Her work has
mainly focused on linguistics and Indian languages and also in adult edu-
cation. Maxine has collaborated with her friend Jai Nimbkar in writing a
series of nine books, including a reference grammar and a dictionary, to
teach Marathi to adult non-Maharashtrians.
Authors’ Bio-notes xiii
Hridaykant Dewan
Hridaykant Dewan is a Professor in Azim Premji University, Bengaluru
and leads the Translations Initiative team. He is on the editorial team of
At Right Angles and Learning Curve. He has a Ph.D. in particle physics
from University of Delhi and has worked in Peoples’ Science Movement
in Madhya Pradesh to contribute to the improvement of school educa-
tion. As a key member of the Eklavya Foundation, he contributed to the
teacher capacity building in the Hoshangabad Science Teaching Project
and developed various resources for teachers. He has also worked as
Education Advisor and Organizing Secretary of Vidya Bhawan Society.
Amit Dhakulkar ORCID: 0000-0002-8510-5236
Amit Dhakulkar is a Postdoctoral Researcher at North-West
University, South Africa. Prior to this he was a member of the faculty
at CETE, TISS, Mumbai and part of the Connected Learning Initiative
(CLIx). His research interest is in graphicacy and history and philosophy
of science. His work includes developing educational activities involv-
ing graphs and the handling of real-world data. He enjoys exploring the
use of technology to design and change learning experiences in science
and mathematics. He actively promotes use of Free and Open Source
Software [FOSS] for educational purposes.
Ritu Gopal
Ritu Gopal is a violinist, music educator, writer and researcher from
Hyderabad, India. She began to play Western Classical violin at the age
of seven. Her love for singing and music composition, and an early expo-
sure to Carnatic and Hindustani music, find expression in her work for
film, theatre and independent projects across musical genres.
Ritu has been teaching violin since 2010, and has performed with
national and international orchestras across India and Europe. She has
worked as a music therapist for children with autism. She has an MPhil
degree from TISS, Hyderabad.
Alok Mathur
Alok Mathur has been a teacher for over 35 years in the Krishnamurti
Foundation Schools. He has taught mathematics, chemistry, geography
and social studies, has been a house parent, and also served as an admin-
istrator at the Rishi Valley School. He retired as the head of teacher edu-
cation at the Rishi Valley Education Centre. He has also served as a
member of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).
Archana Mehendale
Archana Mehendale is an Adjunct Honorary Professor at the Centre for
Excellence in Teacher Education, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS),
xiv Authors’ Bio-notes
Mumbai. She has earlier worked as a Professor and Research Lead on the
Connected Learning Initiative (CLIx) at the Centre. Her research interests
lie in the area of education law and policy, regulation, innovative financ-
ing and inclusive education. She has developed and taught graduate-level
courses on education policy, institutions and practices at TISS.
Jayanthi Narayan ORCID: 0000-0001-5125-0227
Dr. Jayanthi Narayan is a Special Educator and a visiting Professor
at the University of Northampton (UoN), UK. She is a retired Deputy
Director of the National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped (NIMH,
currently, NIEPID), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment,
Government of India. As a consultant in special and inclusive education,
she has trained teachers in special and inclusive education and has car-
ried out situation analysis of education of children with disabilities in
Indonesia, Maldives, China, Bhutan and Cambodia, hired by UNICEF,
UNDP, WHO and other International agencies. She is a course writer and
editor for distance education courses offered by Indira Gandhi National
Open University (IGNOU) and Tamil Nadu Open University (TNOU).
Shamin Padalkar ORCID: 0000-0002-3041-8374
Shamin Padalkar works as an Assistant Professor in Tata Institute of
Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. She holds a Ph.D in Science Education
from Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, TIFR, Mumbai. She
has served as a member of the science textbook writing committee of
the Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum
Research (Balbharati)She was involved in preparing online courses for
teachers working in remote areas of Maharashtra and in NCERT pro-
jects for teachers.She is visiting faculty at the Inter-University Centre for
Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune and conducts science out-
reach activities. Her current work also involves material development in
science and science teacher professional development.
R Ramanujam
R Ramanujam is a retired professor of Theoretical Computer Science
at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai. He has been part of
several mathematics outreach, curriculum development and teacher edu-
cation programmes. He was a member of the steering committee of the
National Curriculum Framework 2005. Apart from computer science
and mathematics, his research Interests include mathematics and science
education and popularisation.
Garima Singh ORCID: 0000-0002-3294-9400
Garima Singh is a research scholar at Tata Institute of Social Sciences,
Hyderabad. She has masters and MPhil degrees in Science Education and
Authors’ Bio-notes xv
is currently investigating salience of visualisation and modelling in con-

ceptualising human body systems. She examines approaches, concerns
and nature of scaffolds in presenting human body systems concepts in
school textbooks and how these ideas get translated into learner’s con-
ceptions using probing tools such as drawings-based tasks.
Jane Sahi
Jane Sahi born in England moved to India in 1968 in search of a deeper
understanding of Gandhiji’s life and values. She met a number of indi-
viduals who helped shape her perspective and ideals. Gandhiji continues
to be a strong source of inspiration, in particular, his vision and theory of
basic education ‘which is rooted in the soil both literally and figuratively.’
She has taught language courses at TISS Mumbai, TISS Hyderabad and
APU Bengaluru. After running a very successful alternate school close
to Bengaluru for nearly three decades, Jane’s school is now a vibrant
resource centre for anyone interested in education.
K Subramaniam ORCID: 0000-0002-0961-3407
K. Subramaniam is a Professor and former Centre Director of the
Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, TIFR, Mumbai, India. His
main area of work has focused on improvement of learning and teaching
of school mathematics. He has published articles on middle school math-
ematics such as fractions, ratio and proportion, algebra and geometric
measurement, development of models for the professional development
of in-service mathematics teachers and connecting out-of-school math-
ematical knowledge with school learning. He has been part of several
curriculum committees including the National Curriculum Framework
2005. He has also served as a member of the National Council for
Teacher Education (NCTE).
Shikha Takker ORCID: 0000-0001-8604-6015
Shikha Takker is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at University of
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Prior to this she worked as
an Assistant Professor at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad.
Her interest area is in dialectics between research and practice. She has
been working in the field of mathematics teacher education and has also
worked on designing and teaching courses in mathematics education,
cognition and learning and research methodology.
Acknowledgement
We are grateful to many colleagues and students in the TISS fraternity whose
sincere assistance and contribution helped in preparing this edited volume.
We extend gratitude to Ms Drishti for preparing the four illustrations used
in the book. We thank Mr Anirudh Agarwal, Ms Shaily Bhadauria and Mr
Saurabh Thakur (ex-students of MAEE, TISS, Mumbai) for initial rounds
of coordination and copyediting tasks. Our special gratitude to Ms Semontii
Mandal (then a Grade 9 student in Kolkata), Ms Tejaswini N., Mr Ajay
Thomas Lukose (both MA in Education students in TISS, Mumbai), Ms.
Nishtha Khanna, Ms. Urvashi Rupal and Ms. Yukta Sanjay Mahatpure
(MA in Education students in TISS, Hyderabad) for help with transcribing
the interviews. Our special thanks to Dr. Shikha Takke, Ms. Ishani Banerjee
and Ms. Drishti, from TISS Hyderabad for their invaluable and timely help
with cross-checking and formatting the chapters.
We thank Prof. Krishna Kumar and Prof. T.S Saraswathi for graciously
agreeing to the virtual interviews and sharing their profound insights into
the workings of the committee, processes involved in writing up the report
and how it shaped the reform efforts in school education in the country. It
was indeed a very enriching experience for the editors who conducted the
interviews.
We are grateful to Prof Shalini Bharat, Director/Vice Chancellor Tata
Institute of Social Sciences for her overall support and encouragement and
to Prof Padma Sarangapani, Chairperson CETE (formerly CEIAR, TISS
Mumbai) for helping us through conceptualising the Colloquium and
extending financial support for its organisation. We thank the faculty and
students of TISS-Azim Premji School of Education and the then Deputy
Director TISS Hyderabad, Prof S. Siva Raju for helping us organise the
Colloquium in TISS Hyderabad campus in December 2018.
We thank Routledge India and the dedicated publishing team for bringing
out this edited volume, despite unavoidable delays, and diligently seeing it
through.
Foreword
Professor Yash Pal’s 1993 “Learning without Burden” Committee report

served as an important reminder to mainstream school education policy
that the problem of irrelevant and alien content in the school curriculum,
making learning burdensome, frequently noted in nationalist critique of
colonial education, had not gone away in independent India. In some ways
things had gotten worse on account of loading the curriculum in an effort
to “catch-up” and poorly conceptualised pedagogy and organisation and
treatment of content. At a time when universalisation of elementary edu-
cation through more state investment dominated policy discussions, this
report drew attention to the importance of taking the dimension of curricu-
lum seriously – both for the agenda of universalisation as well as the agenda
of quality in education. The problem of “burden” in learning was basically
a curricular problem. The committee developed its analysis and recommen-
dations drawing attention to curriculum and organisation of schooling with
a view to providing educationally worthwhile experiences to students, and
to the careful attention that textbook design and the treatment of content
merited. My own most important learning as a young researcher and “legiti-
mate peripheral participant” in the committee’s work, was “deliberation”
– its importance in curriculum, and its method as crafted by Yash Pal.
Curricular decisions cannot be only the call of “experts” knowledgeable
in content, whether scholars or educationists – especially so in a democ-
racy and as concerns schooling. Yash Pal understood this instinctively. The
range of stakeholders in a public schooling system is wide – beginning with
teachers, and including school administrators, higher education, parents,
community and society at large. Yash Pal sought out views from across
all of these groups and from different parts of the country. The essentially
political nature of curricular choices was vividly played out at these con-
sultations. Yash Pal approached the political dimensions not as a prob-
lem, but as an essential part of curricular choices and decisions. Power and
interest configured and featured in each consultation; listening, attentively,
patiently and magisterially to views expressed and experiences recounted,
both opinionated and humble, was a part of Yash Pal’s craft. The fact of his
xviii Foreword
own extensive past engagement in field experiences, in rural areas, and with
diverse educational groups in the country as well as his personal stature as a
scientist over and above the institutional positions he had occupied, enabled
speaking and listening. Sometimes it felt that the conversations were ellipti-
cally repetitive, with a sense of déjà vu, and much time and expense was
being invested in the committee travelling to different parts of the country
and meeting diverse groups. A second quality of Yash Pal’s method of delib-
eration seemed to be in response to the need to cognise India’s diversity and
scale. He took deliberation out of Delhi to different parts of the country – to
the East, the South, the West and the Centre. This was not just a gesture –
the process of travel and the experience of different state education depart-
ments, and textbooks and languages, not only brought in new flavours to
the deliberations but also made the committee aware that policy needed to
engage with the entire country and not merely to dictate.
As the experience has sunk in over the years, I have begun to understand
not only how important listening and being here through extended conver-
sation are to deliberation, I have also begun to appreciate more how Yash
Pal enabled this to happen with his broad swathe of questions to get people
going, and conveying that he listened and understood, and later in the com-
mittee, inviting synthesis and reflection on what was being said and what
implications it had. I understand better now why inputs elicited through
Google forms cannot constitute deliberation. The sincerity with which these
forms are filled may not be in doubt, but the ability to read and synthesise
what is being said, or gauge their importance or implication is certainly
suspect. The promise of scale in consultation do not compensate for the
need for mutual meaning-making, comprehension and synthesis which are
essential to authentic deliberation.
Therefore, the importance of remembering this pathbreaking report
twenty-five years after its publication. Mythili Ramchand, Ritesh
Khunyakari and Arindam Bose, my colleagues at the Tata Institute of Social
Sciences, conceptualised a symposium with the aim of firstly reflecting on
the importance of the report, its recommendations and its impact – but
also to provide a forum to Indian academics who have been researching
and practicing on different areas of the school curriculum and have new
insights to offer on what to teach, how much, and how. They then took up
the even more arduous task of getting the speakers to write up papers. The
offerings in this book are evidence of how worthwhile this effort proved to
be. The chapters in the book give us a glimpse of how much more contextu-
ally relevant understanding and scholarship through research and practice is
now available to inform curricular deliberation – both forms of knowledge
and approach and treatment: what, why and how. In their introduction,
they provide us with a rich reflection and exploration of the conception
of “burden in learning” – from “mechanical” efforts to reduce the load of
the school bag, as well as “conceptual” efforts to bring more meaning into
Foreword xix
the curriculum. They offer us a gem of an interview with Professor Krishna

Kumar. His participation in the committee undoubtedly shaped its achieve-
ment. Associations formed during the committee’s work have also had an
enduring influence on his own professional career, and have provided him
with a unique vantage point to reflect on the trajectory of concerns that
were formulated in 1993. Through meticulous research and preparation
Mythili, Ritesh and Arindam were able to draw this out and documented an
important record of an exciting period in Indian educational history. The
book is therefore an important document for students of Indian education
with an interest in curriculum, teachers, history and policy, both for the
scholarship that it offers, and also for the new insights it provides that can
be drawn upon to shape future curricula for learning without burden.
Padma M Sarangapani1
Professor and Chairperson
Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education
Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai
Note
1 Padma Sarangapani had served as a Research Associate in Professor Yash
Pal–led National Advisory Committee appointed by the Ministry of Human
Resource Development, Government of India. She had reflected on the process
in the form of a series of letters published in an educational magazine Seminar.
Over time, she has contributed to and continues to engage with education pol-
icy, practice as well as with the broader domain of educational studies.
A Note on Illustrations
Contextual portrayals of academic burden

This book treats its readers to artistic renditions manifesting the wide-rang-
ing contextual expressions of academic burden through a series of four post-
ers, interspersed between the parts. T(he) visual relief seamlessly connects
the different parts of the book.
It is often said that “a picture is worth a thousand words”. While pictures
capture contextual portrayals, they also bring out the complexities associ-
ated with abstract ideas through imagery that can leave a lasting impact.
This book harnesses the subtle yet deep impact of images by capturing var-
ied manifestations of burden from experiences of schools in India.
Each visual tells a story! While it is left to the reader to “find” the story,
a brief note behind each poster captures the artist’s version. A fascinating
part about the imagery of “burden” is that its very depiction also gives a
subtle message about the means by which the burden could be addressed.
For instance, if burden is depicted as physical overload, then it is possible
to address the concern by either de-loading, re-distributing or developing an
action mediation (an artefact or process system), through which the burden
can be reliably addressed. In the poster series, attention is being drawn to
not just depicting the casual conditions and manifestations but also ways
in which the scenarios can be positively altered. Other than the first poster,
the remaining three posters depict a stair-diagonal, which on its either side
capture the portrayals of manifestation of burden and a potential means for
addressing them.
Poster credits:
Sketched by Ms. Drishti
Conceptualised by Dr. Ritesh Khunyakari
Joyful learning makes the burden slide down

Both the Learning without Burden or Yash Pal Committee report (1993)
and the Chaturvedi Committee report (1993) used the same cover image of
a girl carrying a head load of books. The off-loaded burden was represented
through children’s engagement with play and joyful activities with their
peers. This historical depiction captures one aspect of academic burden.
This illustration is enriched with depictions of the other diverse manifesta-
tions of burden. The poster has a trace of the girl carrying a head load of
books but also draws upon the symbol imagery of education as a banyan
tree which has been cut and stacked up with boxes, each of which repre-
sent a specific form of burden. The “knowledge pot” has been broken by
a catapult made by the diverse age group and abilities of children through
their collaborative and ingenious efforts in order to gain access to the bas-
ketball, embodying core, relatable, joyful knowledge. The message tacitly
and explicitly captures the fact that the “burden” in “Learning with-out
Burden” slides down in order to pave the way for “Learning with Joy”.
Chapter 1
Unpacking the Construct of Burden

Ritesh Khunyakari, Mythili Ramchand and Arindam Bose
The Learning without Burden (LwB) report:

content, context and processes
In March 1992, a National Advisory Committee was constituted by the
Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government
of India, under the chairmanship of Professor Yash Pal, former Chairman
of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and a renowned physicist and
science communicator, to advise on how to improve the quality of learning
while reducing the burden on students, and to revive the falling standards
of school education (GoI, 1993a). Around that time, the educational dis-
course in India had already experienced two national policies on education,
two education commissions on school education and several contemporary
deliberations on education policy, planning and reforms. On the interna-
tional front, debates on education and reforms were plentiful, especially
during the time after the two world wars when new boundaries were drawn
and newer efforts emerged that led to the use of education as a tool to
attend to and influence the fast changing social and political will shaping the
world. The dominant discourse in India was that it had to catch up with the
Western world to keep up with this explosion of knowledge.
The impact of the LwB report has been wide ranging. However, it
took almost 12 years for curriculum reform efforts to take cognisance of
the insights from the LwB report and feed them into mainstream educa-
tional discourse and related reforms. A good example is the massive effort
enshrined in the National Curriculum Framework 2005 (NCF 2005), which
resulted from deliberations and critical engagement around 21 National
Focus Groups, each producing a Position Paper. The academic ferment
generated through those developments continues to inform educational
thinking, policies and practices to this day. The new National Education
Policy 2020 (GoI, 2020) has brought in a different set of perspectives such
as focus on foundational literacy and numeracy, proposition for centralised
production of textbooks and large-scale assessments, and imperatives for
reforms. Apart from the changes from within the educational discourse, the
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059-1
2 Ritesh Khunyakari, Mythili Ramchand and Arindam Bose
conditions of social change have also made an impact into inquiring about
the educational purpose, quality of learning experiences, and larger educa-
tion practices. The rampant and rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic
brought formal, institutional learning – among other human life activities
– to a standstill. The unprecedented and lasting impact of the pandemic has
reinvigorated some fundamental questions about learning and educational
experiences that were raised by the Learning without Burden (LwB) report.
The context
One of the dominant educational discourses in India post-independence and
also in most parts of the world, post–World War II, was to find ways of
improving the state of school education and how learning in school could
be made more meaningful. Discourses drawing on different interpretations
of the external scenarios and factors that impact young learners remained
dominant in almost every deliberation that involved school education, stu-
dents’ learning, teacher preparation or curriculum development. The gen-
eral mood of academia in the 1990s as ascertained from the 1995 issue
of Seminar was one of “cynicism” and the “lost opportunities for educa-
tional reforms”. Simultaneously, there existed an angst about moving from
a self-reliant nation-state to dependency on soft loans and foreign aid for
elementary education. The overall educational climate in India in the 1990s
was being transformed by macro-level developments such as the rapid
changes initiated through access and informational exchange rendered pos-
sible by computers and the internet, and the onset of the phenomenon of
globalisation.
The Yash Pal Committee analysed the problem through the lens of cog-
nitive burden placed by the school system on students and recommended
ways for reducing that burden. The report of the committee evocatively
titled “Learning without burden” was submitted to the Indian Government
on July 15 1993. The committee made a set of 12 recommendations rang-
ing from discouraging competitions that reward individuals, to curriculum
renewal and textbook revision, ensuring adequate teacher preparation, and
creating a social and academic ethos for meaningful learning (GoI, 1993a).
These recommendations turned out to be far-sighted and envisioned sys-
temic changes to ensure education received by all students was meaningful.
This landmark report also marked a turning point in the discourse on
learning and knowledge in education, with its recognition that the real bur-
den of learning lies in the conceptualisation of knowledge as a given, devoid
of connections to life and mechanical responses to the “knowledge explo-
sion” and for the systemic approach taken to address this issue. The recom-
mendations have had wide-ranging ramifications over subsequent school
and teacher education reform efforts in the country. The report had a direct
impact on the framing of the National Curriculum Framework 2005 (NCF
Unpacking the Construct of Burden 3
2005), currently being followed in the country (NCERT, 2005). The NCF
2005 built on the discourse initiated by the Yash Pal Committee report,
incorporating constructivist understanding of learning and linking school
curriculum to the pedagogic concerns of students and the societal context.
The report noted that “it is a matter of great concern that the number of
teachers with commitment is gradually shrinking, while cynicism, feelings of
helplessness and hopelessness are on the rise” (p. 22). There was felt to be a
need to take stock of what the sector had achieved to address this concern
during the past 25 years.
NCF 2005 represents an attempt to address the core concern of the LwB
report in the sense that it attempted a systemic effort to offload the bur-
den that the report had identified. There was a period of hibernation from
the time LwB report came in until NCF 2005 was formulated. This period
overlapped with the initiation of the District Primary Education Programme
(DPEP) where priorities were different and had no room for the subtle
understanding that the LwB report had flagged. Curriculum was revived as
an area of systemic reform within NCF 2000 but it did not take up child-cen-
tredness and its ideology was altogether different. Subsidiary programmes
had emerged in schools at the time of NCF 2005. They were pushed into the
system by external agencies. For example, how life skills or value education
can be taught as stand-alone components. These attempts drove the steering
committee to look at the fragmented bits of programmes and focus on inte-
gration from a broader conception of integrating the “co-curricular” into
subject areas. The 21 National Focus Group position papers on different
subject domains and systemic areas attempt to reimagine the subject content
through such integration to make education more meaningful.1
The Terms of Reference (ToR) proposed by the Ministry of Human
Resource Development on the National Advisory Committee had focused
on reducing the academic burden on school students. The imagination of
burden at that time was on the physical burden that appeared as the aca-
demic burden. The committee shifted that thinking as a manifestation of
a much deeper problem and the report appeared as a diagnosis of what
the “real” problem was rather than looking at the problem’s effects. The
deliberations helped in unpacking the cognitive burden of non-comprehen-
sion on school students as one of the primary problems that plagued school
learning. The impact, albeit muted, marked a change in the educational
discourse through a socio-political lens.
Reflections after 25 years: the colloquium

The year 2018 marked the completion of 25 years since the Professor
Yash Pal–led committee submitted its report on Learning without Burden.
The occasion highlighted the need to reflect upon such a seminal docu-
ment and its relevance. A colloquium was organised to bring together a
few academicians and practitioners working in the education sector to dis-

cuss the current understandings on knowledge and learning and trace the
direction of efforts in school education following the recommendations of
the LwB report. The Colloquium was jointly organised by the Centre of
Excellence in Teacher Education (formerly CEIAR), Tata Institute of Social
Sciences (TISS), Mumbai and Azim Premji School of Education (APSoE),
TISS, Hyderabad in December TISS-2018, with an aim to:
• analyse the impact of the Yash Pal Committee report on current cur-
riculum, pedagogy and teacher education reforms in India, and
• review contemporary developments in research on learning in a few areas,
with a view to understand implications for curriculum and pedagogy.
Themes were selected to reflect different domains of school learning. The

speakers were invited to present talks that reviewed and analysed the impact
of the Yash Pal Committee report on contemporary curriculum, pedagogy and
teacher education reforms in India in their respective subject domains, reflect
on understanding of knowledge and learning based on each speaker’s work
and share reflections on taking the report’s recommendations further. The
educationists, representing such diverse disciplinary domains as languages,
mathematics, sciences and social sciences and areas of knowledge expertise
such as policy, curricular reforms, etc., brought to discussion wide-ranging
themes that went well beyond capturing either the disciplinary or systemic
perspectives on education discourse alone. Examples of such an interweav-
ing of ideas surfaced in discussions related to imaginations of music and art,
moral frameworks, inclusive education and Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs)-enabled learning. Although some of these themes were
not an explicit part of the LwB report, the discussions made it possible to
align with the larger spirit of the document. The discussions offered refresh-
ing connections with the report’s recommendations and the current status of
education in respective fields, affording possibilities and ways forward. The
panel discussion at the end of the two days of the Colloquium tied in the
themes and reflected on the entire process of the development of the Yash Pal
Committee report with the themes covered in the colloquium and the devel-
opments that have taken place so far. The participants and speakers in the
Colloquium ended on the high note of hopeful activism and highlighted the
need of documenting these ideas and deliberations as a critical contribution
to the field. Taking a cue from the foregrounded need, the editors initiated a
collaborative endeavour to capture these deliberations by way of this book.
Rationale for the book

The idea of an edited book emerged just before the Colloquium was held
and planning for its organisation was underway. The plan was to compile
the proceedings of the Colloquium. However, while analysing the available

literature that looked into the implications of the LwB report and the dis-
course in educational space in its aftermath, the editors felt the immediate
need for an academically rigorous volume that reflected on the status of the
education sector from post-Independence times leading to the constitution
of the National Advisory Committee, culminating in the landmark LwB
report and the need for tracing its major after-effects by looking back at the
report a quarter-century later.
This edited volume intends to reflect on where we stand vis-à-vis the
recommendations made by the LwB report and what the current under-
standing is on domain-based learning. The book aims to map out current
educational discourse and evidence on learning and reflect on their implica-
tions for reforms in school education and teacher education by combining
research on learning, teaching and assessment in different domains of learn-
ing, within the school set-up and other learning spaces, along with practi-
tioners’ experiences. This book is intended to act as a reference for teachers,
researchers, practitioners, policy makers and those interested in the broader
educational discourse, for looking into reforms in school and teacher edu-
cation, in particular, textbook and curricular reform, teacher education,
inclusion, assessments and learning, as well as newer domain areas such as
design and technology, arts and aesthetics, moral development, education
policy formulation, among other issues, will be analysed from the lens of the
report. This book further hopes to revisit the notions of quality in education
and unpack the idea of “burden”, a term that along with “learning” consti-
tuted the title of the Yash Pal Committee report – Learning without Burden.
Conceptualising the notion of burden

The usage of “burden” represents a historic breakthrough with regard to
language and imagination of educational concerns in the Indian context. This
section discusses the socio-political context in which interest towards address-
ing the academic burden on school students emerged and gained relevance. It
will be followed by a reflective analysis of the construct of academic burden,
in order to capture its complex manifestations. Building on this understand-
ing, the characterisation of burden in the LwB report will be discussed. The
next section will engage with how the construct evolved in the context of
issues in education, during the period the report was drafted. The concluding
section summarises the re-constitution and elaboration of the construct by the
contributors of this volume representing contemporary education discourse.
Emergence of “burden” in Indian educational

discourses: the socio-political context
A formal attention to “burden” as an educational issue of concern can be
traced back to the maiden speech made by Padma Vibhushan R.K. Narayan
in the 150th session of Rajya Sabha on April 27 1989 presided over by the
then Deputy Chairperson, Ms. Najma Heptullah. The popular Indian writer,
R.K. Narayan2, then a nominated Member of Parliament, spoke about the
plight of school children caused by the physical burden of school bags, insist-
ence on school uniforms and the imposing nature of modern education.
The speech resonated with other members of parliament, as evidenced by
a supportive commentary by another literary scholar, Ms. Amrita Pritam.
Subsequently, the National Advisory Committee was formed in 1992 to
suggest ways of reducing the academic burden on school students. In revisit-
ing the historic development, one begins to appreciate that the construct of
“burden” is a deep-seated socio-cultural experience requiring attention and
substantive action. This understanding of the construct of academic burden
is in sharp contrast with the often-used functional feature of constructs in
educational literature, where its implied use is that of a theoretical device or
a means of parsing an idea of interest in educational research.
Reflective analysis of the conception of burden

In a commonsensical usage, the idea of burden is related to material con-
siderations involving a constellation of associated ideas such as capacities,
thresholds and load. The associative and contingent relation of burden pre-
supposes a metaphorical positioning of human beings as possessing a carry-
ing capacity. Loading beyond thresholds leads to burdening. The embodied
physicality of burden manifests in the speech of R.K. Narayan:
School bag has become an inevitable burden for the child. I am now
pleading for abolition of the school bag by an Ordinance, if necessary.
I have investigated and found that an average child carries strapped to
his back like a pack-mule, not less than 3–6kg of books, notebooks and
other paraphernalia of modern education, in addition to lunch box and
water bottles. More children on account of this daily burden develop a
stoop and hang their arms forward like a chimpanzee while walking and
I know some cases of serious spinal injuries in the children too. …For the
child, the day has ended with no time for play or dream. It is a cruel and
harsh life imposed on her and I present her case before this house and the
honorable members to think over and devise a remedy by changing the
whole educational system and outlook so that childhood has a chance to
bloom rather than wilt in dreadful process of learning. (p. 183)
The cartoon illustrations by his younger brother and the renowned carica-
ture artist Padma Vibhushan R.K. Laxman, visually signified the concern of
academic burden in the news media (see Figure 1.1).
While the physical connotation of “burden” cannot be missed, the con-
struct of burden also encompasses cognitive, psychosocial and emotive
Figure 1.1 The burden of academic load visualised through R.K. Laxman’s cartoons. Source:
R.K. Laxman. We pay Tribute to R.K. Laxman on his 100th Birth Anniversary.
dimensions. These multiple manifestations of burden among learners could

be traced to a quantum change in the information to be processed and
assimilated. In the 1990s, the country experienced the rise of television
and computers. As a result, access to a body of information became more
convenient. This change has been examined by Rajaraman (2012), where
he discusses the various epochs related to the development of the country.
He observes that both the amount and nature of information processing
has crucial impacts on society. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, India
evidenced what Toffler (1970) predicted as an unprecedented, accelerated
exposure and access to knowledge. The packing of knowledge in school
textbooks in order to meet the accelerated growth and explosion of knowl-
edge resulted in an expanded volume of school bags too. The sole reliance
on textbooks to support learning within inherited, colonial “textbook cul-
ture” (Kumar, 1988) and a competitive environment focusing on outcomes,
have an impact on the psychosocial conditions of learning. A related and
interesting aspect of conceptual inquiry pertains to the fruitfulness of char-
acterising and perceiving burden as an outcome or as involving processes
that lead to undesirable manifestations and compromising learning. The
source of burden within the larger imagination of the educational system
provides another axis of conceptual probing (Deshpande, 2018).
The notion of burden can either be attributed to systemic aspects of

designed environment and conditions of learning (e.g., role of the uniform
in schooling articulated in Narayan’s speech) or can arise from the manner
of implementation, thereby possessing an emergent property unanticipated
during the design. In either case, the resolution derives from a reimagina-
tion. In the former case, it implies re-envisioning of the educational system
whereas in the latter case, it invites restructuring of the discourses involving
learning. The clarion call in Narayan’s speech alludes to both these aspects
of the notion of burden.
Ideas theorised in the literature have long argued the necessity and benefits
of distinguishing between constructs and concepts (Kerlinger & Lee, 2000).
While constructs serve as the building blocks to evidence-based theorising of
ideas, concepts contribute to knowledge building. Insights drawn from these
distinctions help to analytically relate to the conceptual and empirical char-
acteristics of burden. While concept captures meaning through a word that
expresses an abstraction formed by generalisation from particulars (e.g., force,
achievement, honesty, etc.), a construct is a concept with additional mean-
ing of deliberately, consciously created or appropriated for a special scientific
purpose (e.g., height, hostility, self-esteem, etc.). As Eisner (2005) argued,
constructs are means to construe social situations by bracketing aspects of the
social world for us to experience and draw attention to these in novel ways.
Extending this understanding to the notion of burden, one is bound to
engage with questions about how the meaning of burden is constitutively
defined within educational discourse and practice. Our knowledge of the sit-
uated character of “burden” provokes us to examine how burden had been
operationalised within the “terms of reference” for the National Advisory
Committee and compare it with its elaboration in the report. Such an analy-
sis will enable meanings and scope envisaged in the report to be elicited
within a time-space context. Insights gained from this understanding will
serve as a referent to compare ways in which contemporary scholars have
internalised the notion and used it to bracket a range of aspects and experi-
ences within evolving Indian educational discourses. The subsequent sec-
tions make an attempt to address this conceptual intention.
Scoping the characterisation of burden within the LwB report

Clearly, the terms of reference for the advisory committee considered “aca-
demic burden” as a proliferating, undesirable phenomenon caused by over-
loading young children and turning the process of learning into drudgery
(GoI, 1993a). The call for ways of reducing academic burden was also cued
to possible measures for redressal (p. 29):
The measures such as, formal recognition and weightage to sports and
games and co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, more of outdoor
and more mutually beneficial interaction of students with the commu-

nity, etc. could be the broad directions that need to be pursued.
The hidden message seems to pitch for easing or offloading the academic
burden through a counter-academic recipe of co-curricular and extracur-
ricular activities. While this subtle conceptualisation posits a perspective of
trading and achieving a counterbalance, the report makes deliberate efforts
to problematise academic burden as curriculum load and causes that explain
the problem, before suggesting recommendations. Thus, one finds a mix of
constitutive as well as operational efforts to define “burden”. Table 1.1 is a
Table 1.1 Dimensions of burden (load) characterised in the LwB report.
Dimension Manifestation Causal explanation/s Recommended orientation/s
Physical/ Gravitational load Faulty notions of Textbooks made available

Mechanical (weight) of school “knowledge explosion” by schools, distinction
bag and “catching up” to be made between
syndrome textbook learning and
home assignments
Curricular Volume and (i) Information (facts) (i) Concepts densely
nature of learning; based, less emphasis on packed, fact-based,
Process boring, thinking and exploring; repetitive;
unpleasant and (ii) Teaching limited to (ii) Language (words,
bitter experience textbooks, aimed at expressions & meanings)
“covering” syllabus; different from child’s
(iii) Learning driven by everyday experiences;
examinations; (iii) Observations,
(iv) Teachers implement excursions & experiments
curriculum given by not encouraged;
authorities (iv) Teachers are made
a part of textbook
development
Cognitive Non- A lot is taught but little is Very little fully
comprehension; learnt or understood comprehended is far
High drop-out better than a great deal,
poorly comprehended
Psychosocial Learning process is Imposed regimes & Child’s innate nature and
joyless academic routines make capacities throttled – no
learners slog through time to play, enjoy simple
homework, tuitions pleasures & explore the
& coaching; Leisure a world
scarce commodity
Emotive Drudgery in Competitive, individual Encourage analytical
learning; High achievements reflection on real-life
drop-out situations; Co-operative
learning
Source: Authors
heuristic outcome of an effort to consolidate the characterisation of burden

gathered from several arguments within this LwB document.
The construct of “burden” in Indian educational discourse is multi-lay-
ered. It represents socio-political motivation, has a multidimensional (physi-
cal, cognitive, psychosocial and emotive) nature, and the prospects of its
impact are also varied, from that which relates to an individual’s cognitive,
psychosocial being to the larger, societal engagement with education. The
scope and utility of the construct begs an analysis in order to explore the
pragmatic value of the construct for theorising, researching and appreciat-
ing teaching learning. While this conceptual exercise enables us to relate
to the complex notion of burden, the journey ahead is about temporally
unfolding how burden has been explored during the LwB study as captured
through letters from a researcher, how the contemporary practitioners have
reflected, responded and integrated the ideas in their educational practice.
The concluding part of the chapter brings core aspects that emerge from
conversations with a committee member who continues to contribute to
education discourse in present times, thereby completing a temporal cycle
of reflective engagement.
Reconstructing explorations of burden

from a researcher’s letters
Just as appreciating the process of a seed germinating into a fully grown
tree or a cocoon metamorphosing into a vibrant butterfly, the noticing of
spatio-temporal changes to an evolving policy document in education is
both meaningful and insightful. A reader, attending to the details retro-
spectively allows for one to strike a chord with the developmental changes.
But at the same time, one is able to reflectively draw upon insights and
connect with the contemporary events and happenings. Revisiting the cul-
tural, economic, political and social context of the time when a policy
document was necessitated, deliberated, drafted and submitted provides
a coherent and meaningful landscape within which one can situate the
developments and discursively relate to them within the larger educational
discourses.
Field notes, observations and extracts of episodes, incidences and reflec-
tion from diaries and letters provide a significant viewpoint of the partic-
ipant researcher. Though these are, by their very purpose, informal and
personal points of recollection for sharing or retrieving the episodes, they
represent an unfiltered means to access the “raw (unrefined) thinking” that
spontaneously and vividly gets recorded, perhaps as a lasting impression. If
carefully attended to, these sources to events in a particular period of time
can serve to enrich our understanding. Fortunately, the letters from one of
the Research Associates working with the committee, Padma Sarangapani
(PS) to her mother and sister Radha provide a useful source for helping us
understand the developmental processes and field dynamics. In the letters,
she captures her observations, impressions and experiences during her trav-
els to different places where field meetings were organised, namely, Calcutta,
Trivandrum, Pune, Bhopal and Delhi. Her letters chronicle the ideas and
impressions of deliberations from the field. This section draws on her let-
ters published with the title “Travels with Yash Pal” in the December 1995
issue (436) of the Education Magazine Seminar on the theme “Learning To
Change – Innovative Ideas in Teaching and Learning”.3 The analysis here
attempts to foreground and discuss critical ideas, observations and experi-
ences captured during the process of the LwB report and which we believe
have critical and insightful bearings for this book. The synthesis from these
letters is organised around three headings. The first relates to assimilation
of the construct and tensions around it. The second captures insights gained
from the process of field interactions enabling framing of the LwB report
and the third deals with consolidation of ideas revisited through these docu-
mented letters.
Assimilation of the construct at different levels

The construct of “academic burden” seemed to be assimilated in various
ways. While the common perception seemed to be about bringing down the
physical load or “basta bojh” (heavy school bags), the committee members
also seemed to internalise the construct in various ways. These differing per-
ceptions about burden among committee members are evident in PS’s letter
to her mother dated 7 May 1992.
There seems to be no consensus in the committee on what the problem

is, or even if there is a problem. Gyan Chaudhari4 is convinced that the
real problem of schools in India is just to get them to work, there is no
load, because nothing is taught. He feels that any talk of load and of
curriculum is a diversion – a problem of the middle class. Madhu Goyal
is clearly very distressed by the primarily urban mobile class phenom-
enon of putting very young children through preschool, where children
are taught writing and numeral work, to prepare them for the class I
entrance tests of elite public schools. Prabha Rai seems to be sitting
on the fence. On one hand she says children in school are pressured
from a very early age to compete and learn things that they are not yet
ready for; later they have to cram for engineering and medical entrance
tests. At the same time, she says there is no load, and that committed
teachers would make all the difference. Gajendra Singh believes that the
pressure arises from ill-conceived curricula, in a vacuum of any reflec-
tion on principles of curriculum construction. Dr. Kamal Dev’s stand
though, worded differently, is similar. He is particularly concerned

about ‘redrawing the learning curve’.
(Sarangapani, 1995, p. 51)
Reconnecting to the scenario invokes the question about the approach to

addressing the notion of academic burden, which has been the mandate of
the committee. One typical approach could be to operationalise academic
burden using the theoretical apparatus available and then develop a “sci-
entific” approach to study the realisation of load. Instead, the committee
seemed to take a more contextually informed, empirical way of reaching out
to educational bureaucrats, educationists, teachers and students from vari-
ous parts of the country. In addition, it also initiated a conversation with
resource persons involved in novel field initiatives in teaching and learning.
Further, an open channel for communicating with parents and civil society
was created to respond to ideas intended to address the problem of bur-
den. Such an open approach towards conceptualising allowed for construc-
tive, generative and experiential operationalising of burden, which can be
debated and deliberated further.
Insights from processes of field interactions revisited

An open discussion with participants in different geographic regions ena-
bled the capture of varying ideas and also reasons for why the conceptu-
alisation has been so varied. The broad questions raised by the committee
members that invited responses included:
Why is learning a burden? Where is the problem? What are the aspects
that need to be changed and how? How are we to create programmes
through which there would be real learning?
Implied in the questions raised, is a discomfort with the existing scheme of

things around the processes of learning. Moreover, the questions are also
suggestive that the various participants, by virtue of their continual immer-
sion, experience and reflections, would be able to articulate and bring to
the fore their immediate concerns in relation to countering the feeling of
burdened learning.
It is interesting and illuminating to notice the range and variance within
the diverse stakeholders. They seemed to elicit a diverse range of features
associated with academic burden and foreseeing the means to resolving the
issue.
Bureaucrat sourcing of burden and its resolution: The voice of bureau-
crats and administrators reflected an internalised meaning of academic
burden, different from the educationists and practitioners. In many cases,

their voices ascribed sweeping generalisations that overshadowed the spe-
cific meanings internalised by the practitioners. However, it was interesting
to assimilate these meanings which came up in conversations with them. In
reference to one of the meetings in Pune, PS notes:
The directors and heads just assumed that what they have to say is
more important. It’s shocking how brazenly one of them claimed that
the state curriculum was a load only for low intelligence, mediocre
children!
Teachers in different contexts: The responses to the questions seemed to be

understood and responded to differently. This variance reflected the differ-
ential engagement and tussle of teachers. For instance, teachers in northern
states seemed to have responded by dissociating themselves from imagining
a change and argued for the requirement of systemic changes in educational
structure and planning. The extract from PS’s letter dated 16 May 1992
elaborates on this aspect.
The problem everyone claimed they were responding to was, ‘why do

children find school burdensome?’, but it quickly expanded into ‘what’s
wrong with education?’ The entire gamut of issues raised – non-func-
tional village schools, overzealous, poorly-trained and underpaid teach-
ers of the teaching shops called public schools, language policy, tuitions,
public examinations, cheating, guides, non-teaching burden of govern-
ment school teachers, transfers, punishment, universalization, corrup-
tion, political interference… Each one of these was cited as a reason for
the burden on the school child! The message seemed to be: ‘you want
to reduce the burden on the child? Then set the system right. Make it
work.’
Teachers engaged in reflections about teaching and learning seemed to be

focused on specific aspects that could be critically scrutinised and deliber-
ated further to address the issue of burden. For instance, an extract from
PS’s letter describing the experience with teachers from Eklavya is a case
in point.
These teachers are a part of Eklavya’s social science and science pro-
grammes. The astuteness with which they grasped the issue I was refer-
ring to was impressive. They were so much at ease in talking about
teaching and learning, suspending all other systemic issues in education,
or at least putting them in perspective. Good handwriting doesn’t cloud

language learning. And a disciplined class isn’t equated with good
teaching or good learning. Their criticism, whether of the M.P. board
or of Eklavya, is sound. The kind one can respond to.
Teachers representing a few private schools elaborated on how they were

different in handling burden by offering more practice, including the play-
way method and use of innovative techniques to bring excitement to learn-
ing. Here is an extract from PS’s letter dated 16 May 1992.
They too were defensive and a bit complacent about what they teach
their children. They claim that they are thorough and give a lot of
practice so that children can learn a lot. And of course, they all claim
that they use the ‘play-way’ method (whatever that is) and innovative
techniques to make learning ‘fun’. The problem in school come later,
with exams. The class XII physics books, they claim, are too tough. And
competitive entrance exams put an inordinate load on children.
It is interesting to note that teachers’ problematisation of burden represents

a duality. Either burden is at the systemic or at an implementation/realisa-
tion level. The systemic level amounts to the manner in which burden gets
operationalised by the administrative authorities, academic bureaucrats,
state functionaries or teachers feeling pushed to reflect on reforms. The level
of realisation concerns deliberation of an educational idea or practice lead-
ing to transformation or reform. The agency of teachers seemed to manifest
in various ways depending on the context and predisposition to educational
issues.
Teachers who have been continually engaged and reflecting on teaching
practice seemed to be directed by two kinds of conviction. One set of teach-
ers, who respond to the challenges within the existing paradigm, relate to
three definite aspects of content and curriculum, methods of teaching, and
catering to examinations. Incidentally, these closely parallel the three sys-
tems identified in the committee report of textbooks, syllabus and exam-
ination. The other set of teachers seemed to draw upon their pedagogic
conviction to bring out changes in existing patterns of thinking and action,
derived from their own experiments.
Pedagogues’ convictions to addressing burden: Those pedagogues
experimenting with ideas in practice seem to have a different character
of response that attend to critical influences in learning. A case in point
has been the experience gathered by the committee members from their
interactions with educators such as Anil Sadgopal, Rohit Dhankar or M.P.
Parmeswaran who brought in novel points of reflection about education
discourse. They question the foundations of current education structure

and content by foregrounding the issues of purpose, relevance and experi-
ence in learning.
Scientists’ reflections on teaching and learning: The group of scientists
concerned about making learning effective strongly pushed forward the idea
of a comprehensive “package” in learning, practically undeterred by the
resulting increase in volume.
They had suggested a ‘package’ – textbook, teacher’s guide, workbook

and additional readings. It was cut down to just textbook…Teachers
were too awed by the scientists and didn’t seem to feel confident or com-
petent to make any comments. The materials too were given to them at
the meeting, so they had no time to go through and reflect on them.
Consolidation of the ideas revisited

A glance at the range of responses indicates a varied identification about the
source or location of the problem of burden, namely the learner, the text-
book, the learning experience and lack of a comprehensive reinforcement
of ideas. The process of study involving different stakeholders yielded dif-
ferent kinds of reasoning or actions to address the problematised notion of
burden. This included making systemic changes in order to make any mean-
ingful impact on what a child may be facing through poor infrastructure,
corrupt systems, etc. Ironically, the suggestions of transforming ineffective
systems of functioning come from being well aware that the suggestions go
beyond the scope of susceptibility of immediate reform action. Although
teachers are usually seen as agents of educational deliberation and transfor-
mation, one notices a variance in how they engaged and responded to the
issue of burden. A continual, reflective freedom and scope for experimenting
with pedagogies seemed to offer sound basis for their agency as opposed to
getting vortexed in narratives of a servile attitude. Teachers’ self-assessment
of their roles also seemed to be influenced by such an exposure.
The researcher’s (PS’s) own observations about textbook content are par-
ticularly relevant with regard to manifestation of burden.
The textbook content is to be dense, containing too much information

that is poorly elaborated, repetitive, and most of all moralistic and bor-
ing, particularly in the early years. And its amazing how almost all the
states have emulated the NCERT. Even though technically they can,
they don’t want to do things differently! (And when they do, it’s usually
worse).
It seems relevant that there is more to be unpacked rather than claiming and
reinforcing commonsensical beliefs about the cause(s) for academic burden.
This unpacking offers not just diversity of perspectives but also a variance in
expression of experience and insights, which otherwise gets encapsulated as
a category of stakeholder, like that of a teacher. In a nutshell, it seems that
taking the otherwise perceived cumbersome, burdensome route to unpack-
ing understanding actually opens up numerous critical entries to complex
and nuanced interpretations and ideas. This allows for issues that can have a
lasting impact on the purpose and impact of reflectively engaging or pursu-
ing alternative educational pathways in thought and action to be genuinely
addressed. With this as a backdrop on how and when the construct of bur-
den entered the discourse in the Indian education system, the next section
sums up the imagination of burden and possible ways of addressing it, by
scholars and practitioners covering the journey of nearly three decades after
the submission of the LwB report.
Interpretative unfolding of burden and thematic

principle for the organisation of the book
The contributors of this volume combine practice, research, policy, and per-
sonal experience in unique ways to analyse the issue of burden, reflect on
reform efforts and suggest ways forward. The chapters cover a range of
learning domains and sectors in school education, which by no means claim
to be comprehensive. Most authors acknowledge the Yash Pal Committee
report’s diagnosis of the problem of curriculum load as causing physical
and cognitive burden leading to joyless learning, and go on to interpret
burden in the current context, within a domain of learning. They concur
with the report that while the curriculum, textbooks and pedagogic prac-
tices have constricted academic ethos, the high stakes examination system
has promoted a competition-based social ethos. The authors problematise
the reform efforts and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, while
outlining possible ways forward for the education sector in India.
This edited volume is organised into three parts following this introduc-
tory chapter. Part One, focuses on the systemic factors that both contrib-
ute to academic burden and attempts to mitigate it. Part Two, discusses
the experiences and perspectives from the various learning domains. There
is some overlap across the two parts. For instance, we have included the
chapter on mathematics curriculum reform in Part One, since this chapter
is primarily about reimagining mathematics curriculum and supplements
the chapter on issues with curriculum reforms more generally. Likewise,
the chapter on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has
been included under systemic factors since the focus of this chapter is on
the use of ICTs as a curricular resource and pedagogic tool rather than
on digital literacy. Also included are contributions from authors analysing
burden within the diverse learning domains and reflecting on systemic con-
straints and possibilities. Governed by the common principle of what char-
acterises the source and nature of deliberation, this book organises chapter
contributions around the two broad themes of Systemic issues and Learning
domains, which will be detailed below. The final part, Part Three, includes
reflections elicited from interview conversations with two members of the
Yash Pal Committee, who were interviewed by the editors of this volume.
The concluding chapter engages with the kinds of questions that arise from
the deliberations that have received critical treatment by scholars in the field.
Perspectives on systemic issues

An overarching set of contributions that inform education discourses around
burden concern the problematising, positioning and introspection into pol-
icy reforms that offer prospects for addressing the systemic sources relat-
ing to academic burden. The deliberations revolve around concerns about
policy imagination, careful orchestrating of experiences in initial teacher
education programmes and for preparing to be teachers, ensuring curricular
imagination which is in sync with the policies, reconsidering substantive
reimagination within curricula, and developing critical orientations towards
the relation between assessment and learning. An understanding of poli-
cies and relation between curricular content, pedagogies and assessments
enables the concerns of three parallel systems of textbooks, teachers and
examinations in the Indian education system, identified in the LwB report,
to be addressed as well as engaging with issues of inclusivity, access, and
those that offer an ethical and moral compass in learning. These are critical
to making any systemic impact on addressing the issues of equality, quality
and quantity, which according to J.P. Naik (1979), constitute the “elusive
triangle in Indian education”. In a manner, the contributions comprising
this part of the book brings attention to the idea of burden from a systemic
perspective.
In the chapter on policy perspectives on learning without burden, Archana
Mehendale invokes “backward and forward linkages” to the ideas promul-
gated by the Yash Pal Committee. She reminds us that a centrally prescribed
curriculum framework was enforced after the Constitution (Forty-Second)
Amendment Act, 1976 marking education as a subject on the concurrent
list. While there have been policies prior to the Yash Pal Committee report
which recognised the problem of curriculum overload and the deficiencies in
the examination system, there is little information about their implementa-
tion. The Chaturvedi Committee which was set up explicitly to determine
the feasibility of implementing the Yash Pal Committee’s recommendations
merely concurred with a few recommendations while rejecting the rest (GoI,
1993b). Mehendale rues that an analysis of the implementation of the rec-
ommendations of the Yash Pal Committee report is not possible for lack of
data and presents an overview of the extent to which these recommenda-

tions have been incorporated into legislation, court rulings and the National
Education Policy 2020. She analyses the RtE Act 2009 and its 2019 amend-
ment vis-à-vis the Yash Pal Committee recommendations. While the num-
ber of court cases pertaining to curricular overload or education quality
“has been limited”, in most rulings of these cases “the courts have reiter-
ated and expanded on the ideas of the Yash Pal Committee”. Comparing
the NEP 2020 provisions with the key recommendations of the Yash Pal
Committee she notes the “continuities, discontinuities and the silences”. She
raises questions not only about the “political commitment” to the reform
ideas but also the “practical challenges in their implementation”, for exam-
ple, 25 years after the recommendations, some states and UTs continue to
invoke the construct of physical burden of school bags and overlook the
cognitive and socio-emotional burden.
The chapter on teacher education by Shikha Takker and Mythili Ramchand
analyses the three national education policy documents, reports of commit-
tees and commissions on teacher education and curriculum documents to
reveal the burden on and of teacher education. They identify poor state
provisioning and marketisation of teacher education as the primary burden
the sector faces. Despite the rhetoric on teachers and teacher preparation,
the state has not invested adequately in initial teacher education, leaving the
market to cater to the exponential demand. The authors think that in a bid
to curb the rampant corruption that had seeped into the sector, it is now
burdened by over-regulation thereby stifling innovations. They find the sec-
tor is “poorly researched with a preponderance of normative prescriptions
and impressionistic viewpoints shaping its programmes and structures”.
Finally, the low morale and self-esteem of teacher educators due to systemic
neglect and their own lack of agency also place a substantial burden on
teacher education. Nevertheless, if the sector is to remain relevant it has
to fulfil its burden of preparing teachers who can bring about qualitative
changes in the education system thereby reducing the “burden” on millions
of school children. The chapter reviews academic discourses that seek to
outline key features of the initial teacher education curriculum to support
preparation of teachers who can reduce the academic burden on children
in schools through pedagogic changes. The chapter describes the process of
designing an innovative curriculum for a university teacher education pro-
gramme, as a case to reflect on the possibilities and limitations of curriculum
reform in the light of the burden on teacher education.
Hridaykant Dewan critically reflects on the education policies and
curriculum reform efforts in the country in the light of upholding the
Constitutional promise of inclusive society. He laments that the country
seemed to operate from a misplaced concern that inclusive approaches
would hold back national development by limiting the opportunities for
the talented. He argues that even the first national education policy (1968)
which had recommended common schooling did not envision inclusion with
a sense of equality of opportunity but focused on what it had considered as
two major goals of education, namely “to produce scientists and engineers
who would build the technological and scientific capability and the other,
to educate the large communities of people and free them of obscurantism
and backwardness”. Faulting the 1986 policy for having “buried the idea
of common school” and allowing “cheap and poorly equipped government
schools with underpaid teachers to be opened to cut costs on education
for all”, Dewan points out that this policy takes the notion of identifying
and nurturing talent further by recommending the setting up of residential
schools in every district. He also critiques the first three national curricu-
lum frameworks (NCERT, 1975, 1988, 2000) for school education for not
acknowledging the lived experiences of learners and addressing the basic
concerns of making education meaningful and engaging for them, despite
invoking phrases like “learning by doing” and “child-centred education”.
He points out that the recommendation of the Yash Pal Committee report
came about in a climate of thinking and exploration about education out-
side of the public structures. Reflecting on the impact of the educational
reform efforts initiated by some states, he notes that while there was greater
involvement by teachers in textbook writing, the focus was more on meth-
ods and techniques rather than enhancing learners’ conceptual understand-
ing. Dewan thinks that “NEP 2020 appears to endorse the ideas of the Yash
Pal Committee report and NCF 2005 but uses a multiplicity of confusing
terms and contradicting ideas”. He concludes with the idea that the pro-
posed NCFSE must clarify these ideas adequately and learn from the chal-
lenges of initiating previous curriculum reform efforts to make education
inclusive.
Calling for restructuring of the mathematics curriculum, R. Ramanujam
suggests that “key mathematical ideas” must be the focus of school math-
ematics curriculum rather than mere “competence in mathematics” that
prepares students for a career in science and engineering. He states that in
the case of mathematics learning the burden is heavier compared to other
school subjects, given the pressure to succeed in mathematics. The author
notes that the changes in school mathematics since the Learning without
Burden report, vary widely across states and that the curricular reforms
have been minimal. For example, while NCF 2005 acknowledged “the
‘tall and spindly’ curricular structure of school mathematics”, it contin-
ues to remain “unaddressed”. His critiques for NEP 2020 come from its
“repeated exhortations on the importance of mathematics for the profes-
sions of the future” thereby reinforcing the idea “of school mathematics as
a pipeline for human resources”. He makes a case for substantive curricu-
lar reforms by including a set of carefully thought out “considerations”
and some of “the big ideas of mathematics” to support learners to build “a
language of discourse gradually gaining in precision and abstraction”. The
author draws parallels with language learning and concludes that “the
desired outcome should be seen as fluency in this language rather than spe-
cific knowledge or skills” and “as with all language use, different speakers
would be skilled in different idioms and registers, a few becoming writers
and creators”.
The chapter on assessment and learning by Ritesh Khunyakari points out
how the strong coupling of accountability with assessment has ironically
brought in a “disjuncture” between assessment and learning. Beginning
with its gate-keeping function, Khunyakari explores how assessment inter-
acts with curricular, pedagogical, affective and psychosocial aspects and
traces the impact of these interactions on learning. Discussing the Yash Pal
Committee report’s conception of “burden” with regard to assessment, the
author “maps some of the historic and socio-cultural shifts in approaches to
assessment in the Indian education system”. He rues that for most part the
reform efforts in assessment focused on “managerial and communicative”
purposes but overshadowed the “pedagogic purpose”. Drawing from his
own experience of teaching a science topic to social science undergradu-
ate students from other disciplinary backgrounds, Khunyakari reflects on
“assessment as, of and for learning”. The chapter concludes “with a hope
that assessment will liberate itself from serving as a means to establishing
bureaucratic accountability by gathering strength from an interwoven rela-
tionship between curriculum, pedagogy and assessment”.
Amit Dhakulkar explores the use of connected computers in potentially
addressing some of the issues raised by the Learning without Burden report.
For example, with the “joyless learning” and the nature of assessments
emerging from the textbooks, Dhakulkar offers alternatives (and poten-
tial disruptions) through ICT integration to the current “one size fits all
approach”. He notes that the textbooks are generally “fact” driven, use
formal language and remain detached from learners’ local and everyday
contexts. He offers digital textbooks as “dynamic” alternatives to the
centralised process of textbook preparation. Digital textbooks which are
interactive, can cater to the local contexts, come in multiple languages and
media and the content can be easily updated. Dhakulkar reminds us that the
availability of the Open Educational Resources (OERs) has “made it pos-
sible for anyone to access and use quality materials from anywhere in the
world”. Narrating instances from two projects that he has been involved
with, he showcases how “technology can create learning contexts which are
relevant and joyful” to the learners. This chapter suggests a number of ways
in which the connected computers can support examination reform, which
has remained a substantial challenge in India.
In her chapter focusing on the educational needs of children with disabili-
ties, Jayanthi Narayan reports that proactive legislations and programmes
by the state have led to increased enrolment of children with disabilities
in schools. Even though the Yash Pal Committee report did not specifi-
cally mention children with disabilities, Jayanthi finds its key recommenda-
tions to be relevant to the current educational needs of these children. She
points out “observation, learning by doing, focus on life experiences, and
shift from competition-based evaluation to criterion-based evaluation” will
benefit the education of all children including those with disabilities. She
advocates a universal design for learning which allows “total flexibility”
as a “key to successful and inclusive learning and promotes joyful learning
without burden”.
Alok Mathur’s chapter addresses the issue of moral and ethical learning.
Providing a dispassionate view of the current state of affairs ranging from
“long-standing structural injustices in human societies the world over”,
the global market forces and unsustainable development trajectories from
the twentieth century to the present “post-truth era” with its “bewildering
inter-twining of false narratives”, Alok sees the ongoing pandemic crisis as
bringing “all of these troubling features of our times into sharp relief”. But
he also finds that the pandemic has “brought forth in individuals and com-
munities more considerate, compassionate responses to those in distress”.
He postulates that this human capacity for empathy coupled with the ten-
dency for self-inquiry, form “the primary basis for ethical learning”. The
author suggests schools can potentially play “a key role in enabling young
people to grow in goodness and respond to the stark moral challenges of
the twenty-first century”. Beginning with an examination of “the notions of
moral values, virtues, social-emotional learning and ethical learning”, Alok
presents a complex and “layered view” of human nature so as to understand
“the demands of ethical learning and character development”. He follows
up this conceptual analysis with a socio-political analysis of alternative con-
ceptions of moral education in India. He ends the chapter with “a broad
framework of educational aims and processes that may be kept in view by
policy makers, school administrators and teachers concerned with the moral
challenges thrown up by our present times”.
Perspectives from learning domains

While systemic issues can alter and renew the educational landscape, per-
spectives from specific learning domains have much to offer in re-crafting
and re-envisioning the direct engagement with learners. The advancement
in educational studies and efforts to connect insights drawn from research,
development and practice offer possibilities for addressing the encountered
nature of burden in innovative and fruitful ways. The learning domains
covered include music and arts, language learning, mathematics education,
science education, and design and technology education. Interesting con-
vergence of agency of learner with the (joyful) conditions of learning and
an understanding of content and process of knowledge, underscores the

emphasis on addressing burden encountered in learning.
Ritu Gopal makes a case for learning in the arts which “plays a signifi-
cant role in shaping the social, emotional, cognitive and developmental
well-being of children”. She draws upon research on special and inclusive
education which indicates the benefits of integrating performing and visual
arts for children with disabilities. Ritu cautions that curriculum and schools
must ensure the art forms are “accessible, participatory, contextually rel-
evant and inclusive of marginalised traditions”. Arguing for going beyond
performance, public reward and achievement, she suggests that a non-com-
petitive and inclusive arts classroom has the potential to reduce or balance
academic burden. Ritu critiques the hierarchy within art forms in India due
to socio-political reasons and calls for a revival of the rich local art and craft
traditions. Drawing upon a narrative inquiry of the educational experiences
of five students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, she explores
the possibilities of art forms to stimulate conversations about life and living
contexts in inclusive school settings.
In their chapter on emergent and early literacy, Jane Sahi and Maxine
Berntsen analyse the possible causes of burden on young children in formal
school settings and offer ideas, approaches and tools to meaningfully sup-
port children in their journey towards becoming literate. In her chapter,
Jane identifies external pressures to perform uniform goals set for all chil-
dren and use of single textbooks as burdensome. Pointing out that chil-
dren have “a natural urge” from a very young age to express themselves,
explore the world and make sense of it, she says literacy has to build on this
impetus and viewed “in relationship to other modes of symbolic representa-
tion including speech, gesture, image-making, make-believe play and story
making within a dynamic community”. Extending the Yash Pal Committee
report’s recommendations for pre-primary schooling she suggests ways and
means of ensuring “curiosity, imagination and exploratory talk” become
a part of pre-primary school “culture”. Maxine argues in her chapter that
learning to be literate means understanding the writing system and its rela-
tion to the spoken language. Using the case of a Telugu primer developed as
part of an Early Literacy Initiative at TISS Hyderabad, she suggests that the
burden of learning to be literate can be reduced if the scripts of the Indian
alphasyllabic/akshara system which is “a carefully crafted tool”, are taught
in “an imaginative, socially sensitive way”, and as part of an approach
“incorporating a number of strategies”.
R. Amritavalli argues, in the case of second language acquisition, compre-
hensible input is essential to language learning. Contending that “the cur-
riculum, textbooks and teaching are only props”, she points out that learner
autonomy and the individual’s effort to understand language are central
to language learning. Learners are burdened and resort to memorisation
when denied autonomy and required to meet external standards of language
performance inconsistent with their individual state of language growth.

She provides three rich narratives from her engagement with learners of
different age groups to make her case that when given autonomy, learners
choose texts that “they find comprehensible and relevant”. Her narratives
also provide examples of “co-constructive learning activities” that support
learners in their understanding.
K. Subramaniam notes that while the Yash Pal Committee report heralded
reforms that were taken forward through the NCF 2005, the agenda of
mathematics curriculum reform remains unfinished. He describes the back-
ground work necessary for curricular changes to take root and points out
the limitations in translating curricular intent into curriculum materials and
classroom teaching. Drawing from insightful research conducted by his stu-
dents and himself, Subramaniam problematises curriculum reform efforts,
textbook revision and teacher education. He highlights the importance of
field level experiments for the production of robust curricular materials and
the criticality of teacher agency. The teacher must not only understand and
appreciate the reform approach, but must be “convinced that it represents
an improvement over the previous approach”. Subramaniam concludes that
if reform is to succeed, platforms and opportunities for teachers to analyse
and critique reform directives are essential.
Ritesh Khunyakari, Shamin Padalkar, Farhat Ara and Garima Singh make
a case for integrating visuospatial thinking in curricular discourses and prac-
tice in order to address the issue of curriculum load. They begin by opera-
tionalising visuospatial thinking and discussing its relevance to science, and
design and technology education and go on to discuss four empirical studies
in the Indian context where visuospatial reasoning is probed and developed.
Each study reports an intervention based on visuospatial thinking in three
domains of learning – astronomy, biology and design and technology educa-
tion. The first two interventions were among school students while both the
design and technology education interventions were with adult learners. The
authors discuss the curriculum and pedagogic implications of the interven-
tion in addressing issues of cognitive burden among learners. Their studies
indicate “the non-esoteric nature of visuospatial thinking and its centrality
in acquiring, building and strengthening knowledge across diverse discipli-
nary domains”. The authors point out that visuospatial thinking engenders
“wide-ranging representations and actions, emerging and embodied through
different means (diagrams, gestures, analogues or models)” and it “involved
deep-seated connections with contexts, meanings and concepts”.
The authors of this edited volume have extended the argument made in
the LwB report that the burden is primarily cognitive arising largely out
of incomprehension of what students are expected to learn in schools.
Factors that contribute to the burden include an examination system that
rewards rote learning, external pressures to competitively perform, setting
uniform goals of learning, curriculum reform efforts that focus on narrow
competencies, curricular materials that are devoid of relevance and unre-

lated to the context of the learners, reliance on single textbooks, and an
unreformed teacher education sector. Using the recommendations of the
Yash Pal Committee report as a starting point, the authors have reflected
on the stasis, morphing and attenuation of ideas in policies, curriculum
reforms, material development and teacher education, over the past three
decades. Further, the outcomes of research, development and practice in
the respective domains make proposals for tuning the practitioner engage-
ment with ideas and practices. In a subtle yet definite manner, the various
contributions collectively offer the necessary resources towards developing
an understanding as well as foresight for addressing different aspects of
academic burden prevalent in the design and practice of contemporary edu-
cation systems.
Some insights from reflective conversations

with members of the Yash Pal Committee
The editors of this volume interviewed Professors Krishna Kumar and T.S.
Saraswathi to gain insights and reflections on the deliberations undertaken
by the Yash Pal Committee. The conversations attempted to capture the
committee’s vision and mandate for education reforms, and invited them to
reflect on the changes that have happened in the Indian education system
over the three decades. The transcribed interview conversations are included
as a separate chapter in this volume. In this section, some insights gained
from the interview conversations are discussed.
Any committee constitutes an appointed and entrusted body of members
delegated to consider, investigate, take action on or report on a specific mat-
ter of attention and relevance. It is clear, therefore, that the constitution of
an advisory committee reflected a sense of urgent attention to the notion of
burden. The conversations with committee members helped us draw upon
their voices and reflections to assimilate the conditions that enabled forma-
tion or constitution of the committee, the approach opted by the committee
to investigate and problematise the burden so as to offer specific recommen-
dations to reduce or address the burden in educational practices. Further,
the conversations made it possible to have their considered opinion about
how the outcome of the report was assimilated in policies, implementation
and educational action. While critical analysis of policies often enables us
to study a policy and understand its nuances, a possibility of conversations
that traced the happenings around the time as well as reflect on the sug-
gested outcomes of that policy, afforded a unique engagement with ideas.
The conversations, in a sense, represented a full circle of our investigative
exploration of the idea of burden in education – drawing from the literature
on policies, our analysis of construct and its use, notes from engagement of
a then researcher who contributed to the LwB report and now continues to
contribute to the field of Indian education, critical addressing of burden by
contemporary researchers and scholars in the field to the reflections from
the committee members on the policy intent, process and its impact. While
several of the “facts” could be traced in documentation, we realised that
a fuller sense of the context, social and political will, and nuances became
explicit only while conversing. This section attempts to consolidate some of
these insights.
The journey for intent to constitution of a committee

As discussed in the earlier sections of this chapter, the pervading societal
perception of a burdened child was relayed by the member of parliament,
R.K. Narayan through his maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha and was later
reinforced in public media through cartoons in newspapers by his younger
brother, R.K. Laxman. However, explicit attention to the matter seemed to
be taken up by an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, Mr Sudeep
Banerjee, who was also the joint secretary in the Ministry of Human
Resource and Development. He was a trusted associate of Shri. Arjun Singh,
the then minister of MHRD. While the social and political seemed even-
tually to culminate in the need for constituting an advisory committee at
the national level, the choice of Professor Yash Pal as Chairperson of the
committee along with the seven other members represented a careful and
weighed choice to ensure diverse geographic, academic and institutional
constituencies. This choice certainly reflected a refreshing approach adopted
and pushed forward by the progressive thinking of critical stakeholders
from the ministry in order to make a significant impact on the educational
imagination around that time. In many ways, the eclectic composition of the
committee paved the way for the kind of deliberations and an empirically
informed approach to both investigating and reporting the problem of cur-
riculum load or academic burden. The very nature of ideas besides the size
and four-chapter organisation of the succinct report submitted to MHRD as
a result of the committee deliberation is a testament of unique contribution
arising from the LwB report.
Processes adopted for getting to the roots of the problem

Unlike several of its predecessors, this committee made an explicit decision
to move beyond a mere desk review of earlier policies. Instead, the mem-
bers chose to study textbooks, make field visits that cover the geographic
expanse, reach out to teachers, educators, active educationists working in
the field as well as the bureaucrats involved in decision making in educa-
tion. As a result, the committee amassed a huge body of data which was
submitted to the MHRD along with the LwB report. Unfortunately, we

could not get the enormous field data despite our best efforts. We gathered
that the rich data that supplemented the report has been lost over time.
Two things become evident from the conversations with the committee
members. One, the idea of burden or curricular load was assimilated dif-
ferently by the members themselves as well as by the diverse stakeholders
in the field. An evident triangulation of this fact surfaces in PS’s notes and
episodes reported in the interview conversations. In many senses, the usage
of the construct of “burden” in academic literature in the Indian education
context begins to gain centre-stage both as a reason for study as well as a
means to reorganise or bracket (to borrow Eisner’s phrase) issues concern-
ing the practice of education. Hence, one begins to appreciate the effort of
the committee to base their observations and recommendations on empir-
ical-informed understanding. Keeping within the spirit of the committee’s
engagement with the idea of burden, the issues and deliberations covered
in this book also attempt to trace the different meanings construed and
expressed around the discourse of burden.
It is no wonder that out of the four chapters in the report, two chapters are
dedicated to discussing the curricular load, which broadly suggests a sche-
matic mapping of the “nature” and “cause” of burden (see Table 1.2 which
re-represents the mapping drawn from the two chapters). Interestingly, as
readers visit the various contributions in this book, the focus and emphasis
on the specific conceptualisation of burden varies. For instance, even though
several contributions focus on the constituency of knowledge, some focus
and emphasise on the qualitative aspects (kind or organisation) of knowledge
while others highlight the manner of engagement with this knowledge in the
learning process. Clearly, the intent and process of investigating the notion of
curriculum load or burden was not restricted to merely diagnosing the extent
Table 1.2 Burden (curriculum load) schematised as “Nature” and “Cause” of

problem in the LwB report.
S. No. NATURE CAUSE
The problem of curriculum load Roots of the problem
1 Joyless learning Knowledge vs. information

2 Examination system Isolation of experts from classroom realities
3 Textbook as truth Centralised character
4 Language textbooks Convention of “Teaching the Text”
5 Observations discouraged Competition-based social ethos
6 Structure of syllabus Absence of academic ethos
7 Teaching everything
8 Starting early
9 Not just an urban problem
Source: Authors
or cure of burden. Instead, the committee’s effort to empirically character-

ise burden both in terms of its nature (manifestations, concerns, effective
impact) and potential causes captures a contemplative, reconciliatory effort
towards systematically deriving recommendations instead of being guided
purely by educational wisdom assimilated through earlier policies.
The second idea that expressly surfaces from the conversations is the
dynamicity of the burden, not just in the manner it has been assimilated
and evolving over the years but also the way it has impacted and contin-
ues to impact contemporary thinking in educational theory and practice in
the Indian context. It became evident the encapsulated strategies expressed
as recommendations to circumvent the problem of burden were derived
and tested through years of field engagement. For instance, suggestions for
addressing the issue of informational overload for learners seemed to be
derived from the experiences of Shri. V.G. Kulkarni and Shri. Pitre’s work
with school children in Mumbai and the Kishore Bharati project. In both
these works, the idea of relating content of science textbooks to the con-
texts of learners and establishing a close connection between concepts and
understanding of society were emphasised. Such an approach to knowledge
in the making afforded learners the opportunity to connect with ideas and
ensured a dual outcome, namely: building relevance, thereby allowing par-
simonious organisation of content attending to informational overload; and
developing informed reasoning, allowing them to make robust, meaningful,
conceptual connections. Professor Yash Pal’s own work as a scientist and
a science communicator enabled him to examine the dynamic seepage of
burden and develop ingenious ways for handling that burden.
The processes adopted by the committee leading to the LwB report
achieved a conceptual characterisation of academic burden that brought
transparency to an otherwise nebulous construct being experienced and
emergent in popular, social imagination to productive concretising through
an articulated scheme of the nature, cause and suggestions to handling aca-
demic burden.
Gauging retrospective and contemporaneous impact

The committee members expressed that the report could have served as a
potential turning point in educational thinking then, but did not actually
become one. The report’s contributions did not sufficiently get assimilated
into mainstream discourse on knowledge and its relation to teaching. The
report did gain some visibility through its entry in B.Ed. course books of
some colleges but the ideas remained confined as textual content of cur-
riculum and guide books for teacher preparation in select locales in the
country. In terms of its intended outcome, insistence of sleekness of the
report by Professor Yash Pal enveloped a hope that the report would gain
easy spread and access so that the suggestions and ideas readily become
a part of mainstream thinking. Also, the logical scheme of discussion of

nature, cause and recommendations, captured an essentially grounds-up
approach to acceptance rather than a top-down directive towards imple-
mentation. However, the bureaucratic tendencies to reify emerged in the
formulation of another committee, The Chaturvedi Committee to evalu-
ate the feasibility of Yash Pal Committee recommendations (GoI, 1993b).
The Chaturvedi Committee did not seem to endorse the momentum gener-
ated, as a result of which, as Professor Krishna Kumar observed, reforms
in school education entered into a period of hibernation. School curriculum
seemed to revive as an area of systemic reform with the NCF 2000 but its
ideology was altogether different. Later, Mr Sudeep Banerjee returned to
the Ministry as Joint Secretary and was instrumental in initiating the NCF
2005. The letter from the Ministry to NCERT in 2004 mentioned that
the new National Curriculum Framework should be prepared in light of
the LwB report and with reference to Constitutional values. The steering
committee of NCF 2005 wanted to widen this perspective and held wide-
ranging consultations. Professor M.A. Khader, Principal of the Regional
Institute of Education (RIE) Bhopal coordinated the position papers and
consultations of focus groups. The steering committee focused on integra-
tion from a broader conception of integrating the “co-curricular” into sub-
ject areas to address the issue of curriculum burden. The 21 National Focus
Group Position Papers on various subjects attempts to reimagine subject
content and its integration to make education meaningful. The problem of
burden has to be understood in the particular sense of each school subject
and its histories.
Engendering meaningful learning

From the time the idea of academic burden was attended to by a formal
advisory committee to this point on, there have been several changes. As a
critical construct, burden affords navigation and qualitative examination
of the contextual and epistemic interpretations that have been assimilated
over time. At the global level, the growing body of research has argued and
pressed for making learning meaningful and authentic. With changing times
and different levels of engagement in India, the ideas related to burden have
been attended to through various structural and pedagogic schemes afford-
ing diverse engagements with the question of burden. This volume seeks for
a consolidation that converges some of the initiatives, researches and field
practices that have made it possible to engender learning with meaning.
The several contributions included in this volume will fruitfully explicate
on the possibilities envisaged, deliberated and even tested. While gaining
from experiential wisdom enriches our orientations and practice, being able
to compare the ideas and their alignment with the recently promulgated
policies and vision of education is critical to ensure that the momentum

is not lost, compromised or digressed. Hence, contributors to this volume
have made an attempt to see how ideas and positioning around engagement
with burden compares with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
An often-levelled criticism is that a lot of attention is paid to the pro-
cess of formulation of the policy, but the implementation does not receive
similar attention and interest. The effort throughout this book is of a criti-
cal convergence and contemplation. The various ideas presented from a
systemic and a learning domain perspective enable attending to the chal-
lenge of burden at both the larger and specific level. Without a compre-
hensive review of the status of implementation, an assessment of feasibility
of implementation and a study of practical challenges confronting ground-
level implementation, questions arise about the political will, factoring of
educational experience and wisdom towards the realisation of educational
vision and commitments. The changing discourse around the case of assess-
ment in educational policies represents a case in point. While the Yash Pal
Committee discouraged examinations, the NEP 2020 recommends school
examinations for students in classes 3, 5, and 8 which will be conducted
by the appropriate authority. Among other suggestions, learning domain
perspective contributions call for the need to reorient ourselves, in a meta-
phoric sense, to move away from a structure of a stage-wise ladder to that of
a rich landscape of a garden affording diverse lines of emphasis in academic
pursuit. Apart from these, several big ideas have surfaced through contem-
porary researches. These include use of visuospatial thinking, information
and communication technologies, integration of music, design thinking,
etc., that need careful examination, alignment with educational policies and
integration in education practice. Emanating from these “big ideas” are sug-
gestions like creating digital textbooks through a dynamic process, that is
interactive and contextualised. Such an imagination seems to open avenues
for the planning of learning in stimulating environments where teachers use
their sensitivities and knowledge to cultivate learners’ curiosity, honour-
ing different resources used and generated by learners themselves. Besides,
participatory curriculum planning involving all the different stakeholders
would ensure that the learning space is more inclusive and robustly guided
by principles of enrichment and advancement in learning.
Several of the issues related to burden raised by the LwB report have taken
on a new imperative and urgency in the current context of post-pandemic
education in India. While the specific suggestions made through the breadth
of issues covered in this book varies, the suggestions from contributions
seem to call for either reimagination, restructuring or a transformation. The
nature of emergent suggestions calls for an urgent need to carry forward our
deliberations in light of newer social, political and policy scenarios by keep-
ing sight of the valuable construct of burden in order to ensure that learning
is authentic, meaningful and inclusive. It remains to be seen how the sector

responds to these imperatives going forward and the way practitioners and
researchers ingeniously integrate concerns around burden in attending to
learning within the current context.
Notes
1 We are indebted to Professor Krishna Kumar for these insights into the pro-
cesses of developing NCF 2005.
2 Padma Vibhushan Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami (R.K.
Narayan) (10 October1906–13 May 2001) is well-known for his contributions
to English literature through some of his acclaimed works like Malgudi days,
The Guide, The English Teacher and so on.
3 We are greatly indebted to Professor Padma Sarangapani for consenting to draw
upon relevant excerpts that have greatly enriched the discussion.
4 The names of committee members, except for Professor Yash Pal, are pseudo-
nyms. The recall of vignette extractions from the Seminar publication retains
the same pseudonyms as in the published work.
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Poster credits:
Contextual and meaningful learning to overcome physical burden
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059-2
The growth in quantum and quality of knowledge leads to informational
overload that tends to translate into an overload of school bags or an eating
into spaces of leisure activities, peer-play and recreation. The right side of
the diagonal suggests that orchestrating learning experiences which engage
peers in a myriad of activities can serve the purpose of making learning con-
textual, meaningful and joyful.
Part 1
Systemic Perspectives

Chapter 2
Policy Perspectives on Learning

without Burden
Archana Mehendale
Introduction
After Independence, the mission of setting up a national education system
and providing universal access to quality education drove successive gov-
ernments to constitute expert committees that were tasked with preparing
policy recommendations. These committees pooled cutting edge think-
ing on education and learning and envisioned education transformation.
The National Advisory Committee, commonly referred to as the Yash Pal
Committee was constituted at the cusp of technological advances, liberalisa-
tion and globalisation.
This chapter presents a policy overview on learning without burden,
with particular reference to select recommendations made by the Yash Pal
Committee. First, the chapter provides a historical overview of the policy
provisions and recommendations that preceded the constitution of the Yash
Pal Committee, locates the context and highlights the backward linkages to
ideas promulgated in earlier texts. Next, the chapter presents the scope and
recommendations of the Yash Pal Committee and discusses the follow-up
action taken by the government, particularly constitution of the Chaturvedi
Committee and its recommendations on the feasibility of the Yash Pal
Committee report. The chapter then reviews the implementation at three
levels – its incorporation in law, court rulings on the subject and the new
National Education Policy 2020. The chapter concludes by summarising
key observations.
Historical overview
Kothari Commission and the National Policy on Education 1968

Origins of several education policy ideas in India can be traced back to
the report of the Education Commission (1964–1966) commonly referred
to as the Kothari Commission. Its two-volume report titled Education
and National Development comprehensively examined the educational
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059-4
38 Archana Mehendale
challenges in India and suggested a national system of education. At that

time, since education was a “state” subject, with the state governments hav-
ing complete jurisdiction over policy decisions on the matter, the committee
proposed that state governments should prescribe the curricular standards
depending on local conditions and its stage of development. It also sug-
gested that schools should be given freedom to devise and experiment with
new curricula suited to their needs. Specifically, for “the lower primary
stage, the curriculum should be simple with reduced load of formal sub-
jects and emphasis on language, elementary mathematics and environmen-
tal studies” (National Council of Educational Research and Training 1970,
411). The committee extensively dealt with the role of teachers in using
discovery and diffusion in their teaching methods, need for elasticity and
dynamism in the education system and a new approach to evaluation that
were not only valid and reliable but also indicative of student’s growth that
could not be measured by written examinations. It suggested that a school
system which was primarily based on memorisation had to be converted
into one involving understanding, active thinking, creativity and problem
solving in the next decade or two. The recommendations of the Kothari
Commission informed the National Policy on Education, 1968 (GoI, 1968).
The core thrust of the policy was on radical reconstruction of education,
fostering national integration and the ideal of a socialistic pattern of society.
A transformation of the education system entailed relating it more closely to
peoples’ lives, expanding education opportunity, raising the quality of edu-
cation at all stages, emphasising development of science and technology and
the cultivation of moral and social values. Even though the policy espoused
an ambitious vision, it did not lay down any specific curricular directions for
transforming education. It did, however, propose exam reforms for improv-
ing the reliability and validity of examinations and a continuous evaluation
process that helped students improve their level of achievement rather than
merely “certifying” performance at a given moment of time (para 10).
Centrally prescribed ten-year school curriculum framework

Until the adoption of The Constitution (Forty-Second) Amendment Act,
1976 which made education a concurrent subject, the state governments
had complete authority to decide on education matters. Therefore, no
policy directions on curricular matters came from the central government.
However, in 1973, after recognizing the need to evolve a national consensus
on the curricular framework in a large and diverse country, the then Ministry
of Education and Social Welfare constituted an expert group to develop
the curriculum for the 10+2 pattern of schooling which was expanded to
include experts from the National Council of Educational Research and
Training (NCERT). This group drafted an Approach Paper and after receiv-
ing feedback from stakeholders, released it in 1975 as the first curricular
Policy Perspectives on Learning without Burden 39
framework titled “The Curriculum for The Ten-Year School – Framework”

(NCERT, 1975). It underlined the importance of a common curriculum for
maintaining uniformity of standards, and for building national identity. It
proposed greater freedom for teachers to adapt the curriculum to the indi-
vidual and community needs so as to reduce the discrepancy between the
hidden and prescribed curriculum. It drew upon the UNESCO Report on
“Learning to Be” and suggested that the role of the teacher was to provide
the resources for learning to the young child so that “the child may discover
knowledge and not just cram information doled out” (para 2.10). At the
primary stage, the framework cautioned against overloading the child with
“too many books and too much of subject matter” (para 10) and that school
education costs could be minimised by substituting passive rote learning and
cramming of knowledge with active methods of self-learning where children
could learn at their own pace. It drew attention to the flawed evaluation
system that either promoted all students without examination or conducted
annual examinations that induced students to engage in rote learning with-
out understanding the subject. Hence, it suggested breaking down the edu-
cation goals into specific goals and outcomes, offering sequential units of
study and evaluating every unit so as to reduce the burden of examination at
the end. Evaluation was meant to be not only of the learner’s performance
but of the process itself. Rather than “failing” students it suggested reme-
diation. The framework envisioned a scenario where the external public
examination, even at the end of Grade 10, would become redundant and
hence may have to be abolished. Little is known about how the state govern-
ments and examination boards received the curriculum. However, some of
these ideas were carried forward in the Ishwarbhai Patel Committee report
(1977–1978) which recommended not conducting a public examination
after the elementary stage of education because “there should be uninter-
rupted transition to getting all children into the next stage of 2- or 3-year
secondary school” (para 2.5.2) (Ministry of Education and Social Welfare
1978, 4).
Growing policy discourse on curricular load

and challenges to education
Within ten years of education becoming a concurrent subject, two docu-
ments significantly contributed to the growing policy discourse on curricu-
lum, learning, examinations and role of teachers. One was the report of the
Working Group on Curriculum Load (1985) of the NCERT and the second
was the report titled “Challenge of Education” released by the Ministry
of Education in 1985 as a precursor to the formulation of a new educa-
tion policy. Both the documents reiterated the ideas proposed earlier and
developed them further. The Working Group conducted a quick appraisal
of the curriculum load at the school level and noted the problem was first
noticed after the introduction of the 10+2 pattern of education in 1975.

It stressed that “the concept of curriculum load was central to all curricu-
lum discussions” and that “the question is expected to remain a live issue
for many years to come because continuing knowledge explosion coupled
with our desire to ensure international comparability of educational stand-
ards will continue to place more and more demands on the school cur-
riculum” (NCERT, 1985, iv). The Working Group studied the curriculum
load in five states with the assumption that 220–240 working days per
academic year would be available for curricular transaction of which 20
days are earmarked for examinations, school functions, etc. However, it
found that about 50–60 days were lost on account of examinations and
tests, functions, admissions, strikes and similar issues thereby reducing the
time available to complete the syllabus. It recognised that overcrowding
in classes increased the workload of teachers thereby adversely affecting
the quality of curriculum transaction and class strength of 35 students.
It suggested the school curriculum be a “happy blend of physical culture,
culture and knowledge” (p. 22), that “information load, specially at the
earlier stages, should be kept at a minimum” (p. 23) with not more than
2 textbooks for classes I and II and no formal homework at the primary
stage. Competitive overloading of information in the textbooks at higher
levels should be avoided and the mother tongue should be the medium of
instruction at the primary stage. It cautioned that the quality of education
should not be equated with quantum of curricular content and creative
thinking could be better developed by covering a “few topics more inten-
sively rather than providing superficial knowledge of too many things”
(p. 23). It recommended abolition of public examinations until Class 8,
instead having continuous internal formative and summative evaluations.
It recommended remedial teaching for those who needed additional atten-
tion and the time spent by teachers on remedial teaching should be consid-
ered as part of their regular workload. Several ideas from this report are
reflected in the reports of subsequent committees as well as in the policy
provisions adopted.
The Challenge of Education (1985) report published by the Ministry of
Education was not a policy statement but was meant to guide the delibera-
tions around the 1986 policy (GoI, 1986) formulation process. It exhaus-
tively analysed the issues confronting the education system and made
recommendations to prepare the new generation entering the twenty-first
century. It observed that students were not exposed to opportunities for
building creativity and innovation because of the curriculum emphasised
on rote learning and repetitive exercises. It suggested overhauling pedagogic
methodology, curricula and textual materials and changing the orientation,
work ethic, knowledge and skills of the teachers, so they could work crea-
tively with new ideas and new technologies (para 1.29). A common core
curriculum was required for ensuring a minimum quality of education, and
national cohesion, however it should promote flexibility and relevance to

the local environment and culture (para 3.11).
National Policy on Education 1986 and Programme of Action 1992

The National Policy on Education 1986 (as modified in 1992) covered
all levels of education and built on the earlier ideas (GoI, 1992). For the
first time, pronouncements were made on education of young children.
It suggested that Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) should be
child-oriented, focus on play and children’s individuality and use of for-
mal teaching methods and introduction of the 3 R’s was discouraged (para
5.3). It placed various pedagogical ideas proposed earlier on school educa-
tion under an umbrella term “child-centred approach” which consisted of
“a warm, welcoming and encouraging approach, in which all concerned
share a solicitude for the needs of the child” (para 5.6). It suggested use of
a child-centred and activity-based process of learning in primary schools
and allowing first generation school-goers to set their own pace of learning
and receive remedial instruction. The policy of non-detention in primary
schools was to be continued and corporal punishment was banned. School
timings and vacations were to be adjusted according to children’s conveni-
ence (para 5.6). The policy also stated that “the curricula and processes
of education will be enriched by cultural content in as many manifesta-
tions as possible” and “children will be enabled to develop sensitivity to
beauty, harmony and refinement” (para 8.2). The policy suggested bringing
qualitative improvements and recasting the examination system so that it
could become a valid and reliable measure of student development and also
a powerful instrument for improving teaching and learning. Examination
reforms could include elimination of excessive elements of chance and sub-
jectivity, reducing the emphasis on memorisation, incorporating continuous
and comprehensive evaluation of scholastic and non-scholastic dimensions,
revising the instructional materials and methodology, following a semester
system from the secondary stage and use of grades instead of marks (para
8.24). The 1992 revised policy formulations added streamlining evaluations
at the institutional level and reducing predominance of external examina-
tions. They recognised that teachers should have the freedom to innovate
and to devise teaching methods and activities that are appropriate and rel-
evant to the needs and capabilities of learners as well as the concerns of the
community (para 9.1). Teachers were seen as playing a crucial role in the
formulation and implementation of educational programmes (para 9.2). The
Programme of Action that followed the 1986 policy and the 1992 revised
formulations operationalised these provisions. The commitment to univer-
salise education and improve quality of education got translated into three
centrally sponsored schemes on Operation Blackboard, Minimum Levels of
Learning, and Non-Formal Education. Interestingly, nothing was mentioned
about translating into action the idea of the child-centred approach. The
Programme of Action (1992) mentioned the “load of the school bag” but
indicated that it was awaiting recommendations of the Yash Pal Committee
on the matter and thus did not provide any operational commitment on this
issue.
National Curriculum Framework 1988

Shortly after the National Policy on Education 1986 was adopted, a new
National Curriculum Framework for Elementary and Secondary Education
was developed in 1988 (NCERT, 1988). It suggested designing and trans-
acting the curriculum so as to enable discovery of talents, realisation of
potentialities to the fullest, development of productive and social skills and
enjoyment of emotional and physical well-being. Students were to be placed
at the centre of curriculum planning and transaction, their individuality
and dignity was to be respected, and their needs, interests, aptitudes and
abilities were to be taken care of. The Framework reiterated the policy
prescription with regards to a child-centred approach and suggested that
the teacher’s role should be that of a facilitator in the learning process. It
recommended replacement of the existing teaching methods based on rote
learning, lectures and reproduction of information by interactive means
that could stimulate curiosity, encourage independent thinking, develop
problem-solving skills, fostered self-learning (para 1.2.2.2). Emphasis was
placed on the all-round development of the child and the need to develop
their originality and creative talents (para 1.2.2.4). It pointed to the con-
troversy of marks versus grades as an unsettled issue, but recommended
the use of grades and endorsed continuous and comprehensive evaluation
(para 3.3.1).
In sum, the historical overview of policy prescriptions shows that, prior to
the Yash Pal Committee report, there was already a recognition of the prob-
lem of curriculum overload and deficiencies in the examination system. The
policies had also recommended making the education system child-oriented,
reducing the curricular load and giving freedom to the teachers to innovate.
However, not much is known about the implementation of these policy ideas
and provisions. The report on the implementation of the National Policy on
Education by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (1988) listed
measures undertaken with regards to improving the content and process
of school education. However, these measures primarily referred to steps
taken to improve access and infrastructure, streamline the structure of edu-
cation, orient teachers about the National Policy on Education, formulation
of minimum learning outcomes and textbook development. It did not report
on how the child-centred approach or examination reforms were put into
practice. It is in this context that one needs to understand the contribution
of the Yash Pal Committee.
The Yash Pal Committee report – scope,

recommendations and follow-up action
The Yash Pal Committee was given the task of advising the government
on improving the quality of learning while reducing the burden placed on
school students. The Chairperson of the committee, Professor Yash Pal,
acknowledged the difficulty he personally experienced in treating the state
of education as an “independent variable – that could be changed with-
out changing the overall social system” and started by recognising the
“academic burden on students” and “unsatisfactory quality of learning”
(p. 1). Although the recommendation about the weight of the school bag
got widely publicised by media and popular literature, the committee was
“convinced that the more pernicious burden is that of non-comprehension”
(Ministry of Human Resource Development, 1993a, p. iv). The key recom-
mendations of the committee are listed in Table 2.1. Upon receiving the
report, the Government of India constituted the Chaturvedi Committee for
examining the feasibility of implementing the recommendations of the Yash
Pal Committee and suggesting a time schedule for implementation of recom-
mendations found to be feasible. The Chaturvedi Committee cited evidence
from a study conducted by the NCERT in the mid-eighties which examined
how inadequate teacher competency, insufficient teaching days, and inad-
equate classroom facilities transferred the curriculum load to the students
(Ministry of Human Resource Development, 1993b, p. 3). Table 2.1 pro-
vides observations made by the Chaturvedi Committee about the feasibility
of implementing the key recommendations of the Yash Pal Committee.
As Table 2.1 shows, the Chaturvedi Committee endorsed most of the
recommendations made by the Yash Pal Committee. In fact, it improved
on the recommendations on the teacher–pupil ratio, homework, norms for
recognising private schools, involvement of teachers in writing of textbooks
and use of contingency amount by the head of school. However, it did not
agree with recommendations about discouraging individual competition,
decentralising preparation of syllabus and textbooks, considering textbooks
as school property, and limiting the jurisdiction of the Central Board for
Secondary Education. Some of the recommendations, like adopting CCE,
setting up of Education Committees at decentralised levels were endorsed
because they were already prescribed by the NPE 1986 and the revised pol-
icy formulations of 1992. Interestingly, the Chaturvedi Committee made its
own recommendations for reducing the curricular load which included (1)
minimum age of admission to pre-primary classes and in primary classes
should be reconsidered and raised by one year; (2) the number of teaching
days should be increased to 210 in a year in order to reduce the daily learn-
ing load and help improve standards; and (3) additional resources from
individuals and philanthropic bodies should be sought since the require-
ments for infrastructure and education material are large.
Table 2.1 Recommendations of the Yash Pal Committee and observations of the Chaturvedi Committee
Recommendations of the Yash Pal Committee Observations of the Chaturvedi Committee
Curriculum and Pedagogy

Competitions where individual achievement is rewarded The educational system should promote performance of the students both as an
need to be discouraged since they deprive children of individual and as a member of the group.
joyful learning.
The process of curriculum-framing and preparation of A meaningful way of improving teachers’ participation can be considered. However,
textbooks to be decentralised so as to increase teachers’ decentralisation in the preparation of syllabus or textbooks at the district or school
involvement in these tasks. Schools should be encouraged level is not recommended because it will be difficult to ensure adequate projection
to innovate in all aspects of curriculum, including choice of national identity and of the composite culture of India. Adherence to minimum
of textbooks and other materials. standards in all parts of the country may become difficult.
Writing textbooks be changed so as to involve a large The primary responsibility for preparing textbooks, particularly for the lower classes
number of teachers in the preparation of textbooks. should be that of teachers. The writing of textbooks as far as possible, should be
assigned to school teachers and to those who have developed professional expertise
in the area. Schools and teachers should be motivated to innovate to the fullest extent
in regard to teaching methods and use of teaching materials.
Textbooks should be treated as school property and there Besides the financial implications arising out of the burden on schools to purchase the
should be no need for children to purchase the books textbooks and the responsibility to store the books when most of the schools of the
individually and carry them daily to homes. country do not have either the financial resources or storage capacities, the children
would be devoid of the opportunity to refer to the textbooks in their homes. For an
overwhelming majority of school students of the country, the textbooks remain as the
only source of reading material. The class routine for the upper primary, secondary
and higher secondary stages should be drawn up in such a way that every subject is
not required to be taught every day.
The nature and character of homework needs a radical There should be no homework and project work at the primary stage (Classes I–V).
change.
The existing norm for teacher–pupil ratio (i.e. 1:40) should Attempts should be made to bring it to 1:30 over a period of time. Until then, efforts
be enforced and all attempt should be made to reduce should be made to ensure that the class size does not exceed 40.
this to 1:30, at least in the primary classes.
The public examinations taken at the end of Classes X and The Boards of School Education should emphasise Continuous and Comprehensive
XII be reviewed with a view to ensure replacement of Evaluation (CCE) that incorporates both scholastic and non-scholastic aspects of
the prevailing text-based and “quiz type” questioning by education, spread over the total span of instructional time as stipulated in para 8.24
concept-based questioning. (iii) of the NPE 1986.
Teacher Education
The B.Ed. programme should offer the possibility of The Group recommends that this matter should be referred to the UGC and NCTE for
specialisation in secondary or elementary or nursery appropriate decision.
education. Therefore, B.Ed. degree courses by
correspondence be derecognised.
Governance
Education committees at village, block and district level Already supported by the NPE 1986 and the constitutional amendment for
to be set up to undertake planning and supervision of decentralisation at Panchayat level.
schools.
Sufficient contingency amount (not less than 10 per cent This is acceptable. Head of the school does not require approval of any higher
of the total salary bill of the school) to be placed at the educational authority and the School Management/Advisory Committee for using the
disposal of heads of schools for purchase, repair and available money for these purposes.
replacement of pedagogical equipment.
Legislative and administrative measures be adopted to The Group agrees with the recommendations. This sector of education in the country is
regulate the opening and functioning of early childhood largely unsupervised and unregulated.
education institutions (preschools). Norms regarding
accommodation, staff, apparatuses, play material be
laid down for the recognition of these schools. Prevent
inflicting a heavy dose of “over-education” in the form of
formal teaching of Reading, Writing and Numbers. The
practice of holding tests and interviews for admission to
nursery class to be abolished.
Norms for granting recognition to private schools be made The possibility of having a legislation to specify norms of facilities in schools and providing
more stringent and be made uniformly applicable to all for powers to prevent opening of schools which do not have facilities should be
schools including the state-run institutions. seriously considered.
Jurisdiction of CBSE to be restricted to Kendriya and Schools already have very limited choice of education boards and it can be exercised only
Navodaya Vidyalayas and all other schools be affiliated to with the approval of the State Government. Therefore, if a school in any part of the
the respective State Boards. country has the choice of affiliating with one Board or the other, it should be generally
good for education. If affiliation to the CBSE is good for Kendriya and Navodaya
Vidyalayas it cannot be bad for other schools.
Source: Author
It is important to note that although the Chaturvedi Committee was

entrusted with the task of determining the feasibility of implementing the
recommendations of the Yash Pal Committee, it merely reviewed and sup-
ported recommendations that were either already enunciated in law or pol-
icy or were based on recommendations made by earlier committees. It did
not delve into the question of feasibility of implementation. The only rec-
ommendation that was examined in terms of feasibility was about consid-
ering textbooks as school property. It is unclear why the committee, which
mainly consisted of education bureaucrats and officials from NCERT and
central examination boards, did not examine the question of feasibility or
identify normative and practical constraints that could potentially impede
the implementation. Importantly, it was also tasked with suggesting a time
schedule for implementing the recommendations found feasible. However,
the committee held that the recommendations were of a “long term nature”
and suggested that the time schedule be drawn after the recommendations
were accepted by the Central Advisory Board on Education (CABE). The
Yash Pal Committee report was tabled during the 49th CABE meeting
held on 15 October 1993 and a wider debate on its recommendations was
called for. The recommendations were thoroughly discussed during the
50th CABE meeting held on 2 March 1994. The Chairman, Shri Arjun
Singh, recognised in his opening speech the presence of “a very strong
public opinion to support the Government’s resolve to implement Yash
Pal Committee recommendations” and stressed “an urgency for action in
the matter” (para 12) (Central Advisory Board on Education, 1994, p. 4).
However, in his closing remarks, he called the Yash Pal Committee rec-
ommendations “totally academic in nature” and that the “Government of
India would not like to rush into them straightaway” because “Prof. Yash
Pal himself had felt that greater preparations should be made first so that
once the recommendations were implemented there were less chances of
anything going wrong” (para 72) (Central Advisory Board on Education,
1994, p. 12). Teacher training was seen as most crucial for implement-
ing the recommendations and the Chairman suggested a reorientation of
teacher training programmes on a short-term basis. He also suggested con-
ducting state visits to ascertain that implementation of the recommenda-
tions was really possible. No time schedule for implementation was arrived
at and the need for central and state governments to collectively prepare
the same was underlined.
As discussed in the historical overview, several ideas contained in the Yash
Pal Committee report had already been proposed in the National Policy
on Education and the National Curriculum Framework 1988, and yet had
not been implemented. Not arriving at a time schedule for implementa-
tion remained a critical omission. It raises the issue of translating policy
ideas into practice, an issue deliberated in the Challenge of Education 1985
report, which acknowledged the widely levelled criticism that whilst a lot of
attention is paid to the process of policy formulation, the implementation

does not receive similar attention and interest. It said that
the failure really lies in the fact that, at the time of policy formulation
neither the internal and external constraints of the system are taken into
account, nor the pre-requisite for implementation in terms of resources,
changes in the institutional and management system, infrastructure and
horizontal and vertical linkages spelt out explicitly
(para 4.24) (Ministry of Education, 1985).
Implementation of the Yash Pal

Committee recommendations
An empirical analysis of the implementation of the recommendations,
although important, is a complex task; a challenging exercise due to paucity
of relevant data. However, a review of government measures to give effect
to the recommendations can serve as a useful indication of state intent to fix
the deficiencies of the education system and prevent learning from becoming
a burden. In this section, implementation of the recommendations is exam-
ined at three levels – legislation and circulars, court judgements and the new
National Education Policy 2020.
Legislation and circulars

After the adoption of The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory
Education Act (RTE Act) 2009, under section 7(6), the Central
Government named the National Council for Education Research and
Training (NCERT) as the academic authority for preparing the framework
of national curriculum. The National Curricular Framework 2005 (NCF,
2005) prepared by NCERT has been accepted as the curriculum frame-
work (NCERT, 2005). At the state level, the State Centres for Education,
Research and Training (SCERTs) became academic authorities and pre-
pared their respective state curricular frameworks aligned to the child-
centred principles of NCF 2005. In fact, the NCF 2005 was prepared by a
committee chaired by Professor Yash Pal and, among other things, it built
upon the recommendations of the Yash Pal Committee. It proposed five
guiding principles for curriculum development: (i) connecting knowledge
to life outside the school; (ii) shifting learning away from rote methods;
(iii) enriching the curriculum so that it goes beyond textbooks; (iv) making
examinations more flexible and integrating them with classroom life; and
(v) nurturing an overriding identity informed by caring concerns within
the democratic polity of the country. It suggested examination reforms to
be undertaken for curricular renewal and to reduce the psychological pres-
sure on Class X and XII students. It suggested specific measures such as
changing the typology of the question paper so that reasoning and creative
abilities replace memorisation as the basis of evaluation. The NCF 2005
suggested involvement of teachers and administrators and other agencies
in the design of syllabi, textbooks and examination reform. It wanted
schools to provide a flexible curriculum that is accessible to all students.
Although continuous and comprehensive evaluation was recommended, it
recognised that this was demanding on teachers’ time and their ability to
maintain meticulous records.
The NCF 2005 and the state curricular frameworks are meant to guide
the implementation of Section 29(2) of the RTE Act at the national and state
levels, respectively. Section 29(2) lays down the considerations for framing
the curriculum and conducting evaluations. These are (a) conformity with
Constitutional values; (b) all round development of the child; (c) building
up the child’s knowledge, potentiality and talent; (d) development of physi-
cal and mental abilities to the fullest extent; (e) learning through activities,
discovery and exploration in a child friendly and child-centred manner; (f)
the child’s mother tongue serving “as far as practicable” as the medium of
instruction; (g) making the child free of fear, trauma and anxiety and help-
ing the child to express views freely; and (h) comprehensive and continu-
ous evaluation of the child’s understanding and knowledge and the ability
to apply it. Section 30 prohibited conducting board examinations at the
elementary stage.
The RTE Act 2009 also provided for the no-detention of children until
they completed Grade 8. However, several stakeholders including state
governments contested this provision. A CABE sub-committee under the
chairpersonship of Geeta Bhukkal was constituted for assessment and
implementation of CCE in the context of the no-detention provision in the
RTE Act. It recommended reversal of policy on no-detention and empha-
sised the importance of measuring learning level outcomes of all children on
a regular basis for catalysing performance-driven culture that rewards high
performers. It recommended that the culture of the entire education system
needs to change from “teaching” (input-oriented) to “learning” (output-
oriented) (Bhukkal, n.d.). Measuring outputs in the form of student learn-
ing level outcomes was to be done annually on a census basis. This led
to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment)
Act 2019 which provided for regular examination in Classes V and VIII at
the end of every academic year and additional instruction for children who
failed in the examination. It also allowed holding back/detaining students in
Classes V and VIII. Although the amendment disallowed expulsion of chil-
dren until completion of elementary education, these changes deviated not
only from the Yash Pal Committee report but also from all previous policy
prescriptions and expert body recommendations.
As recommended by the Yash Pal Committee, Section 18 and 19 of the
RTE Act provided a national framework for granting recognition to private
schools. It also laid the normative standards on teacher–pupil ratio (1:30

for primary and 1:35 for upper-primary levels) and infrastructure require-
ments for schools. These norms and standards were in addition to the reg-
ulatory norms stipulated by the affiliating examination boards and state
governments.
Although the RTE Act prescribed that state governments would provide
early childhood care and education, it did not lay down any norms and
standards for the running of preschool education centres as recommended
by the Yash Pal Committee. As was noted by the Chaturvedi Committee,
this sector continues to remain largely unregulated even at the state level.
The state of Jharkhand is an exception with its Jharkhand State Play Schools
(Recognition and Control) Rules 2017 that regulate infrastructure, facili-
tate parent involvement, and prescribe duties of teachers and caregivers.
The NCERT, which is the academic authority under the RTE Act, has pre-
pared Guidelines for Preschool Education and The Preschool Curriculum
which provide parameters for infrastructure, qualifications and salary of
preschool staff, admission process, records and registers to be maintained,
monitoring and supervision, and coordination and convergence with com-
munity and parents. The NCERT has also prepared new syllabi and text-
books that reflect the NCF 2005 perspective on curriculum load and are
interactive and based on child-centred pedagogy. It recommended only two
books (Language and Mathematics) for Classes I and II and three books
(Language, EVS and Mathematics) for Classes III to V.
With regards to the weight of the school bag, the Central Board of
Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued circulars specifying the maximum
number of books to be prescribed in classes I–VIII and detailed guide-
lines to schools, teachers and parents to reduce the weight of school bags
and to ensure no homework is given to students until Class II. A review
of the Lok Sabha questions shows that implementation of the Yash Pal
Committee report has been called to account even in 2020, 27 years after
the report was initially tabled. Several states and union territories have
issued instructions/guidelines to reduce the weight of school bags, namely
Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Telangana, Nagaland, West
Bengal, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Kerala,
Odisha, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Mizoram,
Tripura and Union territories of Delhi, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Chandigarh
and Lakshadweep (Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 191 to be answered
on 2 December 2019). The Union Government has asked all states and
UTs (vide letter no. 1-4/2018-IS-3, dated 5 October 2018), to formulate a
policy for reducing the weight of school bags. The weight of school bags
for students of Classes I and II should not exceed 1.5 kg. The maximum
weight of school bags for Classes III to V students is 2–3 kg, for Classes
VI and VII students is 4 kg, for Classes VIII and IX students is 4.5 kg, and
for Class X students is 5 kg.
Court rulings
The courts have been concerned with matters related to education since the
adoption of the RTE Act. Some of the cases that have cited the Yash Pal
Committee recommendations and have a bearing on what the committee
had proposed are discussed here. On the matter of early childhood care and
education, Social Jurist filed a public interest litigation (Writ Petition (C)
No.12490/2006 of Delhi High Court) highlighting how different unrecog-
nised private schools in Delhi were applying different age criteria for admis-
sion of children in nursery class. The petitioner sought directions from the
Court to the Government to ensure that all schools follow uniform age cri-
teria in accordance with Section 16 of the Delhi School Education Act 1973
which provides that a child who has not attained the age of five years shall
not be admitted to Class 1 in a recognised school. The Delhi High Court
constituted the Ashok Ganguly Committee to look into the matter and sub-
mit its report indicating as to what should be the suitable age of a child for
the purpose of admission in pre-primary education. The committee observed
that sending children at the age of two or three years defied the logic of
child-centric education and instead made the system either parent-centric
or school-centric. It cautioned against downward extension of the formal
and structured education and suggested instituting one-year pre-primary
education in all the schools of Delhi. Since the sector does not come under
any regulation, children were placed in inappropriate learning environments
with either untrained or unsuitably trained teachers. It recommended that
there shall be no school bag for carrying any prescribed books in preschools.
A monitoring mechanism should be set up by the Government of Delhi to
regulate the establishment and supervision of such playschools for children
below the age of four. The Delhi High Court passed orders directing the
Government of Delhi to implement the recommendations from the academic
year 2008–2009. The Government of Delhi then issued the Recognized
Schools (Admission Procedure for Pre-primary School) Order 2007 which
gave effect to these recommendations. However, the implementation of the
Order was weak and Social Jurist approached the Delhi High Court again
and complained about the failure of the government to ensure that children
admitted to pre-primary classes are not burdened with bags and books. In
Social Jurist v Govt. of NCT of Delhi and Anr (W.P.(C) NO. 7802 OF
2011 & CM No.20148/2011 dated 27 January 2012, Delhi High Court),
the Delhi High Court held that every child has a right to ECCE of equita-
ble quality. It explained that the entire period from 0 to 8 years presents a
developmental continuum and the curriculum at this stage should help the
child adjust to the routine of primary school and to the demands of formal
teaching. However, schools have to follow a specific curriculum framework
for ECCE that is based on guiding principles like play as the basis of learn-
ing, art as the basis of education, recognition of specific features of childrens
thinking, etc. To achieve this, the Court held, professionally trained and
specifically sensitised teachers are required.
In Tamil Nadu, the state government enacted “Samacheer Kalvi Thittam”,
i.e., The Uniform System of School Education Act 2010 which was intended
to reduce the burden on students by having a uniform system across different
school boards. In Krishnagiri District Private Schools’ Association v State
of Tamil Nadu and others (W.P. No.3051 of 2010 dated 30 April 2010 of
Madras High Court), the Matriculate schools challenged the Act while the
Anglo-Indian schools and Oriental schools did not. The Matriculate schools
argued that the Act interfered with the right to choose the preferred system
of education and it interfered with a teachers’ independence in adapting and
adopting teaching methods that were best for her class. The state’s stand was
that this Act reduces the load without diluting quality. It rejected the petition-
er’s contention that by reduction of exams, the quality of education will be
reduced. The Court cited the National Curriculum Framework and held that
the state wants to move the children away from a marks-driven/exam-driven
regime into a system where learning becomes joyful. It said that NCF 2005
stressed on individual teachers exploring new avenues of transacting the cur-
riculum and creating among teachers a sense of their own agency. It held that
a teacher who is always looking behind her shoulder to see if the State
is watching her will subliminally transmit that fear and apprehension to
her students. This will not be in the best interest of the child. Children
who are taught by such teachers who are persistently worried about
breaking the norms and incurring the State’s wrath can never meet the
global challenges nor will their education be qualitatively excellent. The
State can only indicate the broad syllabus pattern. It cannot lay down
the specifics for adherence. That would defeat the object of the Act. It
would be an unreasonable restriction on the rights of the teacher. It is
also contrary to the National Curriculum Framework
(NCF 2005 para 55.b.2).
This interpretation of the Court affirmed the value of reducing the curricu-
lar load without diluting the quality of education and the critical role played
by teacher agency in the education process.
On the matter of the weight of school bags, a group of education
publishers tried to challenge the circular issued by the Government of
National Capital Territory of Delhi on 29 November 2018 which primarily
addressed the concern of schoolchildren, in primary and secondary schools,
having to carry school bags which were excessively heavy, thereby causing
detriment to their health and well-being. The Circular, therefore, stipu-
lated maximum weights of school bags to be carried by children in various
classes from Class I to Class X, as well as the number of textbooks and
notebooks which the students would be required to carry. In Federation
of Educational Publishers in India v Directorate of Education and Anr

(W.P.(C) 13143/2018 & CM No.51010/2018 dated 27 March 2019 in
Delhi High Court) the Court issued a notice limiting the challenge by the
petitioner to the stipulation in the same Circular that mandatorily required
schools to follow textbooks published by the NCERT, the SCERT, or the
CBSE. The Delhi High Court held that the petitioner, as an association of
textbook manufacturers, completely lacked locus to ventilate any grievance
against the weight of school bags, as prescribed in the Circular which was
accepted by the petitioner, who then restricted the petition to the matter of
prescribed textbooks.
On the matter of examinations at the elementary level, in Rajendra
Kuntal v State of Rajasthan and others (D.B. Civil Writ Petition (PIL) No.
17038/2015 dated 13 January 2016 in Rajasthan High Court), the peti-
tioner challenged the order of Secondary Education Board Ajmer to conduct
an examination at the elementary level which was arguably contrary to Sec
30 of the RTE Act. The Court held it was an exercise for evaluation where
no student will be held to pass or fail but only assessed for the proficiency
achieved and graded accordingly for the award of an Elementary Education
Completion Certificate mandated by Section 30(2) – to be awarded to all
and all will be promoted to secondary school. The Court also held that this
would act as feedback to students and parents. The Court interpreted that
the RTE Act did not exclude evaluation but only examination. It must be
noted that this judgement came during the period when the no-detention
and examination-related provisions of the RTE Act were being reviewed
within Rajasthan as well as at the national level.
Thus, the High Courts have pronounced interpretations on matters that
invoked the recommendations of the Yash Pal Committee. Cases regard-
ing curricular overload and challenges of improving education quality have
been limited. The Courts have not been approached for interpreting ques-
tions that are germane to the processes of teaching and learning. However,
even in the few cases that are available, it is clear that the Courts have
reiterated and expanded on the ideas contained in the policy frameworks
on education.
New Education Policy

The new National Education Policy 2020 (NEP, 2020) provides new direc-
tions and trajectories for transformation of the education system. It also
builds on some of the key ideas of the Yash Pal Committee report. At the
outset, the NEP 2020 recognises the importance of children learning how to
learn and suggests that education
must move towards less content, and more towards learning about
how to think critically and solve problems, how to be creative and
multidisciplinary, and how to innovate, adapt, and absorb new mate-

rial in novel and changing fields. Pedagogy must evolve to make
education more experiential, holistic, integrated, inquiry-driven, discov-
ery-oriented, learner-centred, discussion-based, flexible, and, of course,
enjoyable
(Ministry of Human Resource Development, 2020, p. 3).
A comparison of the NEP 2020 provisions with the key recommendations

of the Yash Pal Committee (as outlined in Table 2.1) reflects continuities,
discontinuities and silences. The NEP 2020 carries forward, and also builds
upon, some of the recommendations. With regards to curriculum and peda-
gogy, it recommends:
• making early childhood education flexible, multi-faceted, multi-level,

play-based, activity-based, and inquiry-based learning for achieving
optimal physical, motor, cognitive, socio-emotional-ethical and cultural
development achievement of early language literacy and numeracy
• moving away from culture of rote learning and learning-for-exams
• reducing content for each subject to its core essentials, to make space
for critical thinking and more holistic, inquiry-based, discovery-based,
discussion-based and analysis-based learning
• increasing the flexibility in the school curriculum by changing school
textbooks to cover only the essential core material deemed important
on a national level, at the same time including supplementary material
as per local contexts and needs
• providing choice to schools and teachers about textbooks they employ
so that they may teach in a manner that is best suited to their own peda-
gogical styles as well as to their students and communities’ needs
• making teaching-learning more interactive where questions are encour-
aged, and classroom sessions contain more fun, creative, collaborative
and exploratory activities
• adopting of experiential learning during all stages of education
• providing autonomy to teachers in choosing aspects of pedagogy, so
that they may teach in the manner they find most effective for the stu-
dents in their classrooms
• ensuring a pupil–teacher ratio of under 30:1; with areas having large
numbers of socio-economically disadvantaged students aiming for
under 25:1
• making suitable changes in curriculum and pedagogy to significantly
reduce the weight of school bags and textbooks
• focusing on regular formative assessment for learning rather than the
summative assessment that encourages “coaching culture”
• shifting towards competency-based tests for higher-order skills, such as
analysis, critical thinking and conceptual clarity
• reforming the system of Board and entrance examinations to eliminate

the need for undertaking coaching classes and reversing the harmful
effects on students
• redesigning board examinations to allow students a choice of subjects
depending on their individualised interests.
With regards to governance, the NEP 2020 builds on the idea of decen-
tralisation and school-level planning and prescribes devolution of authority
from the departments of school education to the school complex/cluster. It
would act as a semi-autonomous unit and be empowered to innovate and
provide an integrated education while adhering to national and state cur-
ricular standards. As laid down in the RTE Act, schools will develop their
School Development Plans with the involvement of their School Management
Committees and these will become the basis for the creation of School
Complex/Cluster Development Plans. The Block Education Officer will then
provide the resources necessary to implement these plans and achieve the
educational outcomes. The NEP 2020 also follows the recommendation
made by the Yash Pal Committee that the regulatory norms for both pri-
vate and state-run schools should be the same. However, the policy suggests
changing the overemphasis on inputs and mechanistic application of physical
infrastructure norms and making them more responsive to the realities on the
ground. It recommends a minimal set of standards based on basic parameters
such as safety, security, basic infrastructure, number of teachers across sub-
jects and grades, financial probity and sound processes of governance.
There are a few discontinuities. While the Yash Pal Committee discour-
aged examinations, the NEP 2020 recommends school examinations in
Classes 3, 5 and 8 which will be conducted by the appropriate authority
for all students. Although these examinations are meant to serve devel-
opmental purposes, this provision deviates from not only the Yash Pal
Committee report but also from the RTE Amendment Act 2019 which rein-
stated examinations for Classes 5 and 8. With regards to teacher education,
the NEP 2020 provides that multidisciplinary higher education institutions
offering the 4-year in-class integrated B.Ed. programme and having accredi-
tation for open and distance learning may also offer high-quality B.Ed. pro-
grammes in blended or open/distance learning mode to students in remote
or difficult-to-access locations. This deviates from the Yash Pal Committee
recommendation on derecognition of B.Ed. correspondence courses.
The NEP 2020 is also silent on a number of issues that were raised by the
Yash Pal Committee. This includes allocating contingency funds for school
leaders, restricting the jurisdiction of CBSE to Kendriya Vidyalaya and
Navodaya Vidyalaya, regulating preschools, treating textbooks as school
property, abolition of homework, and allowing B.Ed. specialisation by stage
of education. These policy trajectories, in terms of what the NEP 2020 pre-
scribes and what it does not, play a balancing act in a dynamic federal
structure that is embedded in a larger body of education legislation. The

policy ideas, although connected to the earlier prescriptions, must be under-
stood as emerging from a changing global ecosystem and evolving demands
placed on the education system.
Concluding remarks
This chapter has provided a policy overview on learning without burden, by
putting the report of Yash Pal Committee at the centre of discussion. The
question of academic burden on students has been on the policy agenda for
several decades and has triggered a range of official responses like establish-
ing expert committees to advise the government, making policy pronounce-
ments, issuing notifications and so on. Starting with Kothari Commission
report to the NEP 2020, policy continuities and discontinuities are evident,
as in certain recommendations that are repeated in every policy text, and
certain recommendations being revised with changing contexts. Proposals
relating to provision of early childhood care and education and exam
reform have been reaffirmed in policy for almost 50 years. However, such
continued expressions in policy texts reduce these important recommenda-
tions to empty rhetorical catchphrases. Without a comprehensive review of
the status of implementation, an assessment of feasibility of implementation
and a study of practical challenges confronting ground-level implementa-
tion, questions arise about the political will and intention to deliver on the
commitments. However, policy shifts and discontinuities are evident in the
case of openness and encouragement of competition to bring in quality, shift
from minimum levels of learning to a focus on learning outcomes and meas-
urement, and ending the no-detention policy. These changes can be seen
as products or manifestations of larger changes taking place at a systemic
level that places a premium on efficiency, accountability and integration
of technology. Revisiting the policy options suggested by expert commit-
tees like the Yash Pal Committee requires a careful sifting of ideas that are
worthwhile and relevant to current contextual realities, and drawing lessons
on the constraints and limits of taking certain ideas to fruition.
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Ministry of Human Resource Development. (1988). National policy on education
– 1986. Implementation report (Period ending 30 June 1988). New Delhi:
Government of India.
Ministry of Human Resource Development. (1993a). Learning without burden.
Report of the National Advisory Committee appointed by the Ministry of Human
Resource Development. New Delhi: Government of India.
Ministry of Human Resource Development. (1993b). Report of the group to
examine the feasibility of implementing the recommendations of the National
Advisory Committee (set up to suggest ways to reduce academic burden on
school students). New Delhi: Government of India.
Ministry of Human Resource Development. (2020). National policy on education
2020. New Delhi: Government of India.
National Council of Educational Research and Training. (1970). Education and
national development – Report of the Education Commission 1964–66. New
Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training.
NCERT. (1975). The curriculum for the ten year school – A framework. New Delhi:
NCERT. (1985). Curriculum load at the school level – A quick appraisal. New
Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
NCERT. (1988). National curriculum for elementary and secondary education –
A framework (Revised version). New Delhi: National Council of Educational
Research and Training (NCERT).
NCERT. (2005). National curriculum framework 2005. New Delhi: National
Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
NCERT. (2019). The preschool curriculum. New Delhi: National Council of
Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
Chapter 3
Initial Teacher Education: Possibilities

and Limits of Curriculum Reform
Shikha Takker and Mythili Ramchand
Introduction
Teachers and teacher education have been of concern to policy makers
in India both before and after independence. Initial teacher education in
its present structure is a colonial legacy. A massive expansion in school-
ing to meet the goal of Universal Elementary Education (UEE) saw a rise
in demand for initial teacher education during the eighties. The national
regulatory body, National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), was
given statutory status by the Indian Parliament in 1993 in order to curb the
rapid commercialisation of teacher education being offered through cor-
respondence courses and ensure that teacher education programmes across
the country are of comparable quality. While it managed to limit the cor-
respondence courses, there has since been an almost ten-fold increase in the
number of private institutions to cater to the market. Currently there are
16,917 recognised teacher education institutions in the country. A formal
degree or a diploma in education is required for teachers to work in second-
ary and elementary schools, respectively, and is now legally mandated in the
Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (GoI, 2009). The
law also requires a teacher seeking appointment in state-run schools to pass
the teacher eligibility test.
A centrally sponsored scheme for teacher education was launched three
decades ago, based on the recommendations of the National Policy on
Education in 1986. The scheme helped set up state and district level structures
to support teacher preparation and their ongoing professional development.
This scheme is now subsumed under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan which
seeks to synergise teacher education and school education across levels. The
central government continues to provide financial support to the states.
The National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (henceforth,
NCFTE) 2009 recommended qualitative improvement of teacher educa-
tion programmes aligned to the ambitious school curriculum reform efforts
launched in 2005, focusing on equitable learning opportunities (NCTE,
2009). Additionally, the Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya National Mission
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059-5
58 Shikha Takker and Mythili Ramchand
on Teachers and Teaching (PMMMNMTT) was launched in 2014 to meet

the demand for teachers across all education levels and provide professional
development opportunities for teachers and teacher educators. Despite the
policy directives, targeted provisioning, curriculum reform initiatives and
legal mandates to improve quality of teachers and teacher education, the
sector continues to remain “in urgent need of revitalisation through radical
action, in order to raise standards and restore integrity, credibility, efficacy,
and high quality to the teacher education system” (GoI, 2020, p. 40).
This chapter begins by tracing the impasse in reimagining teacher edu-
cation through an analysis of key policies and reports post-independence.
This is followed by identifying aspects which can help in addressing the
challenges that initial teacher education faces in contemporary times and
concludes by reflecting on a programme structure which addresses these
challenges. Our focus is on formal initial teacher education programmes
preparing teachers for different levels of teaching in schools.
The “Learning without burden” (LwB) report in 1993 articulated the
notion of academic burden and its relation to teacher education (GoI,
1993). The construct of academic burden not only aids in situating the con-
cerns of teacher preparation within the larger education discourse but also
allows a means of theorising and deliberating on the challenges that initial
teacher education continues to encounter. Through an analysis of the Indian
policy directives, we trace the academic and structural burden on teacher
education. The academic discourse and action through curriculum reforms
in initial teacher education is used as a context to explore the possibilities of
preparing teachers who can then effectively reduce the academic burden of
children in schools. The conceptions of teachers and teaching and expecta-
tions from teacher education that this analysis provides, gives an indication
of both the burden on and of teacher education. The vision and design prin-
ciples of the curriculum development for an innovative pre-service teacher
education curriculum is used as an example to address the reforms needed in
teacher education. We conclude with a reflection on possibilities and limita-
tions in light of the unresolved burden on teacher education.
In the next two sections, we analyse policy documents for the key rec-
ommendations and systemic suggestions of reforms made with regard to
teacher education. The policy documents include (a) the National Policy
on Education 1968 (henceforth, NPE 1968) (GoI, 1968), National Policy
on Education 1986 (henceforth, NPE 1986) (GoI, 1986), and National
Education Policy (henceforth, NEP 2020) (GoI, 2020), (b) reports of the
Chattopadhyay Commission (GoI, 1985) and the Justice Verma Commission
(GoI, 2012), and (c) the observations and suggestions made by the Yash Pal
Committee report (GoI, 1993) and the Kothari Commission report (GoI,
1966). We find that, despite the changing aspirations from educational
engagement, some primary issues of teacher education that these policy doc-
uments identify as problematic and their recommendations to address them,
Initial Teacher Education 59
are remarkably similar. For instance, the status of teachers and quality of
teacher preparation are recurring concerns across all policy documents.
Noting that “(p)ast attempts to improve teacher training programmes and
institutions have met with rather limited success”, the Yash Pal Committee
report lamented that teacher education is “a key but elusive area of reform”
(GoI, 1993, p. 16).
Issues surrounding teacher preparation

The low professional status of teachers in India has been of concern to policy
makers for a considerable period. “The destiny of India is now being shaped
in her classrooms” (GoI, 1966, p. 1), this opening statement of the Kothari
Commission report in independent India had caught the imagination of
academicians, bureaucrats, and the general public alike. The commission
was concerned about the status of teachers and had devoted a chapter to it,
giving suggestions for increasing remuneration, improving service and work
conditions, and providing retirement benefits, recommending “high qual-
ity recruits, best quality preparation and satisfactory working conditions”
(p. 46). Noting wryly that “appeals to motives such as love for children…
idealism and desire for social service” is not tenable, the policy pointed out
that it is necessary to make “an intensive and continuous effort to raise the
economic, social and professional status of teachers to attract young men
and women of ability to the profession, and to retain them in it as dedicated,
enthusiastic and contented workers” (p. 46).
Almost two decades later the national commission on teachers, the
Chattopadhyay Commission report, devoted considerable attention to the
status of teachers. Noting that teachers’ status is “a complex sociologi-
cal concept and can mean different things in different cultural contexts”
(GoI, 1985, p. 44), it speculated that the tendency to underpay teachers
possibly stems from a misconception around the idea of a guru. Debunking
this idea that a guru had no commercial interests, the report quoted the
Radhakrishnan Commission (1948–1949) (GoI, 1963), “In this age of
money, economy and private motives, it is vain to expect that teachers alone
would rise above the spirit of the times” (GoI, 1963, p. 60). The recommen-
dation of increased pay and improved working conditions are reiterated in
the NPE 1986 and its Programme of Action 1992.
Suggestions for improved pay, fixing a pay scale and extending benefits
such as medical insurance and pension schemes have been institutionalised
for teachers in state-run schools. However, salary structures and service
conditions of teachers within and between states are very uneven, which get
exacerbated in the context of increasing stratification among government
schools (Mukhopadhyay & Sarangapani, 2018; Govinda & Bandopadhyay,
2008). Many states have now resorted to appointing teachers on an ad-
hoc basis to cut costs (Ramachandran et al., 2016). In addition, there has
been a discourse of deficiency around government school teachers over

the past two decades both in the popular media (Vidya & Sarangapani,
2011) and among a section of researchers (a review of which is provided in
Sarangapani, Mukhopadhyay, Karla & Jain, 2020). While NEP 2020 notes
the concern that the status of teachers has “dropped” and that “the high
respect for teachers and the high status of the profession must be revived
and restored” (GoI, 2020, p. 18) presumably alluding to such a status prev-
alent sometime in Indian history, it has little to offer in terms of addressing
these concerns. The solution to improving working conditions is to create
school complexes to rationalise resources and recommending that hiring of
para-teachers “will eventually be phased out” (GoI, 2020, p. 19).
From the concern of the Kothari Commission report for ensuring a decent
salary for teachers in a resource-deprived newly independent nation, there
is a 180-degree shift in the current bureaucratic perception of a derelict and
overpaid government schoolteacher. The current concern is on the need to
hold teachers accountable and evaluate their performance on internation-
ally comparable standards of performance, although the perceived status
continues to elude the profession, in that it is unable to attract the “best”
and “brightest” (GoI, 2020, p. 4).
Expectations from teachers

Expectations from teachers have changed in many aspects but have also
remained identical in a few others. The NPE 1968 expected teachers to sup-
port the nation-building process. By the 1980s, UEE imperatives required
teachers to help retain children in elementary schools by creating an atmos-
phere conducive to learning through “joy and cheer, play and activity”
(GoI, 1985, p. 93). Further, the Chattopadhyay Commission report envis-
aged teachers as partners in meeting the national goals of a united secular
India, a modern nation with productive people, and a humane and caring
society. It identified the primary task of teachers as formation of character
in response to the national goals. For example, to meet the goal of building
a humane and caring society, “teacher must take a lead role in promoting
kinship with environment. Good environment, whether human or physi-
cal, has a humanising element” (p. 20). The Yash Pal Committee report
extended this idea and expected teachers to exercise agency in the light of
systemic challenges.
Teachers’ role was explicitly spelt out in the NCFTE and was endorsed in
the Justice Verma Commission report. These roles ranged from dispositions
of care, “love to be with children” and sensitivity; to pedagogic requirements
of discouraging rote learning, making “learning a joyful, participatory and
meaningful activity”, organising “learner-centred, activity-based, participa-
tory learning”; cognitive competencies including critically examining “cur-
riculum and textbooks, contextualize curriculum to suit local needs” and
learning to “reflect on their own practice”; and social commitments which

include “responding to diversities in the classroom and promoting values of
peace, democratic way of life, equality, justice, liberty, fraternity, secularism
and zeal for social reconstruction” (NCTE, 2009, p. 23).The current policy
expects teachers to enable the country to become “developed” and gain
“leadership on the global stage” alongside ensuring “national integration
and cultural preservation” (GoI, 2020, p. 3). While expectations have been
rising, teachers are generally treated as “objects of reform” (Batra, 2005),
with only a notional engagement in reform efforts and policy making.
Regulating teacher education

The Yash Pal Committee report expressed hope that with the teacher educa-
tion regulatory body NCTE gaining statutory status, the quality of teacher
education would improve. However, in a span of two decades, the Supreme
Court had to intervene to stem corruption in the NCTE and the current pol-
icy of seeking closure of sub-standard and dysfunctional teacher education
institutes. Measures to strengthen the regulatory body for teacher education
are discussed substantially in the Justice Verma Commission report. These
recommendations led to changes in the regulations and a move towards
greater transparency in the functioning of the regulatory body. However, the
committees formulated to revise the regulations could not bring consensus
on key issues and the subsequent changes in the norms and standards that
were framed for initial teacher education programmes (see Sharma, 2019
for a detailed discussion). Though promising, the “leaner and tighter” regu-
lations, the highly centralised proposition of the current policy is unlikely to
bring vibrancy to the teacher education sector.
Assessment of teachers
Standards for teachers and teacher assessment gained prominence after the
1990s. Evaluation of teachers, greater teacher accountability, developing a
code of ethics for teachers and performance appraisal of institutions are dis-
cussed in NPE 1986 and its subsequent programme of action in 1992. The
Justice Verma Committee report provided guiding principles for teacher
appraisal and a framework for the assessment of teacher performance. NPE
2020 recommends evolving standards for teachers and teaching to evaluate
teachers and teacher education programmes. While there is a global move
towards standards, there is little evidence that it has improved the quality
of school systems.
All the issues surrounding teacher preparation call for introspection and
systemic changes. Partly these can be achieved through changes in princi-
ples of regulation and governance of teacher education in India. Addressing
them also requires reimagination of the design of what goes into teacher
preparation (TP) programmes. We now turn our attention to the sugges-

tions made by policies on the structures and curricular design of TP.
Teacher preparation: structure and curriculum

Recommendations for preparing teachers, who could meet the various
expectations at different time-points in the country’s history, are remarka-
bly similar in the policy documents. All of them have recommended making
initial teacher education across school levels equivalent to a degree pro-
gramme. The Chattopadhyay Commission called for preparation of teachers
for early childhood education and working with children with disabilities. It
noted that education of children with disabilities must be the responsibility
of the education department and not the welfare department. Hoping that
the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE gained statutory status
the same year the report was tabled) will work out a “comprehensive train-
ing programme to cover all stages of schooling” that is “radically different
from the present one which is anchored in the culture of late nineteenth cen-
tury normal schools”, the Yash Pal Committee recommended that teacher
education programmes should be university based offering the possibility
of specialisation in secondary, elementary or nursery education (GoI, 1993,
p. 17).
Qualifications of teachers and teacher educators

The need to make initial teacher education aspirational by enhancing the
entry qualification has been the rhetoric since the first education policy. The
Chattopadhyay Commission (GoI, 1985) recommended stringent selection
of candidates for teacher preparation programmes.
Some of the characteristics to look for while selecting a teacher for train-
ing are: a good physique; linguistic ability and communication skills; a fair
degree of general mental ability; general awareness of the world; a positive
outlook on life; and a capacity for good human relationships to be tested
through written tests, rating scales, interviews and small group discussions
(pp. 84–85).
While the Justice Verma Committee report (GoI, 2012) was cautious about
entry level tests, NEP 2020 proposes that a national testing agency must
conduct an entrance examination across the country. The qualifications of
teacher educators have also been deliberated upon. The Kothari Commission
had presciently noted that “insistence on professional qualification in edu-
cation often debars teachers with specialization in other disciplines from
working in teacher training institutions, although they could have helped to
raise standards” (GoI, 1966, p. 78). Recognising that improving the quality
of teacher educators is essential, the report recommended a careful selec-
tion process and stipulated minimum qualifications, including school-based
experience as necessary requirements for an appointment to a teacher’s posi-

tion. It pointed out that ongoing professional development opportunities
including developing proficiency in educational technology and adequate
central funding is important. The Justice Verma Committee (GoI, 2012) rec-
ommended increasing the duration of preparation of teacher educators to
two years to allow for specialisation and changing the entry level qualifica-
tions “to enable a wider pool of talent to enter the profession” (p. 17) and
“utilising distance learning for on-going professional development” (p. 23).
NEP 2020 reiterates these recommendations and suggests opening up the
positions for faculty of education in higher education institutes to those
without PhDs but with “outstanding teaching or field experience” and
opportunities for ongoing professional development for faculty. Hitherto,
there was little opportunity for professional development for faculty of edu-
cation (Ramchand, 2016). But now there is a danger of narrowly conceiving
it as staff development courses or “training”. Professional development is
a process of building a culture of learning for which vibrant communities
of practice need to be built over time (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2001). This
requires a repertoire of approaches beyond staff development programmes.
The Chattopadhyay Commission recommended a concurrent model of
five years duration for preparing teachers across school levels. The commis-
sion suggested that this model be introduced in a phased manner, consid-
ering the availability of resources, recommending that states can begin by
setting up at least one integrated college of education. The Justice Verma
Commission suggested four years for an initial teacher education pro-
gramme post senior secondary qualification. The current policy NEP 2020
suggests a dual degree programme of four years duration.
Curriculum, pedagogy and materials

The earlier commissions called for participatory curriculum planning involv-
ing all stakeholders, but the later ones became more prescriptive. The Yash
Pal Committee report noted:
covering the syllabus seems to have become an end in itself, unrelated
to the philosophical and social aims of education. …It appears that
teachers feel they can do little to pursue such lofty aims in any realistic
sense under the harsh circumstances created by factors like excessively
large classes, a heavy syllabus, difficult textbooks, and so on. Moreover,
majority of them neither know nor have the necessary skills to realise
the goals of education.
(GoI, 1993, pp. 3–4)
Further, the report critiqued teacher education programmes as perpetuating

a colonial mindset of knowledge being primarily for consumption and fail-
ing to develop teacher agency:
The perception that a teacher can do little in the classroom that is d

ifferent
from what the textbook says is part of historical legacy. This legacy must
be transcended and the self-perception rooted in it must be changed.
(GoI, 1993, p. 16)
Interestingly, the Yash Pal Ccommittee report suggested that mass media
along with teacher education can address this problem. The report faulted
the centralised character of curriculum development,
…lacking both in perspective and means to equip teachers with the

capacity to understand children and their learning processes in a profes-
sional manner
(GoI, 1993, p. 17).
The NCFTE proposes a refreshing curriculum structure for teacher educa-

tion which has largely been informed by the experience of the innovative,
four-year bachelor’s programme for preparing elementary teachers at Delhi
University (Batra, 2012). While endorsing the NCFTE, the Justice Verma
Committee report reiterated the need for integrating the larger aims and
purposes of education with the knowledge of learners, subject and context
(GoI, 2012).
The need for curriculum materials and resources in local languages has
been repeatedly mentioned in teacher education. The Kothari Commission
report suggested that materials in modern Indian languages and English rel-
evant to the Indian context must be prepared so that students do not have
to resort to “cheap guides” (GoI, 1966, p. 73). The report cautioned that,
without preparing adequate materials and resources in Indian languages and
orienting faculty, curriculum revision will be meaningless. NEP 2020 makes
no reference to academic resources in the context of teacher education.
The need for a vibrant pedagogy in teacher education programmes has
been emphasised in all policy documents. The Kothari Commission report
suggested the use of case studies and other pedagogic changes over half a
century ago. The Yash Pal Committee report stressed that reforms in teacher
education would empower teachers to bring changes in pedagogy in schools.
The NCFTE has devoted an entire chapter to the pedagogy of teacher edu-
cation. The pedagogy of initial teacher education programmes impacts pro-
spective teachers’ professional identity (Danielewicx, 2001). However, the
faculties of education have been slow in assimilating and adopting these
pedagogic changes (MHRD, 2016).
Isolation of teacher education

The fact that teacher education institutions in the country suffer from iso-
lation has long been recognised. The Kothari Commission recommended
removing “isolation of teacher education institutions from Universities on

the one hand and schools on the other” (GoI, 1966, p. 71). Their low profile
and poor visibility have been attributed to their stand-alone position, espe-
cially those offering preparation to elementary teachers in a non-degree pro-
gramme. NEP 2020 recommends that all teacher education institutions must
become multidisciplinary and offer integrated teacher education programmes
by 2025. Coming down strongly on “substandard and dysfunctional teacher
education institutes”, the policy recommends that those who do not meet the
basic educational criteria be “phased out” (GoI, 2020, p. 40).
Strong school linkage with robust internship programmes were suggested
in the Chattopadhyay Commission report. It also recommended a strong
component of “strictly supervised” school internship. A shift from the posi-
tion of giving a set number of stray lessons to one of apprenticeship was
indicated and the report pointed out that a teacher’s preparation must be
regarded as a joint responsibility of the cooperating school and the college
of education. Criticising that no attention was paid to this recommendation
made a quarter century ago by the Chattopadhyay Commission, the report
reminded its readers that:
we have to realise that there has to be a constant dialogue between

schools and colleges of Education so that the programmes are devel-
oped together. …School teachers should also be invited to colleges of
Education to give demonstration lessons and share their rich practical
experiences with the young trainees.
(GoI, 1985, p. 89)
Although school internship is now included as a compulsory component of

all teacher preparation programmes, it remains ritualistic and without ade-
quate mentoring and supervision (NCTE, 2009; TISS, 2018). It remains to
be seen if an extended duration of the programme and synergy with school
complexes as suggested by NEP 2020 will enable strengthening of univer-
sity–school linkages. Besides, other models for strengthening the practice
component of teacher preparation need exploration.
The Chattopadhyay Commission report stressed the imperative of
research for teacher education:
unsatisfactory teacher preparation is a problem of longstanding. The

basic problem with teacher education not only in our own country but
the world over, has been that it is not backed up by any systematic field
research to validate the training curriculum. The choice of the contents
of the theory part of the course everywhere continues to be determined
primarily by tradition, background of teacher educators themselves and
by armchair thinking.
(GoI, 1985, pp. 75–76)
The commission highlighted the importance of a comparative study of

different models of initial teacher education. While acknowledging that it is
“going to be an exceedingly complex affair”, the commission opined “as an
area for study, investigation and research, teacher training deserves prior-
ity” (p. 76).
A decade later, a review report on teacher education in the region noted
that research is the weakest component of teacher education programmes.
The situation has changed little today. Both critical studies on teacher
education and rigorous comparative studies on programmes are sparse
(Ramchand, 2020). Whilst local knowledge on teacher education emerging
from the field is sparse, curriculum reforms and revised norms and stand-
ards for teacher education continue to be largely normative and based on
disciplinary background and experiences of the framers that has been cri-
tiqued decades back (GoI, 1985).
Conceptualising burden on and of teacher education

We find that, broadly, there are two strands of discourse in policy. One
emerges from commission reports headed by academicians and curriculum
reforms attempted by the NCFTE based on “liberal and humanistic” prin-
ciples, with the Yash Pal Committee report epitomising these principles.
This discourse seeks autonomy for teachers and envisions state support to
empower them so that they can help their students flourish as individuals
in a democratic society. The second strand – based on neo-liberal perspec-
tives and emerging from globalised market forces – largely informs both the
current and 1986 education policy documents (Velaskar, 2010; Nambissan,
2016). Here teachers are considered as technicians to be held accountable
within an evaluative framework (Sarangapani et al., 2020). At the same
time, aspirations of common schooling articulated in the first education
commission report are abandoned and a discourse of inefficient teachers in
the public schooling system emerges (Batra, 2012; Sarangapani et al., 2020).
As noted by Engel “market ideology and democratic values in education are
mutually exclusive” (Engel (2000) cited in Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2001,
p. 542). This tension creates a burden on the already beleaguered teacher
education sector, which is analysed in this section.
Poor state provisioning and marketisation of teacher education is the pri-
mary burden the sector faces. Despite the rhetoric on teachers and teacher
preparation, the state has not adequately invested in initial teacher edu-
cation, leaving the market to cater to the exponential demand. As Batra
(2012) laments, the lack of resources and political will to implement the
pragmatic recommendations of the Chattopadhyay Commission report pre-
sents a missed opportunity for education in general and teacher education
in particular, leading to a marginalisation of teachers and teacher education
over the years. Second, the sector is burdened by the low status associated
with teacher education. The current hope within India that by locating
teacher education into university space will help enhance its status is not
necessarily borne out by the experience of countries which had affected this
shift decades ago. In these countries, teacher education has “retained the
reputation for being an academically weak program produced on the cheap
for students of modest intellect” (Labaree, 2008, p. 297). Although initial
teacher education is considered not to “attract talent” (GoI, 1968, 1986,
2020), the prospects of a government job and teaching being perceived as
a “suitable” employment for girls in a patriarchal society, teacher prepara-
tion programmes continue to draw aspirants in India (Ramchand, 2020).
Third, teacher education suffers from over regulation which has stifled
innovations. In a bid to curb the rampant corruption that had seeped into
the regulatory system and make it transparent, perfomativity and mana-
gerialism is being promoted in the sector (Sharma, 2019). Fourth, the cur-
riculum reforms in teacher education have been led by university-based
academicians with little involvement of practitioners in teacher education
institutes. The reformers have been identified as belonging to the “educa-
tional elite” whose language is not entirely understood (Setty, 2014). While
the previous policy had reduced schoolteachers to consumers of knowledge
and objects of reform, it is being increasingly extended to the faculty of
education as well. Fifth, the teacher education sector is poorly researched
with a preponderance of normative prescriptions and impressionistic view-
points shaping its programmes and structures. The NCFTE recognises the
need for making stronger connections between research and teacher educa-
tion. Finally, there is little initiative taken by practitioners themselves. It is
certainly the case that a combination of systemic factors such as the huge
disparity between salaries of teacher educators employed in the govern-
ment sector (under the Centrally sponsored scheme, although insufficient,
a significant number of teacher educators were appointed in some states)
and private institutions, academic isolation of teacher education institu-
tions, few opportunities for ongoing professional development and so on
have contributed to the low morale and self-esteem of teacher educators.
The lack of agency by the community of practitioners is, nevertheless, a
huge burden. For instance, the need for creating curriculum materials and
resources in regional languages and adopting vibrant pedagogies have been
recommended in the Kothari Commission report which could have been
pursued by teacher educators. Other than a few sporadic efforts, little con-
textualised robust materials for students of teacher education programmes
exist.
While these factors have imposed a burden on teacher education, to
remain relevant, the sector has to fulfil its burden of preparing teachers who
can bring about qualitative changes in the education system, thereby reduc-
ing the “burden” on millions of schoolchildren. Giroux infuses hope when
he says:
Teacher-education programmes operate within parameters that are

severely constraining, but they also create options for creating new
possibilities and social realities. In other words, the seeds exist within
teacher education for developing ‘critical intellectuals’ who can begin
the task of generating a more radical and visionary consciousness
among their fellow workers, friends, and students… It is an opportunity
that should not be ignored.
(Giroux, 1981, p. 156)
This hope is backed by research in other contexts which indicates that

robust models of initial teacher education contribute to enhanced quality of
education systems (Grossman, Hammerness & McDonald, 2009; Darling-
Hammond, 2006). The remainder of the chapter focuses on the nature of
curriculum that has the potential to address the burden of teacher educa-
tion, while recognising the limited role of curriculum reforms in the context
of larger unresolved systemic issues.
Seeding an innovative teacher preparation curriculum

The evolving discourse on teacher education in India is largely captured in
the observations and recommendations of policy documents. The burden of
professionalisation that the sector bears manifests in debates around its sta-
tus in society, duration, content and processes, salary, conducive working
environment, code of ethics, scope for autonomy and accountability (GoI,
1985, 2012, 2020; NCTE, 2009). While recognising that institutionalised
teacher preparation has not witnessed a change in quite a while (Kumar,
Dewan & Subramaniam, 2012), the need to design a curriculum which
prepares teachers for handling the changing demands of society becomes
salient.
Combining insights from research and policy directives, this section
focuses on the innovative nature of the teacher preparation (TP) curricu-
lum. In many ways, the case selected for discussion is unique. It foregrounds
the larger goal of teacher preparation for developing teacher agency., This
is supported by the knowledge base required for teaching and continuous
learning through participation in communities. While addressing the dialec-
tical relation between theory and practice in the design and operationalisa-
tion of this programme, research in education has been critically integrated
with the process of building the professional capacities of teachers. Ways
in which these design considerations support the development of teachers’
identity have been detailed below. The design considerations formed the
backbone of the curricular design of the innovative pre-service teacher edu-
cation programmes, aimed to address the burden of and on teacher educa-
tion by paving the way for building institutional partnerships and shared
accountability.
Support through
communities of practice
Connections between
Reimagining Knowledge of self and
micro- and
classroom space collective action
macro-contexts
Knowledge base
required for teaching
Figure 3.1 Re-imagining teacher education landscape. Source: Authors
Table 3.1 Model Teacher Education Curriculum (NCTE, 2009)
Foundations of Education Curriculum and Pedagogy School Internship
Learner Studies Curriculum Studies Engagement with schools

Contemporary Studies Pedagogical Studies Engagement with learners
Educational Studies Assessment and Evaluation Studies
Source: NCTE (2009)
In this section, we discussed the considerations which formed the basis

of designing an innovative TP programme. A summary of these has been
presented in Figure 3.1. While a specific case of TP curriculum is described
below, we believe that these design features can potentially be used in re-
orienting the teacher education landscape towards the goal of creating pro-
fessional and humane teachers.
Goals of the teacher preparation programme

The NCFTE identifies developing professional and humane teachers as
the aim of TP programmes. The document outlines three key areas for the
design of the TP curriculum, namely, to build a strong knowledge of the (a)
foundations of education, (b) discipline, and (c) field of education. A focus
resting on these three pillars helps to address the epistemic identity of educa-
tion as a discipline, understood through and as involving conceptual base
and praxis. The courses suggested within each of these key areas are listed
in Table 3.1. The NCFTE document further suggests that the concerns of
inclusion, equitable development, role of community knowledge, and inte-
gration of technology inform the design of a TP curriculum.
While there are practical challenges in fitting these ambitious goals into
the existing duration of teacher education programmes, the goal of devel-
oping a stronger teacher identity rests on how teachers are supported in
making connections between what they learn and putting this into practice.
Most teachers might not have experienced reformed pedagogies during their
school experiences which places a double burden on the TP to create oppor-
tunities for re-learning of the content while keeping sight of the pedagogical
considerations, both of which are affected by socio-political influences.
Developing the knowledge base required for teaching

It is now recognised that while robust disciplinary knowledge is essential,
the knowledge required for teaching is different from the content knowledge
gained from doing a specialised degree in the subject. Teaching requires
an interweaving of content and pedagogical knowledge (Shulman, 1986).
Donald (2002) suggests that a professional knowledge base for teachers
includes understanding the (a) content in the discipline; (b) tools used to
organise, construct and validate the content; and (c) students’ conceptions
in learning this content. Ma (2010) adds that teachers need an awareness of
the horizontal (deeper knowledge of a topic or concept) and vertical (knowl-
edge across topics or concepts) connections in developing the knowledge
required for teaching. Teachers also need to be critically aware of the per-
spectives offered by a discipline to make sense of its reality and limitations
(Apple, 2012). Bullock (2011) suggests that the professional knowledge
base includes knowledge, competencies and values that support teachers to
build on them during the course of teaching. This professional knowledge
base is not static, it is dynamic and changing based on the demands that
classroom situations pose to teachers (Takker & Subramaniam, 2018). By
being vigilant of one’s own actions and critically re-assembling or renew-
ing oneself, teachers develop reflexivity (Gore, 1993 borrowing Foucault’s
concept of care of the self) in dealing with the uncertainties in teaching.
The image of the teacher from being an implementer of reforms to one who
critically engages with it, as well as generating knowledge from reflection on
their own practice, requires developing autonomy and agency, a construct
that has long been missing in the discourse on teacher education in India
(Batra, 2005; Ginsberg, Chaturvedi, Agrawal & Nora, 1988).
There is research evidence to show that an experience of engaging with dis-
ciplinary knowledge by actively engaging with the content supports teachers’
learning. Additionally, elaborate discussions on the difficulties arising while
learning can be a useful resource for preparing to teach. Engaging in the
process of knowledge (re)construction in teacher education has the potential
to create an imagination of ways in which such learning experiences can be
organised in the classroom. Let us take an example to unpack this. An expe-
rience of finding different ways of multiplying fractions, identifying these
similarities and differences, understanding different meanings underlying

multiplication, and recognising contexts which are meaningful for rep-
resenting the problem, helps a teacher in appreciating multiple responses
from learners and connecting them with the key mathematical ideas. While
aspects of knowledge that teachers need can be operationalised and organ-
ised in the form of a TP programme, an attitude towards learning a disci-
pline needs to be developed. It is important to acknowledge that learning
about a discipline is a continuous process which extends beyond one’s own
schooling and teacher education experiences. An understanding of ways in
which knowledge is constructed within a discipline will help in providing
the necessary tools for engaging with the “unknown” aspects of an evolving
knowledge area within a discipline.
The knowledge of pedagogy specific to the discipline requires knowl-
edge of student conceptions and ways of dealing with them. Research-
based knowledge on student conceptions in specific topics can be a useful
resource in developing such knowledge (see Takker & Subramaniam, 2018).
An enculturation into ways of thinking within a discipline also provides
teachers with insights into the learning process. Kumar (2014) proposes
that this enculturation process not only helps combine disciplinary and
pedagogic knowledge, but also integrates the foundations of education. For
instance, an awareness of historical and philosophical debates in science
helps in appreciating the careful formulation and refinement of hypothesis
and understanding the rival explanations for a phenomenon under study.
Further, the history of discovery explicates the processes involved in knowl-
edge construction, the debates among different schools of thought, and the
collective work. Similarly, a sociological perspective on mathematics cre-
ates an awareness of how girls have been systematically dissuaded from
higher learning of the subject or how statistical modelling represents data in
ways which excludes those who are marginalised. However, care needs to
be taken from the tensions arising in cohering all these domains. Case-based
knowledge has been shown to have the potential to integrate these differ-
ent knowledge domains that constitute the professional base of teaching
but also crucially help understand the complexities of practice in context
(Shulman, 1986). When connected with the actual artefacts from practice,
case-based knowledge has been found to help reconfigure pedagogical ori-
entations (Takker & Subramaniam, 2018).
Theory–practice dialectic
Recent research on teacher knowledge indicates that knowledge develops
in and from practice (Ball, Thames & Phelps, 2008). This brings us to the
central debate on the role of practice in a TP programme. The conceptuali-
sation of the relation between theoretical knowledge learnt in TP and the
actual classroom scenario, is aged. As student teachers begin to practice
teaching, they either succumb to the pressures arising from the routines
of schooling and the ways in which it functions, or burn out from the dif-
ficulties or failures in trying out new practices. Due to a lack of support,
teaching becomes a routine and demotivating experience. In the existing
TP programmes, practice is characterised as a separate set of courses (such
as, school teaching or internship) from the theory courses. Within these
theoretical courses, practice is simplified to identifying implications of a
specific educational theory. For example, a common task assigned to stu-
dent teachers is to identify the implications of a learning theory such as
the Information Processing model for classrooms. The pervasiveness of the
theory–practice tension in contemporary discourse calls for a reimagina-
tion of the role of practice when engaging with theory. Some of the ways
in which practice can be foregrounded in a theoretical engagement are dis-
cussed below.
Learning of the disciplines from the standpoint of foundations of edu-
cation might help in engaging with different perspectives (Kumar, 2014).
In themselves, foundational disciplines in education, such as, philosophy,
psychology, sociology, history, economics and politics help in understand-
ing debates on the nature of knowledge, processes of learning and aspects
of a socially fragmented society. The questions about selection and organi-
sation of knowledge in a society can be extended to thinking about ways
in which the status quo within particular subjects can be challenged, for
instance through connections between local and school knowledge. A con-
crete example is a history teacher’s attempt to engage students in finding
their local histories, depicted in the film Young Historians (Dhanraj, 2005).
Identifying connections between the macro-level (theories or frame-
works which are global) and micro-level (organisation of experiences in
classroom and schooling, purposes of education), might help in bridging
the gap. Several decisions in the organisation of schooling are influenced
by larger socio-political concerns, for instance, what kind of content is
represented in textbooks, whose knowledge is valued, what kinds of roles
are assigned to male and female students in schools, what are the sources
of knowledge and how is this knowledge passed on, the role of textual
materials in the curriculum, etc. Further, the routines of schooling, such as
assembly, the activities for celebrating a school annual day, communica-
tion with parents, the idea of uniformity, competition through exams and
other activities, inspection systems, etc. also need to be understood in their
larger role in society. Teachers need to be made aware of such influences,
some of which might affect their beliefs and practices in ways that are not
so apparent. Additionally, such connections between the micro and macro
can help in reflection on the formation of individual beliefs, perceptions of
a professional in society, roles that we play, and so on. As Dewey (2008)
asserts, theory and commonsense are necessarily related in the educative
process.
Building sustainable communities of practice

As students enter a TP programme, they become a part of several commu-
nities, some of which continue as they become teachers. Wenger-Trayner,
Fenton-O’Creevy, Hutchinson, Kubiak and Wenger-Trayner (2014) suggest
that participation in different communities helps in developing imagination
of the roles and perspectives. However, what is learnt from participation
in multiple communities and how a “communities of learning” perspective
can be used in the design of learning environments needs deliberation in the
Indian context. First, through participation in communities, teachers learn
to talk about their practice in an unrestrained manner, which is important
for sharing of practices and reflecting on them. Teacher communities have
the potential to create a discourse around teaching, for instance, discussing
the problems faced in teaching, sharing resources to enhance teacher knowl-
edge, talking about students’ engagement with the content, planning peda-
gogic experiments, etc. The communities have to be visualised as safe spaces
for teachers to talk about their teaching. Use of these community spaces
to discuss the tensions arising in teaching is important. For instance, it is
important that teachers share their difficulties in teaching or understanding
the content in their subject-specific community without the fear of being
judged. Further ways of supporting each other through examining instances
of practice, developing a shared knowledge base, and the co-planning of
lessons is important.
While there is much that teachers can learn from a reflection on their
practice in teacher communities (as is evident from programmes such as
Lesson Study in Japan and Learning Study in Germany), being a part of
other communities is important for developing their imagination of the
systems within which they work. Within the school, teachers are a part
of different communities such as, a community of learners in a classroom,
of teachers teaching the same subject, teachers from different subjects but
teaching the same class, etc. Teachers are also a part of the larger education
community, in different capacities. For instance, communities of teachers
and researchers are envisioned as highly effective in linking theory and prac-
tice in the education landscape (Takker & Subramaniam, 2018; Cai et al.,
2017). Participation in different communities helps teachers in updating the
knowledge base required for teaching, developing novel teaching method-
ologies, sharing their struggles and planning collective action. For instance,
teachers can collectively examine the historically significant innovations in
education to develop insights about handling challenging situations.
Reimagining classroom space

Since teachers have been taught in traditional ways, which might not be stu-
dent-centric, their imagination of alternate practices is fragile. In several pol-
icy documents (such as GoI, 1993; NCERT, 2005), it has been acknowledged
that students are not blank slates and teachers are not pouring knowledge
into students’ minds. Instead, as students construct knowledge in the class-
room, teachers also learn through testing ways of doing things repeatedly
and differently. Classrooms are spaces where teaching and learning take
place. In India, the diversity of and in classrooms, shapes teaching-learning
discourses. There are many sources of diversity, including differences in
learner backgrounds, expectations from teachers, role of community, expe-
riences due to geographical location, and so on. Teaching-learning practices
in different kinds of classrooms need to be shared. Also, classrooms need to
be acknowledged as spaces of learning for teachers, students and observers
(see Takker & Khunyakari, 2015 for details). Classroom space can be ana-
lysed for being a site of educational practice, where teachers and students
learn, and educational goals are operationalised. Further, classrooms can
also be viewed as sites of collaboration among teachers, with researchers
and teacher educators (Takker & Subramaniam, 2018).
Practitioner research
Another way of connecting research and teaching practice is encouraging
practitioner research. In an attempt to bridge this gap, professional learning
initiatives have been designed to link individual learning with the institu-
tional development of their schools. In other words, “doing” has become
an essential element of professional learning and institutional development,
especially during the induction years. This may involve action research or
reflective practice initiatives built around school or classroom-based devel-
opment projects and new ways of doing by turning knowledge into action,
moving beyond reflective practice by identifying evidence for improving
practice, learning how to work with colleagues as well as children, becom-
ing an “activist” professional (Rouse, 2010). The teachers-as-researchers
movement has the potential for confounding the traditional roles of teachers
and creating possibilities of educational reform from within (Flake, Kuhs,
Donnelly & Ebert, 1995 cited in Castle, 2006).
Innovative teacher preparation: the

case of curriculum development
In this section, we discuss the case of an innovative teacher preparation
programme developed at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Instead of
describing the course components, we discuss how the programme seeks to
address some of the challenges of teacher education that have been detailed
in previous sections and offers scaffolds for teachers that are beginning their
careers through inputs from their curricular engagement.
The TP curriculum is designed around the two axes proposed by Kumar
(2014). These include: (a) a discipline-based approach to pedagogy and
foundations, and (b) contextualisation. The aim is to prepare teachers to

respond to the changing expectations placed on them by society and school-
ing. A summary of the organising themes for the curriculum can be found
in Table 3.2 (TISS, 2018).
The first theme on education theory aims to create familiarity with the
larger theoretical frameworks on concepts in education, learning and sociol-
ogy. The second theme focuses on developing an imagination of alternate
practices through a study of policy initiatives and analysis of educational
innovations. Studying policy initiatives or innovations with respect to the
actual observations of the school will aid such an imagination by situating
it in real contexts. The two streams in the third strand on subject-specific
pedagogical knowledge include developing (a) an understanding of student
conceptions within a discipline and (b) deeper knowledge of the subject
matter. The knowledge of the subject matter includes an integration of the
content and pedagogy, as well as an overlap with the foundations of educa-
tion. For instance, thinking about how psychological and sociological per-
spectives inform the pedagogy of geography teaching.
Apart from professional knowledge, teachers need to be critically reflex-
ive. An awareness of self is planned through courses such as theatre. A strong
Table 3.2 Teacher Education Curriculum (TISS, 2018)
Themes Course
Education Theory Concepts of education

Learners and learning
Key ideas and concepts in education
The adolescent learner
Social marginality and education
Disability
Education Systems and Policy, institutions and practice
Change Analysing educational innovations
School observations
Pedagogy and Classroom observations
Practice (English, Understanding students’ thinking and learning
Mathematics, Science Learning lab: Small group teaching
and Social Sciences) Understanding the discipline
Pedagogical content knowledge 1
Pedagogical content knowledge 2
Assessment in the discipline
Professional Formation Theatre, art, media and communication 1
Theatre, art, media and communication 2
Action research or Project work
Internship
Foundation Courses Understanding economy
Understanding society
Understanding politics
Source: TISS (2018)
foundation in research is sought through course work and dissertation based

on field engagement. Additionally, undertaking teaching as action research
projects and interning under the guidance of a teacher educator and an
experienced teacher, will help build a well-informed professional identity.
These constitute the theme of professional formation. Apart from an inte-
gration of the foundation courses with the subject matter, generic familiar-
ity with the historical, psychological, sociological and philosophical aspects
of education is addressed in the final theme on foundation courses. While
each of these themes is addressed through courses, an attempt is made at
the equal weightage of building theoretical foundations and learning from
the field. A balanced distribution of the theory and practical aspects in every
semester, making explicit connections among the courses within and across
each theme, are some ways of bridging the gap between theory and practice.
Discipline-based approach to pedagogy

and foundations of education
Pedagogic studies proposed in the model curriculum by the NCTE (refer to
Figure 3.2) suggest connections between subject knowledge, learners and
pedagogy. Subject matter knowledge includes knowledge of the content, its
epistemological basis, an integrated knowledge of both content and learner,
and the connection between the discipline and social context. Put differ-
ently, Kumar (2014) suggests that subject knowledge can relate to both,
the pedagogy and the foundations of education. First, developing a knowl-
edge base rooted in disciplines emphasises the pedagogy specific to the con-
tent. Thus, the teaching of history is viewed differently from the teaching of
Communities of practice
[Seminars with subject teachers,
same grade teachers, practicing
teachers & teacher educators]
Connections between micro-

Reimagining classroom space and macro-contexts
[Classroom observations, Knowledge of self and [Analysing educational
Shadow teaching, Action collective action innovations, Foundations of
research, Collaboration [Theatre, Internship, Seminars] education, Social marginality,
between school and teacher School observations,
education institute, Adolescent learner,
Educational innovations] Understanding disability,
Learners and learning]
Knowledge base required for teaching

[Pedagogical content knowledge,
Internship, Mentor teacher in school,
Understanding students’ thinking,
Learning lab]
Figure 3.2 Pre-service teacher education programme at TISS. Source: Authors

languages. What makes this knowledge specific to a discipline is the way of

knowing it offers, key ideas in the learning of a discipline, tools, examples
or metaphors that support knowledge construction, specific student concep-
tions, and so on. Enriching content knowledge along with the methods of
teaching, which are useful within a discipline, is aimed to support teachers
in undertaking disciplinary investigations along with the students and devel-
oping resources or materials which support students’ learning. In addition to
developing an understanding of the epistemological basis of the content, the
location of the content within larger ways of knowing and understanding
and engaging with its limitations are a part of the pedagogy course design.
An enculturation into disciplinary knowledge required for teaching from
the historical, philosophical, sociological and psychological perspectives is
addressed in courses on pedagogical content knowledge. A critical knowl-
edge and theorising about the discipline can be developed from the socio-
logical approaches to understanding subject learning; by attending to social
issues, context, differences and marginalisation. The proposal for a disci-
pline-based approach to pedagogy and foundations suggests an integration
of the historical, psychological, philosophical and sociological perspectives
with the subject-specific pedagogy in order to develop an understanding of
educational theory and practice.
The contextualisation principle

Contextualisation is addressed by developing a situated view of the learner
and the social milieu. An understanding of the work of teaching by locat-
ing it in the institutionalised context will help in bridging the gap between
“idealised” conversations of pedagogy in teacher education settings and the
“real” challenges that arise in the course of teaching. Teacher preparation
needs to address the zones of conflict between the learnt pedagogies and
the realities of schooling, inducting teachers to learn to negotiate with the
larger societal expectations and the design of the learning environments in
the classroom. Acknowledging the complexity of working in a school and
offering spaces where tensions and conflicts can be discussed might help
in preparing teachers for “real” classrooms. The context of practice has
been kept central to the design of pedagogy courses as well as education
theory courses, where connections between theory and practice are dis-
cussed. Further connections between macro- and micro-contexts are fore-
grounded through courses under the theme of education systems and change
where, through a historical understanding of educational innovations, an
actual experience of the factors affecting change can be learnt. Developing
an understanding of the complexities of practice is also addressed through
courses on school and classroom observations. Through shadowing prac-
tising teachers and supporting them in routine tasks, student teachers are
expected to develop an understanding of the functioning of a classroom.
Based on an understanding of the learners and the processes of learning, stu-

dent teachers are invited to design learning labs, where they study research
in subject-specific domains and engage with the complexities of designing
alternative learning environments for students. Here, they are encouraged
to conduct clinical interviews, follow students who face difficulty in learn-
ing the subject, read about research on subject-specific learning difficulties,
design and conduct an intervention.
Developing communities of practice is an undercurrent throughout the
entire programme. Weekly seminars are planned where student teachers,
practicing teachers and teacher educators meet to discuss issues of prac-
tice. Several tutorials where student teachers meet the same subject or same
grade colleagues, engage with subject specific and relevant educational theo-
ries, discuss with teacher educators, and regularly interact with experienced
teachers are a part of the educational plan. Thus, learning communities of
teachers, teacher educators and classrooms, are part of the design of the
programme. Ways in which experiences of the programme support teachers
in reimagining the teacher education space is summarised in Figure 3.2.
Currently, this innovative programme is in its early stages of implementa-
tion. How the programme attempts to resolve tensions among state regula-
tions, student needs and the realities of school is yet to be seen. A systematic
follow-up might yield insights into the challenges, processes of change and
the potential for transformation.
Conclusion
In this chapter, we have attempted to situate the challenges historically faced
by the teacher education sector by tracing the trajectory of recommenda-
tions made by commission reports and policy documents. What is common
to all these documents is the persistent concern of improving the quality
of teacher education programmes. Simultaneously, the academic initiative
of locating initial teacher education programmes in the university space is
expected to provide a liberal-cum-professional orientation, foregrounding
a conceptual understanding of issues concerning education. An analysis of
longstanding systemic issues and contradictions between and among policy
directives helps in identifying the burden on and of teacher education.
The gap between teacher preparation and actual practice requires an
awareness of, and engagement with, the realities of schooling, teaching
and learning, and dealing with a diverse student population and interests.
While the changing expectations from teacher education need to be coupled
with reforms in school education, ways of engaging teachers and teacher
educators into the process of reform requires close attention. Some of the
issues such as the relation between theory and practice in teacher education
have long been debated, concerns about subject-specific knowledge and
inclusion have entered the debate on preparing for teachers as profession-

als. These can be comprehensively extended to the preparation of teacher
educators.
Through the case study of a pre-service teacher education programme,
we showcase an innovative curriculum for preparing teachers to handle the
changing demands of an evolving society. While responding to the historical
challenges pertaining to the curriculum of teacher preparation, the exemplar
innovative programme centres around the axes of building strong founda-
tions of education and contextualisation of the subject matter. A careful
study of the ways in which the innovative curriculum is enacted will render
insights on the revision, design and development in the field. To conclude,
we recognise that the teacher education curriculum alone is insufficient in
bringing about the larger change unless coupled with the systemic changes
within which the sector is located.
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Chapter 4
Reforms in Curriculum and

Textbooks
Challenges and Possibilities
Hridaykant Dewan
Constitutional mandate
The discourse on education in India seems to be caught in a time-warp
as it begins with reference to the commitment and promises of the con-
stitution. The journey from the point where education of the people was
then to today has moved forward in many ways but in others has remained
stagnant. The expectations of the Yash Pal Committee with regards to the
education system is a continuation of the conversations on education that
occurred prior to the formulation of the constitution and then recurrently
in all major policy documents. The disquiet of the Yash Pal Committee of
the then educational system, its criticism of the situation and the ideas for
reform presented in it originate from the constitution and the concerns that
emerge from the statements made therein. This chapter discusses the issues
related to curriculum and textbook reforms in the country in light of the
Yash Pal Committee report (henceforth, LwB report).
The promise and the constraints

The preamble of the Indian Constitution promises that people constituting
themselves into a sovereign nation would give themselves and each other
the following: a sense of fairness and justice that was social, economic and
political; an equality of status and opportunity; a liberty of thought, expres-
sion, belief and faith and a fraternal feeling for the dignity of the individual
and for the unity of the nation (see Basu, 2021). The expectations and aspi-
rations expressed in the constitution were far from the reality at the time
of independence. Equality of status and opportunity was a distant dream;
the country was reeling under the impact of communal mayhem and from
the reality that the aspiration of the pathways drawn up for an independ-
ent India were primarily through legislation and the education system. The
passing of egalitarian laws however does not mean that the implementation
of these laws has been even across Indian society. These laws had failed the
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059-6
84 Hridaykant Dewan
weakest citizens who needed the maximum support to overcome their dis-
advantages and barriers.
Perspectives on education
The second hope that the newly independent republic would move towards
the Constitutional vision came from education. It is believed by peoples
across regions and times that education of an individual, a community or,
perhaps, even a society is the way forward towards its development and
ensures a sense of democracy and liberty. Although, in the Indian context as
elsewhere, some practitioners and scholars have warned that this formula-
tion is liable to be interpreted simplistically. The colonial system of educa-
tion was narrowly conceived and focused on literacy. The protagonists of
Nai Talim for example, argued that we need to distinguish between literacy
and education (Gandhi, 1937 quoted in Sykes, 1988, p. 15). Being literate
is not the same as being educated. In fact the literacy that was being made
available in the country at that time, according to them, led to development
of individuals who were self-centred and focused on exploitation. Gandhi
and other Nai Talim proponents argued that a curriculum that does not
include purposeful work with hands, an education that is not in alignment
with the communities and that is not controlled by them and education that
is disjunct from the local economy, is not appropriate and would alienate
learners from their communities and lead to greater inequity. They sug-
gested that we need to have schools largely supported and managed by the
local community and a curriculum that includes a large component decided
by them. This idea of local knowledge and community ownership has been
talked about in the Indian education context on many different occasions
and also in the LwB report which referred prominently to Nai Talim and
its underpinnings. Embedded in choosing the contours of what should be
taught are the issues of cultural roots of education, determination of the
content and its use and the need to have students ask questions, be curious
and exploratory. It must help develop the ability and the intent to engage
with whatever is happening with a will to transform it positively and not
just accept it as the natural order of the world. This requires that learners in
the classroom are not passively receiving facts and instructions but engaging
with the content, thinking on their own and building their own ideas and
constructs. This is crucial to the fact of building a democratic citizenry and
the LwB report recognised this as crucial for education in many different
ways as the report often states.
Educational principles inferred from the preamble

Before considering the points that the Yash Pal Committee made, we look
at the constitutional preamble and see what kind of educational principles
Reforms in Curriculum and Textbooks 85
emanate from it. It can be construed from the preamble (GoI, 1950) that the
critical elements needed for education to play a role in building an inclusive
society that strives towards equality of opportunity, justice, liberty and fra-
ternity are:
1. Ensuring all citizens have access to opportunities (and knowledges) of

all kind and hence have more education than they can get in the family
and community. This access to the ability to acquire new knowledge in
all different forms and understand it is necessary and an essential pre-
requisite of the aspirational journey towards inclusion envisaged in the
preamble.
2. The issue of the nature and quality of education that citizens get. The
promise of liberty of thought and action expects the citizens to be capa-
ble of making informed choices and therefore of not only accessing
knowledges but also of absorbing, comprehending and analysing it and
assessing its content and implications. This has a direct relevance for
what we could teach and how would we assess what has been learnt.
3. The sense of fraternity and of dignity for oneself and for each one of
the others expects a sense of ethical judgment and a wholesome person.
This has direct implications for the curriculum and its goals.
4. The nature of the structure (the school and the superstructure of the
education system) and the persons responsible to make this possible,
namely the teachers.
The deliberations of the Yash Pal Committee hinted at all these four ele-
ments in some way. However, they probably missed the political, economic
and some aspects of the social dimension and focused instead on syllabus,
classroom, teachers, assessment dimensions. That may be due to the limited
scope of the terms of reference, a point flagged by the committee in the letter
accompanying the report, arguing that education cannot change by itself,
it requires preceding change in the social structure. The change requires
not just economic and social justice but also perceptions about notions of
being human, on childhood, knowledge and learning and on the purposes of
education (GoI, 1993). Apart from expressing these as necessary factors for
the possibility of reform taking root, the LwB report did not focus on them
as such. This chapter will be confined to curricular aspects. Curriculum is
not considered in an all-inclusive hold-all sense but focuses on purposes,
emphasis, syllabus and textbooks, methods of teaching learning, assessment
and teacher preparation.
Education for all and inclusion

The context prior to the Yash Pal Committee was such that while the
Constitution of India promises all citizens a right to education, the challenge
86 Hridaykant Dewan
of making this possible was phenomenal in a country where less than 19%
of people were literate. The first step towards inclusion has been to ease
physical access and open more institutions for education across the country.
The efforts towards universalising education have been ambivalent about
inclusion of all and special fostering of the “talented”. The Radhakrishnan
Commission (1948–1949) in the section on Reform for Secondary
Education said that, “The abler students do not get a fair deal and are kept
back by the less intelligent the best are being smothered by the many. In
fact, our secondary education needs radical reform” (GoI, 1950). While this
was intended for secondary education leading to university, its spirit and
implications are clear. They underline the worry that curricular and other
constructions made inclusively can hold back the talented and hence stifle
national development.
The Education Policy of 1968 argued from an economic standpoint. It
considered education as an important investment on which expenditure
must be increased. It laid down the purpose and goal of education in its
own way.
The Government of India is convinced that a radical reconstruc-

tion of education on the broad lines recommended by the Education
Commission is essential for economic and cultural development of the
country, for national integration and for realizing the ideal of a social-
istic pattern of society. This will involve a transformation of the system
to relate it more closely to the life of the people; a continuous effort
to expand educational opportunity; a sustained and intensive effort to
raise the quality of education at all stages; an emphasis on the develop-
ment of science and technology; and the cultivation of moral and social
values. The educational system must produce young men and women
of character and ability committed to national service and development
(GoI, 1968)
Why educate people?

The Kothari Commission considered two major purposes for this radi-
cal reconstruction and the recommendation of a substantially increased
expenditure on education. One was to produce scientists and engineers
who would build the technological and scientific capability and the other
to educate the large communities of people and free them of obscurantism
and backwardness. Without a clear articulation of the need for allocation
of resources to spend more on the education of poor children so that they
get the same chance to do well and recognise the possible roles that exist
in society and the economy and have the options of choosing any of them
and being supported in that aspiration to have a fair chance to materialise,
it talked of nurturing talent and would, in spite of advocating common
schools, not recognise the gross unfairness in the opportunity to succeed.

Without the clear insistence on inclusion and a sense of equal opportunity,
the importance of children being together (and not equality) was the only
recognisable motive for recommending common schooling. The argument
for common schools was to ensure that the nation got the best talent and
the pool was not just restricted to those who were rich and could afford to
pay (GoI, 1966, p. 10).
This focus on the “talented” was carried forward again in the 1986 policy
this time with greater intensity. It also buried the idea of the common school
and made diversity in the quality of education an acceptable principle even
for the state system. It allowed cheap and poorly equipped government
schools with underpaid teachers to be opened to cut costs on education
for all. So, the access was increased/extended but costs were cut in teach-
ers’ salaries. Wages were reduced to a much lower level than the govern-
ment system and teachers were also employed on a temporary basis. At the
same time, it recommended opening of residential schools at government
expense in each of the districts known as Navodaya schools (GoI, 1986).
These schools were for the best performing learners in a test that was given
to them. While the 1986 policy stated that the talented must come from
all sectors of society, and by excluding the possibility of most children to
become engaged learners, we are circumscribing our talent pool, the imple-
mentation was extremely imperfect. The talented, almost without excep-
tion, included the rich and the elite. The reservation policy meant to provide
affirmative action did not substantially change the domination of the rich
and the socially powerful.
Therefore, the philosophical principle that the 1986 policy advocated
was that of human beings as capital, meaning that students’ needs be pro-
vided for, so they can contribute to the economy and the development of the
nation as a whole within the framework of human capital theory. It argued
for a special search for talent from an early age arguing for special attention
and effort on those more talented, implying that there was a need to differ-
entiate between “smart” children and “ordinary” children. This principle of
the policy allowed for the building of two kinds of educational efforts, one
for the “talented” and the other for the rest. There was to be no scope for
some aspirational choices for those who could not qualify to be identified
as talented. This was far from the aspiration in the preamble which, if any-
thing, was closer to the principle that the choice of what the learner wanted
to become was her own and the system had to make her aware of all that
she could become and then help her reach the goal that she wanted through
the learning that she needed. It is only if and when the awareness of those
possibilities are known to all children can the assessment of the creation of
possibilities through education be judged (Sen, 1993).
The iniquitous quality across the spectrum of schools and the sheer impos-
sibility of many children from the weakest communities and girls from all
88 Hridaykant Dewan
communities to even reach schools has regularly persisted. The fact that the
principle of the right of equal opportunity for all was not universally accept-
able resulted in the constituent assembly not including education as a fun-
damental right and relegating it to the directive principles. It took 60 years
to become a right, which although diluted and circumscribed, continues to
appear unacceptable in practice.
Stratification of schools and children

As regards the system and infrastructure, the 1986 policy made crucial
allowances and recommendations that opened the door for a policy-level
acceptance of a multi-level school system, where the per child expense could
be very different even in public funded schools. The Navodaya and Kendriya
Vidyalaya were both generally populated by those who were socially and
economically better off, simply because in one case the parents had a central
government job and in the second because you could only get in through a
test making it proportionately easier for the rural elite to have their children
prepare for the entrance test. The acceptance of the fact that merit could be
identified through a written test, and much more could be spent on meritori-
ous children, has led to many efforts towards such specially funded schools
for those who pass a test, reducing the proportion available for the so-called
average children or slow learners. Government schools’ practice of separat-
ing out the so-called “bright and intelligent” children also fed the existing
feeling among teachers that the students coming to them are among the
weakest. This has also pandered to the persistent feeling that many children
are meant to do less and learn less. They needed to be treated differently
from the smarter and brighter kids who can do more when pushed. A cul-
mination of this was the recent division of children into quality categories
by the Delhi government and offering them different syllabi and different
assessment procedures and criteria.
Operationalising inclusion in curriculum documents

The nature of the sense of inclusion of all children in education reflected
in the 1986 policy was carried forward in the National Curricular
Frameworks of 1988 and then in 2000 (this document is more aligned to
1986 policy and does not consider the Yash Pal Committee report). The
NCFSE 1988 (NCERT, 1988) promised efforts towards the removal of
all existing disparities and takes note of the special requirements of first-
generation learners and takes remedial measures to bring them on par. The
NCF 2000 said,
The weaker sections including scheduled castes/scheduled tribes,

women, children with impairments and minorities can no longer remain
underprivileged. Education must contribute to the enormous task of

their upliftment and empowerment
(NCERT, 2000)
Clearly the nature of inclusion is with the perspective of lifting them out of
their experience space and combining them all under one over-arching state-
ment. It was as if they had to be taught to do things properly, as if how they
had been living so far was wrong and needed to be corrected.
The other reason it offers for inclusion also underlines the approach of
the document and we quote:
Despite more than half a century of independence, India is still strug-

gling from various kinds of biases and imbalances such as rural/urban,
rich/poor, and differences between caste, religion, ideology, gender etc.
Education can play a very significant role in minimising and finally
eliminating these differences by providing equality of access to quality
education and opportunity
(NCERT, 2000)
In both these curriculum documents, the imagination of inclusion was that

the people who have alternative experiences and opportunities are deprived
and need to be uplifted. There was no sense of enriching the lives they lived
and having them bring some of their experiences into the classroom for oth-
ers to learn.
As the school system started growing, concern about the challenges of
quality of learning at the macro-level increased. While NCERT started writ-
ing model textbooks it also began orientating teachers across the states with
the help of SCERTs or equivalent bodies. The concern about passive learn-
ers was expressed in many ways leading to the emergence of many terms.
For example, while the 1975 curriculum document (NCERT, 1975) talked
about learning by doing, child learning at her own pace, and teacher as a
guide and a helper, flexibility of learning etc, it also highlighted the need
for a remedial programme for children who “remained backward”. While
mentioning social justice as an aim, it displayed concern for the talented and
justified the separate needs of the talented and the backward and endorsed
provision of challenging materials for the gifted while the backward were
assumed to be deficient and requiring remediation. Even as the document
emphasised work and education and involving life experiences of children,
it did not underline the diversity of those life experiences. It did not recog-
nise that the school programme was biased against the experiences of the so-
called “backward” children. The syllabus of the 1975 document shows no
concern for the possible diverse experiences of children coming to schools
and talks in terms of what students “should” learn. The criticism of rote
learning and focus on examination was thought to be solvable by unit-wise
90 Hridaykant Dewan
examination. The load was reduced by proposing assessment in parts so

that a multi-unit complete test did not become a burden.
The 1988 document (NCERT, 1988) has essentially the same features and
contours as the 1975 document except there are newer “stated points” of
emphasis that include all round development, using local sources of knowl-
edge and correlation between knowledge and work, use of mother tongues
of the children and focus on moral development of right and wrong. The
document also referred to the NCERT committee set up in 1983 to review
the curriculum, which had suggested that the load was only a matter of per-
ception and management. The 1988 framework document recommended
careful inclusion of appropriate knowledge, skills, attitudes and values
important across the nation. It mentions the first-generation learners and
suggests, like the 1975 document, special remediation so that they can catch
up. The pedagogical terms include child-centred learning and facilitation
of learning how to learn but the purpose of getting educated is to become
a resource for the nation, participate in the tests of the proposed National
Testing Service to ensure comparable standards and achieve the minimum
outcomes of learning. The 1986 policy as well as the NCFSE (1988) failed
to clarify what child-centred activity-based joyful programmes meant and
what it means for a teacher to be a facilitator. The MLL (GoI, 1991) docu-
ment which arose out of the NPE 86 also did not address this and even
though it was meant to replace information-based syllabus by a competence
based one, all it did was to rewrite the information-based programme using
words that were in the apparent form of competence but just meant the
ability to reproduce information or remember algorithms and/or formulas.
None of these documents addressed the basic concerns of making education
meaningful and engaging for the children.
Notion of quality of education and

the Yash Pal Committee
The Yash Pal Committee, in its brief report, flagged issues that cover almost
the entire gamut of education and society. The committee took into account
ideas that had been mooted in the curriculum documents and pointed out
the underlying reasons why they could not work in reality. It also laid bare
the internal conflicts in the ideas by pointing out the key aspects that led to
confusions and inconsistencies between the stated principles and the under-
standing reflected in the points of action.
The Yash Pal Committee on curriculum reforms

The Yash Pal Committee made significant statements about the curricular
aspects both in their conceptualisation and articulation and in the manner
of their implementation. The committee pointed out that the problem of
curriculum reform founded itself on the way humans and human societies
are considered, the way childhood, knowledge and learning was conceptual-
ised. It was because of this that there was non-comprehension of the nature
of load on children. The load was manifest in terms of the following:
1. The number of textbooks given to children, the content “covered” in

each textbook defined by the urge to teach more due to the apparent
“knowledge explosion”.
2. Instead of enabling children learn on their own with confidence, try-
ing to feed them all the facts and diktats telling them what to do and
how to be. There appears to be an urge to teach everything reflected in
the textbooks. The committee pointed out that “covering” the syllabus
seems to have become an end in itself, unrelated to the philosophical
and social aims of education. This flaw can be identified briefly by say-
ing that “a lot is taught, but little is learnt or understood”.
3. Assessment that is focused on memory leading to the burden of rote
learning. It focuses on children’s ability to reproduce information and
excludes the ability to apply concepts and information on unfamiliar,
new problems, or simply to think. “Facts” or “information” constitute
the main burden of an examination and textbooks. The committee here
also pointed out that this did not have merely to do with the nature of
questions but with the whole basis of education and assessment. There
is a rigorous “academic” regime imposed on children from an early
age and yet a regular complaint about the declining norms and perfor-
mance of the formal system of education.
4. The assumption that the child needed little or no leisure time. No time
to play, enjoy simple pleasures, explore the world, just be or do what
she wanted, have an agency etc. The structure of the syllabus is flawed
and leads to multiple repetitions that are boring.
5. The inability of school programmes to relate to the lives and experi-
ence of children precluded their feeling of being related to and engaged
in the school. The first-generation learners suffered the most on this
account. For instance, most of the descriptions and illustrations of way
of life promoted the hegemonic upper class and caste sensibilities.
6. Excessive information in the textbooks make them uninteresting,
unreadable, difficult and incomprehensible. Besides the textbook was
a source of truth and the storehouse of the only correct answers to the
questions that the syllabus thought they needed to know the answer to.
7. Children and their teachers were to accept what was written verbatim
and even when asked to observe and explore were told what they will
observe and the results of their explorations. Pictures are generally con-
sidered as substitutes for experiences.
8. In addition, the textbooks paint the lives of most children as deficient
or wrong and alienate them from the content forcing them to consider
92 Hridaykant Dewan
themselves not as beings but as objects on which the school is supposed

to comment.
9. The child is not at the centre of the content and process of the textbook
or the learning process. The mode of communication and the subjects
and objects chosen leave most children un-engaged and un-excited
about the content which is mostly alien to their life and experience.
10. The teachers are not prepared adequately to make learning engaging,
meaningful, interesting and exciting for children. There is no sense of
joy of participation in the educational process as teaching and learning
are a chore for many teachers and children.
11. The biggest burden on children was that of incomprehension. As the
main purpose of the school, the teachers and the classrooms were to
cover the syllabus with no opportunity to explore their environment or
form their own views and ideas.
12. Textbooks written in the formal standard have no place for the lan-
guages of the children. And given the fact that this is generally the only
source available to children the situation is grim.
13. Teachers’ involvement in development of syllabus and textbooks is
merely tokenistic.
Roots of the problem

As per the Yash Pal Committee the roots of the problems of education,
apart from those that related to larger issues of social, economic and politi-
cal inequalities in status and access to education, opportunities and roles
that the learners can become aware of and can aspire to reach, lie in the
conceptualisation of education. It pointed out the need to ensure learning
without fear, learning without burden and learning without failure. The key
problems that they pointed out can be categorised into four main strands,
which are:
1. Knowledge vs. information: This can be stated as learning versus mem-

orisation or knowledge absorption and construction versus informa-
tion/knowledge reproduction. It suggests a re-examination of the basis
of the curriculum and that teaching less is teaching more. Implying
that in the bid to teach more in response to the falsely construed explo-
sion of knowledge the syllabi are packed with a lot of stuff making the
learners overburdened and incapable of learning anything. This is made
more difficult by the prevailing notions in society and more so in teach-
ers as to what is knowledge and what does it mean to know.
2. Isolation of experts from classroom realities: Almost none of the experts
have ever taught in ordinary schools and many may not have even seen
the average primary schools and met the teachers who would use the
books. They are unaware of the interests and possible ways of engaging
the children and teachers. The committee pointed out that the examples
given in the book are insensitive to the feelings of the children, they are
non-contextual, the experiments are unrealistic in terms of what they
require besides being undoable as they have not even been tried before
being placed in textbooks.
3. The centralised character and authority of the syllabus and textbooks:
In spite of all the noise made in the principles included in the curriculum
documents the textbooks are produced centrally and do not involve suf-
ficient consultation with teachers from different backgrounds. Besides,
the textbook is supposed to be the final correct word that gives the only
correct answer to a question. Not being linked to the lives of children,
the textbooks leave very little for the child or even the teacher to add.
4. The teaching and learning process: The committee also flagged the issue
of the understanding of childhood and the way we learn. The need for
an organic development of classroom processes in conjunction with
the experience and interest of the learners; giving them time for them-
selves, for play and fun and for enabling experiencing and exploration;
appreciating, expecting and demanding from each learner thinking for
herself, opportunity for expression, creation of ideas, arguments, defi-
nitions, understanding etc.
Reform efforts after the Yash Pal

Committee report – some examples
The LwB report was not actively used in any major curricular reform initia-
tive till the 2005 national curriculum framework. The national curricular
framework referred to the Learning without Burden report of 1993 and
stressed the need to reduce the load of non-comprehension and the aliena-
tion that it resulted in besides having many ideas organically linked to what
was said in the report (GoI, 1993). It can be argued, however, that the
report itself came up in a climate of a lot of thinking and exploration about
education outside the public educational structures and while that fed into
the report, the exploration and thinking continued parallel to, and inde-
pendent of, the report. The terminology used by the 1986 policy and the
1988 curriculum framework, the Minimum Level of Learning document
of 1991 and its interpretation and manifestation in the books brought out
by NCERT was being critically analysed and alternatives proposed. The
Madhya Pradesh effort of Eklavya in collaboration with the state govern-
ment had already provided an alternative programme for most elementary
schools. This had become the basic template around which the efforts in
many states were built under the externally assisted programmes like the
Lok Jumbish, the Bihar education project, the Total education programme
in UP and then the District primary education programme. All these had
a mixed set of principles that included a recognition of children being
94 Hridaykant Dewan
active, the classroom being interesting and fun, children having some basic
competencies in areas of learning, textbooks being presentable and attrac-
tive for children and more. The key works that described quality were child
centred and activity based.
These programmes did not only modify the textbooks but also had com-
ponents of teacher orientation in these areas. The multiple kinds of these
trainings included some common themes like a teacher being a facilitator to
support the children without being at the centre and an enabling activity-
based learning. Many SCERTs became energised in this effort while in many
states the effort was located in the DPEP state project office. Many of these
efforts tried to involve teachers in the process of syllabus making and text-
book writing. They had teachers volunteer for the effort and used their own
criteria to pick the best for the effort. The understanding of textbook writ-
ing changed as it started involving many more teachers and this inclusion
had both positive and negative consequences. In many states the process
was with the support of people from the national resource group identified
by the Educational Consultants Limited contracted by the MHRD to sup-
port this effort. National meetings for resource persons were held and the
principles of pedagogy discussed as the senior level state participants got
exposed to activity-based learning and making an effort to construct mean-
ingful classroom tasks for learners at different stages in different subjects
and topics.
The quality of these efforts and the understanding that underlay them
was varied and tenuous. In almost all places at the ground level these
efforts revolved around a very shallow understanding of the principles and
appeared to be just a thin sugar coating put on whatever had been hap-
pening before. For example, activity to most people in the system meant
some physical activity or game. Teacher being a facilitator and class being
children centred was really confusing as it negated the very role and exist-
ence of the need for an informed adult who directs and conducts learning.
A popular idea that caught on was that the classroom should be fun and
therefore it cannot mean the teacher writing on the blackboard and talking.
Notions like “known to unknown” and “concrete to abstract” as well as
using a child’s environment dominated conversations without a clear under-
standing of what they meant in practice. The effort of syllabus, textbook
and classroom process reform governed by these notions was criticised as
lacking depth and declared as meaningless by many, while others felt that
it had brought in some change and initiated processes that had shaken the
morass in the system. For example, it was accepted that teachers needed to
be a prominent part of the syllabus and textbook development group.
We must point out that these efforts were focused on primary classes.
Even these did not become a part of the system due to the multiple parallel
inputs for efforts of transformations. In some states, due to a complexity
of factors, the curricular reform processes stuttered on for many years at a
time. But it was always a struggle to sustain continuity of these processes of

change due to the changing officers as well as multiple players from educa-
tional organisations looking to establish their work. In many instances the
same schools were subject to “reform” programmes with almost opposite,
simultaneous, philosophies and strategies. While it was difficult to push for
the same teachers to participate in extended programmes over a period of
time, all types of one-off training on “new” ideas that emerged from the
offices of senior bureaucrats were being regularly organised. It was a chal-
lenge to sustain reform processes while doors were always being opened to
start something new. On a parallel basis, there were efforts that focused
on rote learning. The minimum levels that were being rejected in some
states were being rigorously adhered to in others. In some these were being
extended to the upper primary classes as well.
Curricular reform processes require a long time and sustained efforts
before they can effectively reach most teachers and other stakeholders.
In this situation there was a lack of continuity in people as well as in the
ideas that were being shared with teachers. Without adequate dialogue
they appeared as though “imposed” on schools. The team composition
and coordination also changed continuously except in some states where,
due to a combination of factors, there was continuity of some key coor-
dinating people at least for some time. Emphasis on mission mode imple-
mentation and time bound projects made it non-sustainable as a process. It
was clear that what the system wanted was only a product and not to enter
into a sustained process of building a wider and deeper understanding.
The focus was on methods and techniques and not the larger principles
of curriculum reform. There was no systematic effort to take ideas to a
larger set of people and discuss those ideas on different forums. A dialogue
with teachers and other stakeholders on the principles being applied in the
curricular reform process, sharing the rationale with them, documenting
the process of reform would have helped the effort to become sustained
in the system and reusable as knowledge. During the period of the reform
effort, particularly in some states, a large team having a basic curricular
and pedagogic understanding developed. In these states a large team was
set up to orient all teachers and some of these members developed other
programmes in their institutions based on the conceptual framework of
the reform effort.
There were, however, no people within the system who could explain
to the bureaucrats heading education portfolios the rationale for sustain-
ing reform efforts and learning accruing from practice. The entire effort, in
spite of being a government initiative and even when it had reached many
teachers in state schools in some form or another, felt tentative and tran-
sient. One of the major struggles in the effort was to reclaim the respect and
agency of the teacher. The system generally felt suspicious of the teachers
and their work.
96 Hridaykant Dewan
The NCF 2005 and subsequent processes

The National Curriculum Framework 2005 (henceforth, NCF 2005)
(NCERT, 2005) brought the key points made by the Yash Pal Committee to
the fore again. It re-emphasised the problem of information and rote mem-
ory as well as the need for the child to be engaged and participative. It elabo-
rated many of the points made in the LwB report pointing out that a process
of change could not begin without a clear understanding of the purpose of
education based in the notion of human beings, children and childhood. It
problematised the fact that knowledge and understanding is contextual and
needs to be based on the experience, culture and language of the learners. It
devoted a section to clarify what it means to know and the human learning
process. Besides these it emphasised that disciplines need to be taught keep-
ing in mind their epistemology and the manner of their historical develop-
ment. The NCF discussed the fear learners had of many of the subjects they
had to study and the reasons for that as well as why the classrooms were so
non-engaging. Defining learning to be a process of (re-)construction of the
knowledge for herself by the learner it argued for conversations and discus-
sions in the classroom among students and peer learning. Like the LwB
report it brought the key points of basic education including use of home
language, working with hands, respect and concern for manual labour and
concern for others into focus. It noted the importance of giving the child
time for areas other than merely the cognitive disciplines and thereby find-
ing adequate space for aesthetics in a comprehensive manner.
The NCF 2005 emphasised the problem due to evaluation and the lack
of agency of the teacher (NCERT, 2005). The logical conclusions from the
important foundational beliefs about the diversity of the country, the neces-
sity of inclusion of all, the push-outs due to non-achievement of so-called
standard norms and hence the need for continuous and comprehensive
evaluation to celebrate the progress of the learner rather than lament the
non-achievement of impossible learning outcomes. It stressed considering
the progress in non-cognitive areas and incorporating that into the overall
assessment in order to respect the holistic understanding of education. The
NCERT even came up with a detailed source book for the primary pro-
gramme that tried to give the responsibility of assessment to the teachers
and indicating the spirit and purpose of assessment and the nature of evalu-
ation they could undertake. The NCF 2005 reflected clearly the understand-
ing that the reform process cannot be piecemeal and aside from systemic
changes that expected a different philosophical, social, political, economic
and cultural view of education, it stressed the need for long-term sustained
effort in moving towards change as it recognised curriculum as a contested
area.
The contested terrain of reform that saw the LwB report sidelined soon
after its presentation to the MHRD, can also be seen through the status
of implementation of some ideas in the DPEP efforts and in the efforts of

reform following the NCF 2005. The NCERT gave states funds to discuss
the NCF 2005, understand and incorporate its key principles, appreciate the
larger understanding that forms its basis and to bring local aspects into the
state curriculum frameworks and syllabi. This is in recognition of the prin-
ciple of diversity and the need to bring that into the curricula and to build
capacity at the state level. This led to curriculum discussions in some states
leading on to the development of new syllabi and textbooks. In some states
teachers discussed the curriculum framework and gave comments on the
syllabi being framed. But these were short lived and transitional and soon
the entire process was lost with no memory of the developed materials and
principles behind them. The teams who worked on these also got disbanded
as faculty appointments in SCERTs and DIETs in many states stopped.
The RTE Act and its implications

The Yash Pal Committee and the NCF 2005 had a largely consistent view
on some of these even though in places the statements left space for weaker
interpretations. Leaving aside the entire misreading of these documents
there were yet possibilities of both strong and weak interpretations of these
as was evident in the struggle to implement some of their ideas within the
system. These efforts were met by deep resistance along with attempts to
withdraw the changes that had been taking place even to these documents.
A few examples of how these have played out are illustrative. The right to
free and compulsory education was finally made law in 2009 (GoI, 2009).
The NCF 2005 was attached to it and subsequently many orders were issued
in the continuation of the Act. If we examine the provisions of this bill, we
can see that the bill itself had to be diluted to the extent it has become
counter-productive in many ways. The purpose of the struggle for educa-
tion to be made a right arose from the need to make equitable opportunities
available to all children. The struggle was to improve the ordinary public
school system and ensure all schools had a mixed population and roughly
equal resources were spent on the education of all children. The NCF had
already argued for teacher agency and for continuous and comprehensive
evaluation led by the teacher. It had argued for diversity in learning pos-
sibilities and the need to take into account the background, experience and
previous learning of the children coming to school and providing them with
support to build confidence.
The RTE Act however, was far from making this possible. The aspira-
tion for common schools was closed forever by legitimising the existence
of private schools with 25% of poor children, supported by the govern-
ment, being sent there. Instead of building on the public system of education
it gave encouragement to low fee private schools in the name of provid-
ing quality education to poor students. It fed into the popular notion that
98 Hridaykant Dewan
private schools are better as the winners of the lottery would get to go there.
The aspect of recognising teacher agency, opportunities to learn and grow
in her profession, alongside being respected for her work, was inadequately
addressed.
The NCERT and SCERTs were given the responsibility of developing
uniform learning levels for all children and the task of ensuring that chil-
dren reach them was given to the teachers. It is not important if the school
does not have enough teachers, the child cannot be regular, has been placed
in a grade appropriate class without any previous schooling and any other
factors that make the task of engaging the child more difficult. There is no
provision for extra support, giving the child resources or giving some sup-
port to the teacher for making the impossible task attemptable. The mistrust
of the teacher as non-interested and incompetent is reflected in the Act and
other subsequent government documents, as for instance telling the teacher
precisely what part of the syllabus to do in which period. The evaluation
papers are externally formulated and with the data made public, children
become tracking numbers in schools rather than individuals in the care of a
teacher and a school.
The Yash Pal Committee report and NEP 2020

The newly released NEP 2020 (GoI, 2020), without mentioning the Yash
Pal Committee report, extends the points it had raised underlining the fact
that the challenges of combining meaningful learning with equity continue.
It is concerned with many basic points that were flagged by the Yash Pal
Committee more than a quarter century ago. One is them is the prolifera-
tion of rote-based learning, the other is the load of the bag (but this time
they mean it more literally), the need for full equity and inclusion, decen-
tralisation and the local context, using the languages of the children, reit-
eration of education being a public good. It also expects a learning process
that is interactive and exploratory tasks that are performed collaboratively
leading to deeper and more experiential learning. It wants the teacher to
gain self- and social respect as an essential member of society and be at the
centre of reform. It argues for substantive investment towards making pub-
lic education strong and vibrant. It talks about an educational process that
encourages questions and helps develop ethical and moral reasoning based
on rational thinking and arising from human and constitutional values
including evidence-based thinking and scientific temper. Like the systemic
reform paper in the NCF 2005, it is concerned about the system governing
and administering education and therefore suggests that processes be built
in that make the system self-reflective and self-correcting.
It also concurs with the Yash Pal Committee’s worry about pressures of
assessment and the high-stake board exams and coaching classes. However,
the recommendations to reduce pressure and stress and coaching are silent
on selection tests like NEET which are major causes of stress. It also has
many terms that are loosely defined like holistic, integrated, experiential
learning, learning to learn, engaging, essential learning, multilingualism,
foundational literacy etc. These are, or more likely to be, interpreted in
multiple ways many of which are contrary to what is intended and cause
confusions like the terms activity, competency, child-centred etc, as with
the previous policies. NEP 2020 also uses contradictory terms. For exam-
ple, terms like critical thinking for foundational literacy and “higher order
thinking skills” (HOTS). It talks about holistic learning and alphabet recog-
nition and then about inspirational books and rational ethical development.
The policy talks about the textbook not being an end in itself and the need
for multiple textbooks. But it does not clarify how the challenge of how
making the textbook a means instead of the goal would be reached. It does
not talk about the process of the development of multiple textbooks. It also
does not clarify how they would be made available to children. The first five
years without a textbook and emphasis on multilingualism offers another
challenge. Primary school teachers have been extremely unhappy about the
open-ended textbooks developed by the NCERT and have been replaced or
supplemented by the prolific private books market.
In terms of equity, it speaks of education of equitable quality for all irre-
spective of where the child resides but it does not suggest what the barriers
are and how they should be overcome. There is mention of special attention
for the newly coined category of socio-economically disadvantaged groups
(SEDGs) of children, but the nature and mechanism of this special attention
is not clearly described. The policy introduces the terms gifted and talented
and pays attention to them, but we can see in the present situation the avail-
ability of resources for learning are so skewed that these terms cannot be
equity generating. The policy also suggests that 85% of brain development
is done by the time the child is six years old. While there may be no quarrel
with the intent of the policy, the effect of this statement cannot be antici-
pated without trepidation. The school, therefore, is freed from the respon-
sibility of ensuring that children have early exposure to learning along with
the rest of the children and makes the already existent feeling about the
SEDG children and girls justified.
It would be necessary for the NCFSE 2022 to be developed by the NCERT
to clarify the ambiguous terms and elaborate their intent in a manner that
is not misleading. For example, explain what multilingualism is and that it
has nothing to do with three-language formula or with the writing of bridge
materials from the “child’s” language to standard school language. The
common discourse is apt to confuse multilingualism and the three-language
formula or see the “mother tongue” as the regional language. The idea of
multilingualism as not being all the languages that children use and bring to
school including the culture, traditions, history and identity of the child and
her community is entirely missed.
100 Hridaykant Dewan
The proposed curriculum framework must not leave the conversation

about development of the children only with the suggestion that most of the
learning takes place early in life. While this may be an argument to stress the
need for ECCE, it is still a confusing statement for inclusion of all children,
many of whom may not have the opportunity to benefit from quality early
education. The idea of a self-learning and self-correcting system would also
need to be elaborated in terms of its meaning and implications. The NEP
2020 has underlined the need to bring the teacher to the centre of the reform
program. This also needs to be spelled out in the terms of its implications
and steps for teacher professional development and their management as
well as their career possibilities.
The challenges to the reform program

As the previous sections have described, there were efforts made towards
bringing in curriculum and pedagogic reforms in many states. The challenge
in almost all cases was to find a large enough team that could engage teach-
ers with these ideas at the cluster level and sustain the task of a resource
team to continuously engage with these ideas among themselves and get
feedback from the ground to continuously work and improve on the repre-
sentation of these ideas. The team that engaged with these ideas and devel-
oped confidence and capability were scattered around to initiate or manage
other things. No simultaneous attempt was made to bring in new people
and allow them to participate and learn. The challenge is with the system’s
belief that these kinds of tasks require extensive time and resource invest-
ment and take in some of the more capable people. They also consider them
as unimportant as they show little short-term gains or appreciation.
Alignment around the core issues

At the state level and even in efforts at the NCERT there was no practical
consensus around the core issues raised by the LwB report and NCF 2005.
There were key differences of opinion on all aspects except the agreement
that the situation was grim. The approach to be followed to correct the situ-
ation evoked not just divergent but opposite responses and led to debates
around certain fundamental issues. Even after such a long period of time
since the report, and almost 15 years after the NCF 2005, the core issues
remain contested and as we wait for the NCERT to begin work on the new
national curriculum framework, its view on the same would need to be care-
fully examined. The core issues are:
• Nature of knowledge and what it means to know

• Meaningful use of language, culture, background and experience of
children
• The relationship between knowledge, knowing, understanding and

learning
• What children should be like, how they should behave
• Allowing almost unbounded curiosity, exploration, purposeful action
for children instead of discipline, order and fitting into roles
• Change versus status-quo and conservatism
• Knowing that teaching less is more and teaching more is teaching less
• Central assessment and centralised and uniform learning levels
• The nature of respect for the teacher and her agency
• Space for teacher preparation and development.
Bureaucrats as educationists
The challenge of making education a meaningful and decentralised dialogue
and interaction between the school, community and the teacher has been
reduced to a bureaucratic endeavour of the government that has lost contact
with the individual child and the individual teacher. The urge to centralise
and bring in uniformity has made the state governments anxious to give up
whatever efforts at making curricula, syllabi and textbooks were underway,
post NCF 2005. More and more state governments have handed over the
education processes to consulting organisations who can do the testing and
provide data on a dashboard at the state and the national level. The NCERT
books are being used by more and more states even at elementary level and
all efforts to localise are being given up. It would clearly appear that all the
reform effort has turned full circle and we are now seeing the re-emergence
of the challenge of centralisation, assessment and fear-based information
reproduction system leading to alienation of teachers and learners that the
Yash Pal Committee and the NCF 2005 vehemently spoke against. The
NEP 2020 has not addressed this problem adequately. So, in conclusion, in
spite of all the reform efforts and the learnings that may have accrued from
it, the Yash Pal Committee document still remains a relevant aspirational
document for a public education system to understand, accept and move
towards. The proposed NCFSE 2020 needs to spell it out in a manner that
makes it pragmatically possible.
The culture of mistrust

The other challenge is the complete lack of responsibility allocation and lack
of trust in people working in the education system at the school level. Instead
of responding to the ground level challenges of setting up a participative and
inclusive system of thinking about improvement and reform, and leaving the
functionaries on the ground to work out the possibilities and ways of imple-
menting the key reform ideas and scaffolding and supporting them and
learning and evolving slowly, the plan and its implementation gets more and
102 Hridaykant Dewan
more centralised. Education requires engagement with diverse children and

responding to their learning and thinking. A reform process at its core has
an active, thinking and contributing set of children. Being different persons,
each brings her own thought and response, which have to be collated and
utilised by the teacher. This requires a teacher to have the initiative, agency
and freedom to respond to and structure her interaction. The tendency to
direct (often misdirect) and mistrust leads to monitoring and reporting sys-
tems that entirely take away this agency and the creativity. A teacher who
herself has no agency, no opportunity for creative thinking, exploration etc,
cannot make such opportunities possible for her children. It is because of
this that the reform efforts have failed to take root. Another challenge is the
lack of even short-term memory in the system, consistency and connectivity
of effort and lack of reflection and analysis about the intervention.
In view of these challenges it is clear that the Yash Pal Committee brings
an entirely different and new perspective on education. The direction of
reform that it suggests faces structural problems and constraints. The many
attempts of following a reform agenda, though supported at different points
and for various reasons by individuals in the system and financed for short
periods by investments from external donor agencies or the government,
are never comprehensively directed at the core issues raised in the report.
The reform efforts in practice only pick up a few pieces and phrases from
the report one at a time and follow them for a short while and often the
interpretation is not aligned to the report’s intent. These steps are replaced
by alternative initiatives which pull the system in different directions and,
therefore, stretch meagre resources. The report is therefore relevant today
and from its perspective, all changes in education are merely cosmetic and
do not address the core issues and many of the solutions being promoted
and encouraged and, in fact, take us away from the essence of the educa-
tional aims and processes that the Yash Pal Committee alluded to as the way
forward and which the Indian Constitution guarantees.
References
Basu, D. D. (2021)Introduction to the Constitution of India. Twenty-fifth edition.
India: LexisNexis.
GoI. (1950). The report of the University Education Commission (December
1948–August 1949). New Delhi: Ministry of Education, Government of India
(GoI).
GoI. (1966). Report of the Education Commission (1964–66): Education and
national development. New Delhi: Ministry of Education, Government of India
(GoI).
GoI. (1968). National Policy on Education. Ministry of Education, New Delhi:
GoI. (1986). National Policy on Education 1986. Ministry of Education, New Delhi:
GoI. (1991). Minimum levels of learning at primary stage. New Delhi: National
Council of Educational Research and Training, Government of India (GoI).
GoI. (1993). Learning without burden. Report of the national advisory committee
appointed by the ministry of human resource development (Prof. Yash Pal
committee report). Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), New
GoI. (2009). Right of children to free and compulsory education. Ministry of Law
and Justice, New Delhi: Government of India (GoI).
GoI. (2020). National policy of education 2020. New Delhi: Ministry of Human
Resource Development (now, Ministry of Education), Government of India (GoI).
NCERT. (1975). The curriculum for the ten-year school – A framework. New Delhi:
NCERT. (1988). National curriculum framework for elementary and secondary
education – A framework. New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research
NCERT. (2000). National curriculum framework for school education: Salient
features and summary. New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research
Sen, A. (1993). Capability and well-being. In M. Nussbaum & A. Sen (Eds.), The
quality of life (pp. 30–53). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Sykes, M. (1988). The story of Nahi Talim: Fifty years of education at Sevagram
India (1937–1987): A record of reflections. Sevagram, Wardha: Nai Talim Samiti.
Chapter 5
From the Tall Tower to a Lush

Garden
R. Ramanujam
Importance and reluctance

In 1996, I participated in an exercise conducted by the Tamil Nadu Science
Forum (TNSF), a voluntary group: a survey was conducted among the gen-
eral public to ascertain their views on science and mathematics education.
The survey was carried out by volunteers in urban and rural areas alike, in
eight locations in different districts of Tamil Nadu. Regarding mathematics,
the first question posed was: “Do you think that mathematics is important,
should it be compulsory at school?” This was followed by: “Did you enjoy
learning mathematics at school?” Then the last: “Given another opportu-
nity, would you like to learn mathematics again?” Similar questions were
asked about science as well. The survey was informal, meeting a cross sec-
tion of society, with nearly a thousand individuals responding, almost all of
it conducted in public areas like bus stands. The study was meant only for
internal use by TNSF, to improve its science communication efforts.
The results were interesting. There was almost a consensus of affirmation
in answer to the first question. Mathematics was perceived to be very impor-
tant, and everyone was certain that it should be taught as a compulsory
subject at school. Several people volunteered a reason for it as well, that
mathematics was very useful in life. When it came to the second question,
there was considerable unease. A large majority said that they had disliked
mathematics at school. Many volunteered that they regretted not having
learnt mathematics “properly”. When it came to the third question, the
reaction was invariably one of horror, though there were a few enthusiastic
souls wanting another opportunity to learn mathematics.
Methodologically, this survey was rather ad hoc, and from such informal
questioning one cannot draw conclusions on how the general public engages
with school mathematics. For TNSF, enthusiastically engaged in working
with science and mathematics education in schools, there were problems of
interpretation. The group was committed to enhancing community involve-
ment in elementary schools and the survey was supposed to help us shape
community participation. But here was a puzzle to solve. How can a society
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059-7
From the Tall Tower to a Lush Garden 105
consider something so important that its children should be compelled to

learn it while at the same time not want to directly engage with it? If it were
truly important, why would they not want it for themselves as well? Is it
an expression of parental ambition, that something that the parents had
dreaded should be easily accessible to children?
It was also interesting to note that most people who talked of doing badly
in mathematics at school blamed only themselves for it, and not the school,
or the teachers, or the textbooks. Psychologists should explain this phenom-
enon of self-certification, but one has to wonder at the system that achieves
this: the system itself emerges blameless, all failure self-attributed to indi-
viduals. In fact, there is considerable literature the world over on what per-
ceived failure in mathematics does to the self-esteem of teenagers (Gázquez
& Núñez, 2018). The observation that at any point in time, a considerable
part of humanity is being subjected to significant psychological stress in the
process of learning mathematics, is sobering, especially in light of a social
consensus that such learning is important. In fact, we can call this a burden
that mathematics education must address.
The Learning without Burden (LwB) report (GoI, 1993) identified the
burden of non-comprehension resulting from rote learning to be the central
load on children in schools. In the case of mathematics learning, the bur-
den is heavier, since importance is also attached to success in mathematics:
inevitably, if one must succeed in mathematics whether one comprehends
it or not, one is pushed towards rote learning, thus adding to the burden.
The shape of mathematics curriculum

Mathematics has long been associated both with the world of work and
the world of abstraction. If measurement, commerce, architecture and agri-
culture encompassed mathematical practice, astronomy and aesthetics were
built on mathematical abstraction. At both ends, mathematical ability was
recognised and appreciated, though always limited to a few. In Tamil Nadu,
the payol schools that existed before the British era (Babu, 2012) taught the
arithmetic of grain (large numbers) and that of gold (miniscule fractions).
Committing tables to memory and performing feats of computation men-
tally was important.
In Europe, the industrial revolution raised a major demand for math-
ematics and science education. Rather than the mathematics of the ancients,
the more utilitarian and experimental applications of mathematics were
demanded by industry. By the mid-nineteenth century, mathematics learning
had helped to ingrain a class division that remains endemic to mathematics
education to this day: mathematics for the workers and mathematics for
the “well educated” (Noyes, 2007). By the 1870s the modern subject-ori-
ented curriculum emerged, but the needs of military and technical schools
106 R. Ramanujam
which were flourishing by then, shaped school curricula in science and

mathematics. By the early twentieth century, mathematics as a discipline
was addressing foundational anomalies and redefining itself rigorously in
an abstract axiomatic manner. Put somewhat crudely, this resulted in a ten-
sion between two orientations, one towards the polytechnic and the other
towards the university. In England, the former “won” the battle, and this
was the influence the newly created system of mass education in India was
subjected to. Calculus was the pinnacle of this system, and all mathematical
learning inexorably led to it.
The above brief description of the history of mathematics education
inevitably presents an oversimplified trajectory. The colonial encounter was
more complex, but it essentially led to the abandonment of a mathematical
discipline that rested on the two pillars of work and astronomy and replaced
it with a tower of abstraction. Interestingly, the justification for the new
structure was again in its being useful: but the notion of usefulness moved
away from the experienced everyday life of the citizen to the working life
of the skilled worker in an industrial society. Science and technology were
creating new materials, new industries and new modes of production, and if
there was a single mathematical tool powerfully employed in all these indus-
tries, it was calculus. Indeed, mathematical modelling came to mean setting
up a differential equation; invariably, it was difficult to solve, until the com-
puter came along and offered numerical solutions. Thus emerged the multi-
layered tall and spindly shape of school mathematics. Arithmetic forms the
foundation in primary school, then simple algebra in middle school, then
geometry, then more algebra, then trigonometry, some more geometry mak-
ing use of all of this, and then right on top of it all, the epitome of all this
mathematical knowledge: calculus. One could call it a layered cake, if one
finds it tasty. For most students, it is a narrow dreary tower to climb, dark
and with few windows from which one may see the attractive scenery out-
side. There might be breath-taking beauty awaiting those who make the
climb, but for many the effort is way too much.
This structure has many consequences:
1. Each course of study is primarily a prerequisite for the next one, with-
out having an intrinsic interest of its own. For children, such delayed
gratification, of it being useful in some distant future, is meaningless.
2. If one misses out in acquiring competence at one level, then the next
(for which this is a prerequisite) becomes very difficult to negotiate,
slowing one down, resulting in inadequate competence at that level,
thus compounding the problem one level even higher. Many simply
give up.
3. This effectively prevents informal development of intuition. Since pro-
cedural fluency at one level is needed to negotiate concepts at the next
level, attaining this becomes urgent and takes over as the principal
activity. But then, if one has learnt procedure but has no intuition, then
at the next stage, procedural learning is easier than conceptual under-
standing and the story is repeated. Thus, students who do emerge on
top are often masters of set procedures rather than having a rich toolkit
of techniques.
4. Much of the development is to create tools that, once obtained, make
the preceding development irrelevant. Once one can set up and solve
equations, several arithmetical tools learnt earlier are no longer needed.
Once you learn matrices, solving equations also becomes routine. And
so on. Mathematics teaches you to kick the ladder you climbed on; you
no longer need it. But this also contributes to the sense of unfamiliar
landscape each level brings you to.
The Position Paper of the National Focus Group on the Teaching of

Mathematics (NCERT, 2006, henceforth PP) refers to the “cumulative
nature of mathematics” as one of the reasons that cause fear of mathemat-
ics in school: “If you struggle with decimals, then you will struggle with
percentages; if you struggle with percentages, then you will struggle with
algebra and other mathematics subjects as well”. There are very few oppor-
tunities to restart on these at a later stage and quickly catch up, though this
might actually be possible for many. This has indeed to do with the tower
shaped structure of the curriculum, whereby one climbs up rung by rung.
An opportunity to revisit and relearn requires a structure that allows mul-
tiple entry points to subject matter. The Position Paper (PP) refers to this:
the shape of mathematics education has become taller and more spin-
dly, rather than broad and rounded.
It is to be noted that other subjects of study at school do not possess such a

cumulative tower-like structure. The natural sciences offer multiple points
of entry, allowing for change of interests in the child over the early teen
period. With physical and life sciences offering a diversity of approaches,
with social studies raising a range of questions in the child, and language
study offering almost endless revisits and opportunities to acquire skills
missed out earlier, the tower of mathematics stands alone, visible from eve-
rywhere, singular and forbidding for those outside on the ground.
On the other hand, a different image is as relevant. The roots of mathe-
matics are deeply embedded in human experience and form an intricate and
vast network under the soil. As each mathematical tree shoots up, layers of
abstraction create branches that put out leaves, but there is continuity and
connectedness from root to leaf, and perhaps this is what curricula should
emphasise, and provide educational experiences of these connections.
A clarification is (badly) needed here. Many mathematics textbooks intro-
duce a topic with the observation that this particular concept is important,
108 R. Ramanujam
is extensively used in “real life applications”. This is merely intimidation,

with an implied threat that you are missing out on something important if
you do not master the concept. Such existence of “applications” is not the
rootedness we are speaking of. When the abstraction is seen to arise from
the child’s own lived experience it attains authenticity. This could come
from a game, an activity, or even from the realm of fantasy (dear to chil-
dren), or even an experience that a child does not have but can relate to.
Rootedness is an obligation to present the origin of the abstraction; if appre-
ciating the origins calls for maturity that the child may not yet have, either
postponement or provision of an opportunity to revisit the topic later may
be called for.
The LwB report argues that the
distance between the child’s everyday life and the content of the text-
book further accentuates the transformation of knowledge into a load
(GoI, 1993)
In the case of mathematics, where abstraction from experience is critical as a

prelude to playing with abstraction in itself, the continuity referred to above
becomes important. This cannot be achieved by giving primacy to abstrac-
tions and merely illustrating them with “examples from daily life”. As an
aside we should nod to yet another issue raised by the report: these “exam-
ples from everyday life” rarely include the life of a farmer or a labourer,
reinforcing the impression that mathematics stands apart from the lives of
ordinary people, that mathematicians are not ordinary people.
On another note, this structure reinforces the social perception of school
mathematics as a pipeline for human resources that flows from schools to
scientific careers. Viewed thus, the perception we referred to earlier makes
sense: scientific careers are intellectually on “top”, requiring the hard climb
“up”; if one cannot, it is one’s own incapability. The tower invokes respect
and awe.
Is curriculum the problem?

The foregoing discussion raises the question: is there a way to reshape the
mathematics curriculum that yields a different structure, one that allows
multiple entries, exits and revisits not only to curricular themes but also for
the process of acquiring skills and fluency?
Curriculum versus pedagogy

Before we address this question, it is important to consider the reform process
initiated by the National Curriculum Framework (henceforth, NCF 2005)
(NCERT, 2005). It was principally set in the paradigm of constructivist
pedagogy, and called for a “shifting of focus from content to process”.

This shift in pedagogy addressed some of the major concerns raised in the
LwB report. The principle of pedagogy preceding curriculum can be seen to
dominate the narrative in the Math Magic series, the new textbooks for the
elementary stage that the NCF 2005 resulted in. To a significant extent, this
has indeed influenced classroom experiences in primary schools. However,
when we consider the textbooks and classroom experiences at the upper
primary or secondary stage, it is clear that disciplinary curriculum takes
over to precede pedagogy and by the time we reach the higher secondary
stage, there are few explicitly pedagogical considerations to point to. In
itself, this need not be a failing, and may only attest to an unreasonable
burden the pedagogic expectations from the NCF 2005 may have placed on
the curriculum.
Indeed, it is a matter of primary concern. When high-school life is viewed
merely as acquiring entry qualification for tertiary education, it lacks impor-
tance in itself and the system does not commit resources to the tremendous
overhaul needed for pedagogic transformation. The needs of those who exit
the system after high school carry little weight in the system either. Thus,
during high school, evaluation precedes assessment which precedes curric-
ulum which overrides pedagogy, resulting in yet another tower structure,
against which the recommendations in PP seem ineffective.
All this is to point out that without rethinking curriculum, it is hard to
address the concerns of universalisation and the pedagogic transformation
envisioned by NCF 2005 effectively. The curricular acceleration process and
the “tall and spindly” curricular structure of school mathematics, acknowl-
edged but unaddressed by the NCF 2005 reform process, render a process
focus in the classroom very difficult. On the other hand, a healthy predispo-
sition towards problem solving, and mathematical practices such as making
conjectures, looking for counterexamples, drawing analogies, generalisation
when specifics are hard, devising multiple representations and so on, advo-
cated by PP are sufficiently important for us to interrogate the intransigence
of the curriculum that allows little room for such processes.
Procedure versus concept

Emphasis on procedure at the cost of conceptual understanding is often
blamed for the burden of incomprehension in mathematics at school.
Indeed, when memorising multiplication tables and learning arithmeti-
cal operations as algorithms to be performed takes precedence in primary
school, this does happen. When solving linear and quadratic equations is
learnt as procedures, this occurs in middle school. By the time a student
enters high school, such enactment of procedure has become an expectation
from the student, and the habits persist, whether it has to do with con-
struction in geometry, finding standard deviation for given data, inverting
110 R. Ramanujam
a matrix, or integration by parts. All these admit a clear procedure to be

employed and problem solving is reduced to recognising which algorithm
is to be employed, to deconstruct the problem statement and pick data that
would form the input to the algorithm, and run the set procedure on the
given data. The procedure implements a relation, say R(x1,..., xn) and learn-
ing amounts to recognising which of the arguments are given and which are
to be computed.
Indeed, procedure without meaning works against the spirit of mathemat-
ics. But we must not treat this only as a pedagogical issue and absolve the
curriculum of all responsibility for such undue emphasis on procedure. The
structure of the curriculum demands that procedures be learnt in intricate
detail at each stage, with meaning or not. This observation is important
enough to itemise:
• The structure of the curriculum allows for the possibility of moving up

the ladder all through school without clarifying concepts at each stage.
• The structure of the curriculum requires that procedural competence be
ensured at each stage to navigate the next stage easily.
There are two ways to negate this: the stringent would attack the first and
insist on ensuring conceptual clarity at each stage, thus preserving the pri-
macy of the tower structure. What we suggest is the other option, to allow
for some laxity in procedural competence at a stage, allowing for multiple
revisits and opportunities over many stages to acquire it.
The conclusion is inescapable. If we are to emphasise mathematical think-
ing, the curriculum needs to be examined accordingly. Whether the content
of the curriculum needs change or not, at the least, its structure does require
an overhaul.
Here, a quote from William Thurston is appropriate:
The long-range objectives of mathematics education would be better

served if the tall shape of mathematics were de-emphasized, by moving
away from a standard sequence to a more diversified curriculum with
more topics that start closer to the ground. There have been some trends
in this direction, such as courses in finite mathematics and in probabil-
ity, but there is room for much more
(Thurston, 1990)
Reshaping curriculum
So much has been written about the mathematics curriculum in school that it
seems unlikely that anyone can ever say anything new. However, every cur-
ricular reform follows its own path, every generation seeks to reshape curric-
ulum in its own manner. For instance, the history of mathematics curricula
in school is often presented as a seesawing conflict between procedural

emphasis and conceptual emphasis, with the pendulum swinging one way
and another (Sriraman, 2012).
Our account is almost exclusively from an Indian viewpoint, considering
the changes in school mathematics since the LwB report. This is already a
vast terrain since every state has its own Board of Education and the changes
are neither homogeneous across the country nor are synchronised. As a rule,
the states tend to follow the lead from the centre in carrying out reform
but the nature of the reform itself may be different in a state (Ramanujam,
2012). For instance, Tamil Nadu followed up the Yash Pal Committee with
its own Sivagnanam Committee in 1997 (of which this author was a mem-
ber), but the recommendations of the latter were very different in spirit.
Similarly, after NCF 2005, many states defined their own curricular frame-
work, with significant departures. In fact, while the centre has not offered
another comparable curriculum document since 2005, Tamil Nadu pub-
lished a framework document in 2006 and another one in 2017.
However, in the context of mathematics education, the differences have
been minor, most of which have related to syllabus structure, rather than
on curricular or pedagogic themes. The emphasis on mathematisation and
processes in NCF 2005 has had an impact on state curricula as well, but
typically they also follow NCF 2005 in critiquing curricular structure and
leaving it well alone. In pedagogy, a significant point of departure is the
linking of school textbooks in Kerala with dynamic geometry software,
thereby rendering greater flexibility to content transaction. Perhaps the only
significant curricular shift is the recent one in Tamil Nadu, presented in the
2017 document and realised in textbooks during the years 2018 and 2019.
This is the introduction of an Information Processing track in mathematics
curriculum for the elementary stage, subsuming the earlier data handling
and statistics units, and introducing components of computational thinking.
The recent textbooks for Classes 1 to 8 have implemented this curricular
shift.
The digital era

From the perspective of the last two decades, and viewing the next two
decades (in a haze), one feature stands out in Indian reality: the impact of
the mobile phone and the information revolution. The great transformation
of production, manufacture and distribution processes due to computing
has not caused a deep impact on Indian society as yet, but it is expected to
do so in the decades ahead. But the transformation of everyday life due to
the communication and information technologies is still ongoing and it is
conceivable that algorithms will be running the lives of Indians across the
social spectrum in the coming decades. Indeed, this realisation seems to have
had a major influence on the articulation of the National Education Policy
112 R. Ramanujam
2020 (henceforth, NEP 2020) (GoI, 2020), which has not only discussed
the perceived (and planned) role of information technology in education at
length, but also coupled mathematics with computational thinking:
It is recognised that mathematics and mathematical thinking will be very

important for India’s future and India’s leadership role in the numerous
upcoming fields and professions that will involve artificial intelligence,
machine learning, and data science, etc. Thus, mathematics and com-
putational thinking will be given increased emphasis throughout the
school years, starting with the foundational stage, through a variety of
innovative methods, including the regular use of puzzles and games that
make mathematical thinking more enjoyable and engaging. Activities
involving coding will be introduced in the Middle Stage
(sec 4.25, GoI 2020)
This constitutes a specific view of mathematics at school, and in the context

of the curricular discussion here, refers to a social need for mathematics
which has been articulated since the time of the industrial revolution. If
nineteenth-century Europe saw the need for mathematics in an industrial
society and articulated it in terms of algebra and the differential calculus,
twenty-first-century India sees artificial intelligence, machine learning, and
data science as the harbingers of a leadership role for the country, and makes
the case of mathematics as being important to this cause. Interestingly, it is
not linear algebra or statistical theory that are linked with machine learn-
ing and data science but computational thinking, which has more to do
with algorithmic problem solving, which is indeed related to mathematical
thinking. Further, the use of puzzles and games is advocated for encourag-
ing mathematical thinking, and perhaps akin to this, coding is advocated
for encouraging computational thinking. It is difficult to identify the educa-
tional principles that lead to such ascription of importance to mathematics
and the curricular implications thereof. On the other hand, when we refer
to the extensive literature on mathematical thinking by education research-
ers, this item in the NEP seems to be (at best) a clubbing together of many
orthogonal considerations, and to that extent may remain wishful thinking.
In reality, it might simply translate to introducing artificial intelligence and
machine learning in the early years of school with no considerations of inter-
nal coherence in curriculum or pedagogic appropriateness. Indeed, repeated
exhortations on the importance of mathematics for the professions of the
future by NEP 2020 once again reinforces the social perception of school
mathematics as a pipeline for human resources that flows from schools to
scientific careers. Viewed from this perspective, the curricular tower seems
strong and unshakeable.
Algorithms are indeed running our lives in ways that were unimaginable
two decades ago, and the pervasiveness of computing and communication
in the world today does suggest that the decades ahead will only make this
engagement broader and deeper. Search engines, in particular, have made
information access fast and direct, taking over an important educational
purpose. Just as calculators and computer programs have eliminated the
need for human beings to perform long and complicated calculations in
many contexts, search engines have eliminated certain factual knowledge
and memory needs. We have discussed the domination of procedure in
mathematics education over a long time. The digital era does indeed raise
the question of how relevant student enactment of mathematical procedures
is important for learning. On the other hand, mathematics education also
has a social duty now (and the capability) towards developing a critical con-
sciousness of how algorithms and indices impact our lives.
These observations raise many issues of relevance to all education, but in
the context of mathematics, we note some simple propositions:
• The rootedness of mathematics in the physical world and the world of

experiences is even more important to emphasise, as the virtual world
gains in importance in the lives of children.
• Calculation needs stemming back to the industrial revolution and
deeply embedded in extant mathematics curricula can be done away
with in favour of tools. However, gaining control over the tools requires
the ability to verify answers provided by tools, and this is an intrinsi-
cally mathematical ability. To give a crude example, answering 170 X
26 could be left to an “app” on the phone, but a sanity check that the
answer is between 3500 and 5000 is more important, as mistakes in
typing could give wild answers.
• From learning procedures, mathematics needs to move to reasoning
about procedures. Assessment has mainly required students to enact the
procedures they have learnt. A shift to critiquing procedure, whereby
the student gets to compare different procedures for the same task and
adjudge them, consider variations of the procedure for different pur-
poses, and even design procedures on their own requires a new language
of discourse in mathematics. This is essential as students grow up in
a world run by algorithms: a critical outlook calls for competence in
evaluating algorithms (and not in enacting them).
• Mathematics textbooks provide a great deal of information (though
perhaps to a lesser extent than other subjects of study), and the student
is expected to commit these to memory. In the new century, with quick
access to information, this can be done away with, whereas the empha-
sis needs to shift to assessment of information.
• The search for patterns has always been central to the study and prac-
tice of mathematics. While we perceive with the eye and understand
with the mind, the mind dominates the eye in mathematics. But math-
ematicians and technologists find new ways to see patterns now, both
114 R. Ramanujam
with the eye and with the mind. The term visualisation has acquired
tremendous depth in recent times, and this ability can change math-
ematics education as fundamentally as digital computing has changed
engineering practice.
• School mathematics is deeply committed to providing the language of
science and engineering (thanks to the historical trajectory discussed
earlier), but in the last 50 years, mathematics has greatly expanded its
reach: into economics, finance and banking, business practice, medi-
cine, the social sciences and more. This is principally due to recogni-
tion of order and pattern of many kinds, not only those of number and
shape. Then the language of mathematics taught at school should reflect
this breadth.
• The gravest issues faced by humanity in the twenty-first century, call
for an understanding of global patterns like climate change, scarcity
of natural resources and the spread of pandemics. For mathematics
education, this implies an engagement with models and uncertainty
all through. Again, the potential offered by new technologies for this
engagement is to be utilised.
These considerations, along with the provision of educational opportunities

that allow for revisiting concepts and skills at many stages, once again make
the case for a curricular shape that is broad and allowing lateral navigation.
While working out such a detailed curriculum is beyond the scope of this
chapter and well beyond the competence of the author, certain elements can
be identified.
There are many big ideas of mathematics but the foregoing discussion
highlights a few essential themes: quantity, shape, dimension, transforma-
tion, uncertainty. These can be viewed through patterns and activity that
result in a language of discourse gradually gaining in precision and abstrac-
tion. In a sense, the desired outcome should be seen as fluency in this lan-
guage rather than specific knowledge or skills. As with all language use,
different speakers would be skilled in different idioms and registers, a few
becoming writers and creators.
The mathematics of things

Mathematician and educator W.W. Sawyer wrote: Do things, make things,
notice things, arrange things, and only then reason about things. This is
sound advice for mathematics education, especially at the elementary stage,
as we want children to engage with the physical world (again, this is of
increasing importance in a world where the virtual makes inroads into
children’s lives). Hands-on mathematics gives opportunities not only for
learning number, shape and quantity, but also for computational think-
ing through experiences in counting, arranging, organising. Working with
things in the elementary stage offers extensive opportunities for engaging

with quantity, shape and measurement. It also offers the scope for reason-
ing about procedures, and evaluation of tools. When we ask for distribut-
ing toffees equally among 16 children we perform a procedure (whether
carried out or not). But then when you ask for verification that all toffees
have been counted and all children have been counted and that everyone
has an equal number, we reason about the procedure. When we can find
different ways of counting out (one toffee to each child until the toffees are
exhausted; or divide the class into two groups, make two heaps of toffees
and distribute one pile among each; or if the children are already seated
in four rows, make four piles and distribute) there is an extension of the
idea. When we argue that they all accomplish the same task, the reason-
ing goes further. When we can also consider which of these procedures is
better suited for a particular circumstance we are laying the foundation for
critiquing algorithms.
Of course, a single task with small children should never be overloaded
in this manner. This was merely an attempt to point out that working with
things can accommodate reasoning and verification of the kind mentioned
earlier. Moreover, giving precedence to making things gives children early
experiences of models, of transformation and change, of measurement and
dimension, and to a lesser extent, of uncertainty. Perhaps the most impor-
tant aspect of according primacy to things, is that skill in arithmetical opera-
tions can be entirely relativised to the needs arising from the work context.
Viewed thus, long division and multiplication of three-digit numbers would
get less importance than working with equivalence of fractions. While com-
petency in operations can then be seen as desirable, what is essential and
insisted on by evaluation mechanisms would be their use in context.
Measurement
Measurement of length, area and volume are important in school, and arise
from everyday experience. However, the curricular space that measurement
occupies is small, reduced to the learning of some formulas. Processes such
as estimation and approximation, and concepts such as accuracy, precision
and error are generally glossed. In fact, experience with measurement of
geometric quantities is only one aspect of this learning. Measurement of
arithmetic quantities such as size, count, order and variations in labelling
is important and needs to be integrated into the child’s thinking as well.
Measurement in the context of random variation is enjoyable from an early
age: counting how many times a number comes up in repeated throwing of
dice, or in spinning discs, or in other data is not only interesting; lack of pat-
tern is also important for perception. Measurement of change or variation is
an exciting challenge from early on (as for instance in estimating the speed
of a ceiling fan overhead). Experiencing the complexity of measurement can
116 R. Ramanujam
perhaps help to build numeracy in the child: she may grow up to be less
accepting of claims arising from the misuse of data and statistics.
Transformation
Symmetry and transformation turn up everywhere in mathematics, and
this is perhaps the deepest link between what makes it most useful as
well as makes it a tool of aesthetics. Experiencing invariances under flips
and rotations, counting symmetries and looking for transformations that
cause a breaking of some symmetry can be experienced from an early age.
Culturally rooted mathematical practices provide an engaging opportunity
in this regard, as for instance in the case of kolams in Tamil Nadu. Looking
for symmetry in parts, as in the growth of natural objects from repetitive
patterns of molecules or cells offers room for mathematical reasoning and
computational thinking in its grasp of iterative processes. The use of tech-
nological tools and programming environments can greatly enhance these
experiences that can be built on, in the secondary school.
That repetition can be the source of accuracy, symmetry, or chaos is a
deep insight of mathematics, and we can provide curricular opportunities at
various stages to understand iteration and repetition.
Functional variation
Observing and quantifying change is central to science, and mathematics
provides the language for such use in school. However, the algebraic and
geometric contexts that develop this language remain disparate, as also top-
ics like “ratio and proportion” relegated to commercial mathematics. The
notion of linearity, central to almost all forms of scientific study, is hardly
accorded centrality.
Change comes in many forms: linear, periodic, continuous, smooth, ran-
dom, and so on. The realisation that they can all be articulated (with ease or
with difficulty) in the language of mathematics is valuable in many domains
of life. What is needed is exposure to these forms. Tools can greatly help in
this realisation, though mastery in the idiom can well be left to later stages
of learning at the university.
Abstractions
Interestingly, while abstraction in mathematics is often blamed for its dif-
ficulty, the fact that mathematics studies abstractions actually never figures
prominently in mathematics at school. The use of symbols is prevalent but
inventing symbolic representations is never a conscious activity. The notion
of identity, equivalence, similarity and change are central to all mathemat-
ics but they are never engaged with at school. Recursion pops up in the
definition of the factorial function, but is mostly never seen as a powerful

technique of definition. Logic is relegated to a curricular unit termed math-
ematical reasoning, rather than seen to pervade the practice of mathematics
in its entirety.
Asking the question why a mathematical procedure (such as solving quad-
ratic equations) is reliably correct, or why an equation is solvable in one
number system and not in another, are essentially logical questions. These
are not questions meant to be asked in children’s annual examinations, but
provide a curricular opportunity for children to appreciate how abstraction
functions in mathematics.
Uncertainty
The appreciation of regularity and the understanding of uncertainty are
closely related. This is a profound insight that mathematics can provide,
and one of immense use not only in intellectual endeavour but also in demo-
cratic life. Building models of phenomena and critically studying phenom-
ena through models is possible only with this realisation. This again calls
for continued engagement through school life at various stages, using the
mathematical resources available at that stage.
Breaking down compartments

We have talked of mathematics curriculum as if it were a self-contained
entity in the context of mathematics education. But clearly, this is not so:
mathematics as a subject of study has many interlinkages with other dis-
ciplines, and one can ask how the reshaped curriculum that we envisage
relates to these linkages. In this context, it is worthwhile noting that the
NEP 2020 repeatedly makes a plea for an interdisciplinary and multidis-
ciplinary approach that will promote linkages between mathematics and
science on one hand, and the humanities and the arts on the other. What are
the possibilities for such interconnections?
In fact, it is our contention that breaking down the tall tower structure of
mathematics curriculum is a necessary condition for a healthy intertwining of
the humanities and mathematics. Symmetry and transformation are among
the fundamental characteristics of the fine arts, and a curricular structure
that accedes importance to them makes for the arts to play a significant role
in mathematics education, and the other way around. The tension between
the abstract and the particular can again have great potential for interac-
tion between the literary mind and the mathematical one. Measurement
is fundamental to science and technology, and again curricular space for
processes of measurement, estimation and approximation will offer multi-
ple points of contact between mathematics and the sciences. Understanding
change and uncertainty is central to the study of societies and again this can
118 R. Ramanujam
become a convenient pathway for a healthy relationship between the social

sciences and mathematics at school.
Once again, these instances are offered only to illustrate the possibilities
around a structural reorganisation as suggested here. A different conceptual
organisation may offer other possibilities. Here we wish only to empha-
sise that the extant tower of the mathematics curriculum offers little room
for such healthy interconnections. Recall Thurston (1990) here: we need a
diversified curriculum with more topics that start closer to the ground and
indeed, there is room for much more.
If the country is to take seriously the promise of deeply interconnected
learning in NEP 2020, the shape of mathematics curriculum must surely
be changed. Whether the policy implementation will undertake the overall
transformation required is an interesting question.
Discussion
We began with the recounting of a survey in which people were asked,
“Given another opportunity, would you like to learn mathematics again?”
As it turned out, a couple of years later, we undertook an exercise in adult
education, where an attempt was made to link mathematics learning with
the learners’ working lives. This was not part of any certificate programme
in adult education, and the curriculum was freewheeling. Themes such as
Quantity, Shape, Measurement, Transformation, Optimisation, Variation
and Uncertainty figured in the discussion. The aim was to offer an exposure
to mathematics, not at competency in a specific area. This worked much
better than a typical adult education curriculum that mimics high-school
mathematics.
In science education certain propositions are considered central to sci-
entific literacy, for instance, that all matter is made up of atoms. There are
certain deep insights in mathematics that are no less central, for instance,
that dimensionality is a property of space but also a means of ordering
knowledge. Insights are not gained by learning specific items of knowledge
or by acquiring specific skills, but by gradually gaining strength of convic-
tion over a long period of time, through immersion in educational activity.
A curriculum that seeks to provide such insights would present math-
ematics not as a forbidding tower of great height but as a garden of lush
variety: with plants flashing flowers of dazzling colour, and tall fruit-bearing
trees under whose shade children are at play.
References
Babu, S. (2012). Indigenous traditions and the colonial encounter: A historical
perspective on mathematics education in India. In R. Ramanujam & K.
Subramaniam (Eds.), Mathematics education in India: Status and outlook. (pp.

37–62). Mumbai: Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, A collection of
background papers for the Indian National Presentation, ICME-12. Seoul.
Gázquez, J.J. & Núñez, J.C. (Eds.). (2018). Students at risk of school failure.
Lausanne: Frontiers Media.
GoI. (1993). Learning without Burden: Report of the national advisory committee
appointed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. New Delhi: Ministry
of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), New Delhi: Government of
India (GoI).
Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India (GoI).
NCERT. (2006). Position paper on teaching of mathematics by the national focus
group. New Delhi: National Council for Education, Research and Training
(NCERT).
Noyes, A. (2007). Rethinking school mathematics. London: Paul Chapman
Publishing, Sage.
Ramanujam, R. (2012). An overview of mathematics education in India. In R.
Ramanujam & K. Subramaniam (Eds.), Mathematics education in India: Status
and outlook (pp. 1–11). Mumbai: Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education.
Sriraman, B. (2012). Crossroads in the history of mathematics and mathematics
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Mathematical Society, 37, 844–850.
Chapter 6
Assessment and Learning in Indian

Context
Compelling Association, Invariance or an
Educational Folly?
Ritesh Khunyakari
Assessment: a deep-seated, systemic concern

In contemporary education contexts and in one’s educational journey,
assessment is a distinctive feature both at the entry and exit points at
every level (primary, secondary and higher education). Beyond this
gatekeeping function, the salience of assessment can be underscored in
a multitude of ways – curricular, pedagogical, affective and psychoso-
cial. The manner in which assessment interacts with each of these ways
and impacts learning is critical to contemporary educational discourses.
Moreover, assessment is a way by which society relates to the conditions,
environment and quality of learning. In other words, assessment ensures
accountability within the education system and to society. The pervasive
influence of assessment on learning suggests a deep-seated and systemic
connect, which if not carefully handled can posit as a “burden”. It is no
surprise that assessment has been a concern of academia and the public
at large. Media reinforces society’s attention to student performances by
highlighting national rankings and scores when results of board examina-
tions are announced. While achievements can be a cause for celebration,
low-performance outcomes often result in disorientation, dejection and
even student suicides. A deeper engagement with educational assessments
can facilitate bootstrapping the dilemmas and tensions arising in, during
and after the process of learning.
Tanner and Jones (2006) consider assessment to be a continuous pro-
cess serving three broad kinds of purposes: managerial, communicative and
pedagogical. The managerial purpose of assessment deals with the effective-
ness of policies, accounting students’ progress (gatekeeping), ensuring dis-
tribution of resource benefits, etc. The communicative purpose is associated
with sharing information about knowledge, skills and progress (account-
ability) of learners, judgements about valuable parts in a curriculum and
mapping the change in learning over time. The pedagogic purpose relates to
feedback for planning teaching, analysing misconceptions, appreciating and
encouraging success of learners, remediating and regulating learning. Often,
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059-8
Assessment and Learning in Indian Context 121
the balance between these purposes is difficult to maintain leading to one

purpose being emphasised over others.
This chapter attempts to map some of the historic and sociocultural shifts
in approaches to assessment in the Indian education system, which come
from an overemphasis on one or the other purposes of assessment. In most
cases, the managerial and communicative purposes overshadow the ped-
agogic purpose. The chapter discusses how the Learning without Burden
(LwB) report (GoI, 1993) problematises “burden” with regard to assess-
ment. Drawing upon an example from my own teaching, I will reflect on the
links between assessment and learning, namely, assessment as, of and for
learning. Later, I discuss the turmoil arising from following the unsettling
discourse on assessment. I leave with a hope that assessment will liberate
itself from serving a means to establishing the bureaucratic accountability
by gathering strength from an interwoven relationship between curriculum,
pedagogy and assessment.
Historical grapple with assessment and evaluation

The Indian education discourse has historically grappled with the concerns
of assessment and evaluation. This section approaches critical reforms in
assessment by situating them within a socio-political perspective. The ten-
sions and conceptual shifts in approaches towards assessing and evaluating
are discussed.
Emergent identity of assessment and

learning: a compelling association
Historically, assessment in formal education settings has been fundamen-
tally tied with examination and echoes the pervading vibe of colonial regime.
One of the earliest systematic efforts for instituting assessment on a large
scale aligns with the establishment of the universities of Calcutta, Madras
and Bombay in the colonial British presidencies in 1857, following from
the recommendation in Wood’s despatch (1853). Along with the establish-
ment of universities as spaces of higher learning, came the institutionalisa-
tion of the matriculation examination by Boards of Secondary Education.
While these two developments of institutionalisation can be noted as initia-
tions into modern education, they also mark a critical turn in socio-political
discourse in Indian education. The examinations became instruments for
rationalising objective and unbiased means for selecting the most suited
individuals to pursue university education. Quality performance in board
examinations through highly regulated, matriculation tests served the func-
tion of filtering talent for the limited number of higher educational spaces,
who may later on secure an administrative career pathway within the then
122 Ritesh Khunyakari
colonial subcontinent. In many ways (economic, bureaucratic, social and

psychological), this system created a fractured perception between careers
that involved the mind and the hand.
On one hand, the examination-oriented education system pruned the
extant alternative educational practices and on the other, it served the pur-
pose of accelerating social segregation. To conform with the examination
system that served as an entry to higher education and a promising career
prospect, the curricular content and pedagogic discourse at the secondary
school level was reconfigured. School education was largely perceived as
serving a preparatory function and the board examination as a springboard
for launching an individual into a promising career trajectory. This wider
perception led to a serious change in the epistemic stance on learning and
the agency of the teacher. The Hunter Commission (1882–1883) report
observed the percolating ill-impact of examinations.
But perhaps the chief disadvantage of the system is its making examina-
tions the main object of the thoughts alike of pupils and of teachers, and
thus tending to give entirely false views of the meaning and purpose of
education. Examinations there must be under any system, but they need
not be made the pivot on which it turns. When they are so the teacher
is all but compelled, for the sake of speedy results, to direct attention to
questions likely to be set, rather than to give the intellectual food and
discipline that are most required. The pupil on his part is led to regard the
passing of examinations as the main object of education, and the power
of reproducing information as the highest aim of intellectual culture
(GoI, 1883, pp. 408–409)
Although the provincial autonomy since 1935 allowed for a greater admin-
istrative control in decision making, the responsibility of external exami-
nations was entrusted to universities and school boards. The gatekeeping
function of assessment contributed to a growing subordination of the high-
school curriculum to meet the requirements of university education organ-
ised around industrial, commercial or technical programmes of study as a
preparation for life (Srivastava, 1979). This gatekeeping through examina-
tion simultaneously induced an intellectual and social chasm, limiting the
role of universities as esoteric centres of power and academic excellence.
Transformed identity: component invariant of cognitive learning

The colonial legacy of assessment as examinations continued in the post-
independence era. Until the mid-twentieth century (1950s), the impact of
behaviourism led to using testing as a means for screening, filtering and
differentiating levels of learning. Use of punishments and reinforcements
as a means of shaping behaviours and imposing learning, ingrained the
socio-emotive consequences of assessment. Until this point, assessment

through evaluative testing had rooted itself as a “compelling association” to
ensure entry, exit and a certain kind of quality education. With the rise of
the cognitive revolution in the late 1900s, a view of learning that involved
the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains gained recognition in
the educational discourse. The classical work of Bloom, Engelhart, Furst,
Hill and Krathwohl (1956) involved arriving at a taxonomy of educational
objectives (goals) set out to freeze the processes of learning into hierarchical,
mutually exclusive categories. The work not only dissociated the cognitive
from the related domains of psychomotor and affect, but also signalled a
hierarchy between these domains, which can be grasped from the introduc-
tory remarks of authors within the handbook.
The cognitive domain, which is the concern of this Handbook,

includes those objectives which deal with the recall or recognition
of knowledge and the development of intellectual abilities and skills.
This is the domain which is most central to the work of much current
test development. It is the domain in which most of the work in cur-
riculum development has taken place and where the clearest defini-
tions of objectives are to be found phrased as descriptions of student
behaviour
(Bloom et al., 1956, p.7)
The influential colonial fabric of the Indian education system effortlessly

seeped in the overt yet limited perspective on cognitive dimension. This
hierarchy in domains contributed to magnifying the socially perceived gulf
between subject domains perceived as having cognitive orientations (for
example, languages, mathematics and sciences) from those which had an
either affective (for example, arts) or psychomotor (for example, physical
education) bent. The wide series of workshops with Professor Benjamin
Bloom in 1957 led to a seminar on examination reforms organised by the
All India Council of Secondary Education (AICSE) at Bhopal in 1956 and
creation of a Central Examination Unit (CEU) in 1958. The developments
in educational psychology and administrative changes led to the reimagina-
tion of examination that afforded a scheme of distributive marking on both
the external and internal components (80 + 20 = 100 marks). Each compo-
nent included a written, oral and practical mode, ensuring an opportunity to
assess learning on different dimensions. Also, the scheme allowed assessing
curricular and co-curricular subjects. This development in assessment repre-
sented a shift in employing scores from the evaluation as an integral part of
the process of teaching learning rather than serving as a means of measuring
academic achievement. With the establishment of the National Council of
Educational Research and Training (NCERT) in 1961, concerted efforts to
reimagine examinations were considered.
In an evolving socio-political climate, the need for envisioning an

“educational revolution” resonated in one of most comprehensive commis-
sion reports on Indian education, the Kothari Commission (1964–1966)
report. The foresight of Professor D.S. Kothari and his colleagues is cap-
tured in his letter to the then Minister of Education, Shri. M.C. Chagla.
If I may say so, the single most important thing needed now is to get out
of the rigidity of the present system. In the rapidly changing world of
today, one thing is certain: yesterday’s educational system will not meet
today’s, and even less so, the need of tomorrow
(GoI, 1966, p. iii)
One of the key recommendations of the report was changing the evaluation
system. It implied a shift from tests or examination to evaluating learner
performance in terms of Bloom’s taxonomy and predetermined achievement
milestones. Evaluation was acknowledged as a continuous process, integral
and intimately related to the educational objectives, helping measure and
improve achievement. Among other things, the Kothari Commission report
recommended conducting external and internal examinations, diagnos-
tic and standardised tests, and oral tests to be made a part of the internal
examinations. Soon after, came the National Policy on Education in 1968,
which called for improving reliability and validity of examinations and the
need for continuous evaluation to help improve the levels of achievement
rather than “certifying” the quality of performance at a given moment in
time (GoI, 1968).
An evident shift came in 1975 with the National Curriculum Framework
experimenting with the idea of awarding grades instead of marks (NCERT,
1975). The suggestion received heavy criticism from a society which had an
ossified imagination of assessment, comparable to reported achievement. In
the late 1900s, with the advent of computers and educational technologies,
a greater quantum of information got packaged and relayed through text-
books and years of schooling. A good hold of advanced information helped
students achieve an edge over peers in a competitive world. In an expand-
ing informative world, the amplified volume of content manifested in the
physical weight of school bags and the evaluation of learning. The evalua-
tions were now geared to meeting attainment targets or measuring achieve-
ment standards. The call for reforms in assessments (now being equated
with evaluation) recurred in different policies, committees and even media
reports, raising concerns about the academic burden on students and dis-
satisfaction with the quality of learning.
The inheritance, guarding and even promulgating a hierarchised relation
of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment (see Figure 6.1a) is evident in the
history of Indian education. This linear, hierarchical relation emerges from
a dissemination of curricular content using transmissive pedagogic practice.
(a) Linear, hierarchical relation (b) Interdependent, iterative relation
Curriculum Curriculum
Pedagogy Pedagogy
Assessment Assessment
Figure 6.1 Relation between curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. Source: Author
The assessments were directed towards “evaluating” or checking the reliable,

faithful relay of curricular content. The subtle political hand, manifesting itself
through career needs and social reinforcements, manages both the nature of
curricular content as well as processing the outcomes from learner evaluation.
A historic introspection suggests changing perspectives on assessment,
from it being considered as evaluation (through psychometric, examination
and other kinds of testing), to being concerned as achievements (through
marking, ranking and scoring). Even though there has been a noticeable
evolution from the colonial past in terms of relating to the purpose and
means for assessing, the administrative disposition of forming prejudices
about learners based on assessments, has been hard to shakeoff. Assessments
seem to be imagined as fluid passages mediating reciprocal communication
of “accountability” between educational spaces and societal expectations.
Such a perception of assessment as “invariance”, an attribute that remains
unchanged regardless of the changes in the conditions of measurement, per-
vades the education system. The societal investment in education seems to be
constituted, acknowledged and even restructured around these exchanges.
Assessment, indubitably is a core concern that intuitively, symbolically and
realistically gets associated with the idea of “burden” and learning.
Policy gearshift: from learner outcomes to processes of learning

In 1992 the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) con-
stituted a National Advisory Committee to advise on the ways and
means to reduce the academic load and improve the quality of learning.
The committee problematised “burden” as an outcome of the interplay
of “three parallel systems of school education (syllabus, textbooks and
examination) running concurrently in different states” (GoI, 1993, p. 25).
The LwB report noted that an overt insistence on the English language
and discouragement of observations posed serious challenges to learn-
ing. Further, the adult beliefs about “teaching everything” and “starting
early” robs away the enthusiasm of learning, making learning “joyless”.
The LwB report discussed the process of examination and its impact on
learners and society.
The major, well-understood defect of the examination system is that

it focuses on children’s ability to reproduce information to the exclu-
sion of the ability to apply concepts and information on unfamiliar,
new problems, or simply to think… Both the teacher and the parents
constantly reinforce the fear of examination and the need to prepare
for it in the only manner that seems practical, namely, by memoriz-
ing a whole lot of information from the textbooks and guidebooks. …
Changing the system of examination in a structural or even in a merely
procedural sense does not require that a source outcome or cause-effect
relationship be established; yet, the examination goes on, apparently
with the help of energies or rationales located in the system of educa-
tion itself
(GoI, 1993, pp. 6–7)
The LwB report brought a refreshing shift in the discourse, from a focus
on learner outcomes to that on the processes of learning. In the light of
learner-centric education, a greater recognition for mutual interdepend-
ency of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment in learning (see Figure 6.1b)
was realised. The focus on assessment as salient to learning comes out
powerfully in the cover letter of the LwB report, dated 15 July 1993, sub-
mitted by Professor Yash Pal to the then Minister of Human Resource
Development:
In regard to the burden on children, the gravitational load of the school

has been discussed widely in media, even in Parliament. After this study
I and most of my colleagues on the committee are convinced that the
more pernicious burden is that of non-comprehension…In fact, the sug-
gestion has been made to us that a significant fraction of children who
drop out may be those who refuse to compromise with non-comprehen-
sion – they are potentially superior to those who just memorise and do
well in examination, without comprehending very much! I personally
do believe that ‘very little, fully comprehended, is far better than a great
deal, poorly comprehended.’ [quotes in original]
Resurrected identity: mending an educational folly

The purpose of examinations and its impact, was revisited in several reforms
on assessment (AICTE, 2018). One significant leap was assessment of per-
formance through grading. The implementation of grading was new to the
assessment practice in schools (Prakash et al., 2000) in the early twenty-
first century. With a focus on learner-centred education, the National
Curriculum Framework 2005 ushered in an environment towards reim-
agining assessment and its practice (NCERT, 2005). The National Focus
Group Position Paper on Examination Reforms (NCERT, 2006) proposed
for structural and procedural changes in the examination system by suggest-
ing Comprehensive Continuous Evaluation (CCE) to counter the drill and
practice intensive procedures in use to meet the outcomes. The examination-
centric culture of tutoring and private classes, as an almost alternative sys-
tem to schooling, had emerged for preparing students for entry into elite
institutions such as Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes
of Management (IIMs), and premium medical and engineering colleges.
In contrast to the then predominant examination-centric learning, CCE
was conceptualised as a system of school-based evaluation, which was con-
tinual, periodic (before and during instruction) and comprehensive (includ-
ing scholastic and non-scholastic areas) using multiple modes of assessment.
Further, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE)
Act 2009 came into force in 2010, which brought CCE and Section 30(1) or
no detention policy (NDP) into implementation. Post implementation, con-
cerns were raised about CCE practices being not consonant with the NCF
2005 or RTE 2009 (Srinivasan, 2015) and not accounting for issues aris-
ing from socio-economic and cultural differences (Dhankar, 2017). Thus,
the implementation did not succeed in making a substantive dent as cor-
responding, systemic changes in school education and adequate prepara-
tion to handle the changes were missing (Sharma, 2017). The conflation
of (summative) assessment to performance and outcome driven high-stake
examinations eclipsed the valued reimagination of assessment as critical to
learning. In a recent move, the no detention policy was retracted with an
amendment in parliament on 3 January 2019. Schools can now detain stu-
dents in Classes 5 and 8, if they fail an annual exam twice. The complexity
surrounding the no detention policy rollback calls for introspection into
how policy decisions reconfigure assessment and learning (Mishra, 2017)
and study impact on educational discourse around concerns of access, qual-
ity, equity and social justice (Sharma, 2016).
In retracing the historic journey, the shifts seemed to be invested around
foreseeing the “problem of assessment” as questioning the purpose (or value)
of assessment. Although this interrogation helped us relate to the emotional,
social and political impacts of assessment on learners, it conspired to cre-
ate a lasting imprint of assessment as an “educational folly”. The larger
question connecting “educative purpose of assessments” with prospects of

bringing dynamicity to the educational system and practice either remained
latent, elusive or uncharted. Further, substantive damage occurred through
an epistemic confusion among Indian educationists and practitioners in a
synonymous and interchangeable internalisation of evaluation and assess-
ment. The epistemic commitment arising from the confusion carried over
in a mish-mash of modes, schemes and assessment practices. An elaborate
account of the differences can be accessed in Khunyakari (2016).
Reincarnated identity: quality, assessment and learning

With the penetration of neoliberal discourse in education, India set itself
on a path of establishing a global identity. India ranked 46 among 51 par-
ticipating countries in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science
Study (TIMSS) in 2003, where students from grades 4, 8 and 12 were tested
on mathematics and science (TIMSS, n.d.). Later, in 2009, India participated
in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study con-
ducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD), which tests performance of 15-year-old school children in math-
ematics, science and reading (PISA, n.d.). Students from two Indian states,
Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh, which ranked high on human develop-
ment indicators, participated in the study. India ranked 72 among the 74
low- and middle-income countries. It is clear that measures on such univer-
salised tests do not account for the textured differences arising from student
backgrounds, class, caste, and so on. However, the drive to be globally rec-
ognised has led India to re-commit participation in the PISA study in 2021.
The global fascination for evaluating the quality of education is aligned
with the neoliberal agenda where education is becoming increasingly com-
modified. To meet the challenge of global visibility, concerns in teaching
and learning have been foregrounded but through the lens of assessments
and testing. In the early millennium, efforts at both national and state lev-
els concerned evaluating the quality of learning through standardised test
instruments. The perspective re-shifted the focus of assessment to studying
the “health” or judging the extent of impact of educational interventions
rather than understanding learners and learning.
A National Achievement Survey (NAS) was conducted throughout the
country on 13 November 2017 with a representative sample of 1,10,000
schools from 701 districts in 36 states/union territories for grades 3, 5 and
8 in government and government-aided schools. NCERT conducted this
survey to evaluate the health of the education system using multiple test
booklets containing questions in mathematics, languages, sciences and the
social sciences. Along with the test items, questionnaires gathered informa-
tion about the students, teachers and schools. The findings from the study
were intended to guide education policy, planning and implementation at
the national, state, district and classroom levels for improving learning levels
of children and bring about qualitative improvements (for details, refer to
https://ncert.nic.in/src.php?ln=).
Test surveys conducted by Pratham, a civil society organisation, also
gained media attention during this period. Since 2005, an autonomous unit
of Pratham conducts and disseminates its findings as the Annual Status of
Education Report (ASER) documents. The ASER is an annual nationwide
survey conducted with the help of partnering organisations and volunteer-
ing citizen groups to track children’s ability to read and do basic arithmetic
using the ASER reading tool and the ASER arithmetic tool (ASER, n.d.). It
is so far the largest household survey involving more than 25,000 volun-
teers covering 700,000 children representing about 15,000 villages every
year. The findings from the survey provided annual information regarding
the learning levels or competencies of children in the age group 3–16 years
from sampled households in rural districts in the two subject domains of lit-
eracy and numeracy. The ASER studies have gained credence over the past
decade with findings being cited in education discourses in public spaces,
popular media, among policy makers and even educationists. The need for
such large-scale, assessment-oriented surveys has been justified as effective
utilisation of taxpayer’s money to ensure that the educational programmes
translate into desirable outcomes. The use of large-scale assessments for
monitoring, regulation and governance creates an alternative, modern face
of accountability, which is externally imposed and does not focus on the
classroom or teaching processes (see details at www.asercentre.org/NGO/
assessment/learning/education/outcomes/primary/reading/p/133.html).
Bureaucratic minding: policy foresight in NEP 2020

The bureaucratically minded perspective of “vision, mission and outcomes”
seemed to forego the historically amassed experiences from a tryst with
meanings of assessment in favour of the reincarnated identity of assessment
as a marker. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasised the aim
of transforming assessment for student development (GoI, 2020). It pro-
poses to establish a National Assessment Centre (NAC), called PARAKH
(Performance, Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic
development). The acronym in Hindi language implies testing (assessing)
one’s abilities or potentials. It also proposes school exams at grades 3, 5 and
8 by an external authority. At grades 10 and 12, school boards will con-
tinue to conduct the examinations. The imagination of holistic assessment
is captured through a progress card that will provide suggestions to parents
and teachers to help students make career choices. Besides, the National
Achievement Survey (NAS) and the State Achievement Survey (SAS) will
monitor the performances of students through standardised tests. The pol-
icy envisions mechanisms to boost regulatory, monitoring mechanisms for
tracking progress through the standardised assessment tests. The implicit

belief about ensuring quality in learning seems to be flowing out from regu-
larised and adaptive testing. One would have to wait to examine how this
bureaucratic imagination of assessment unfolds and manifests visible impact
for learners coming from diverse socio-economic, cultural backgrounds and
vulnerabilities, in the years to come.
Summary: Reconciling with the evolving identities

A sociohistoric journey on the changing faces of assessment and learning
reveals differences in the purpose of assessment. For instance, the movement
from a gatekeeping function of filtering talent for the purpose of admis-
sion, promotion, etc. to identifying cognitive evaluation of a learner in terms
of a hierarchy of cognitive skills for ensuring a mapping of achievements
in individual’s learning. While these earlier identities of assessment had a
direct impact on an individual learner within the larger scheme of educa-
tion, the present-day identity of assessment has grown around concerns of
accountability of educational systems. In contemporary reality, one notices
a conceptual reorientation through a greater thrust on assessment and learn-
ing which can be measured through student performances on large-scale,
standardised tests that serve as a proxy for quality. The struggle to arrive
at authentic and meaningful assessments continues, but the discourse on
assessment and learning reveals to us, among several other insights, a defini-
tive, pervasive perception resting on a social contract between the modern
enterprise of education and society. The outcomes on assessment set the
contours for educational purpose, defining success or achievement, ensuring
career trajectory and prospects for a learner and also serve as markers for
social recognition. The conceptual and practical challenges of addressing
issues of assessment in practice foregrounds the “burden” in learning.
An aspect critical to the evolving identities of assessment has been the cen-
trality of learning. Learning, being a planned activity, brings to discourse on
assessment, the vital agency of the teacher. It would be meaningful, there-
fore, to draw upon a pedagogue’s journey to understand and relate to the
possibilities explored for strengthening links between assessment and learn-
ing. In the next section, I will illustrate the linkages between assessment
and learning using the case of teaching the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
biomolecule to undergraduate students.
The case of teaching DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), often referred to as the master biomolecule,
is foundational to understanding a complex range of associated concepts
(structural features, cell functioning, gene concept, replication process,
etc.) central to biology and critical to developing an appreciation of the
life sciences. DNA symbolically, structurally and functionally embodies

knowledge that holds the key to understanding life. As a fundamental con-
cept, it deals with ideas about structure–function relationships, the historic
relation with developments in allied fields of biology, chemistry and phys-
ics, and retracing the process of its discovery provide a meta-sense of the
scientific enterprise. Further, the concept extends from secondary schooling
up until the higher levels of education. An understanding of DNA forms the
backbone for several higher order concepts like gene functioning, genetic
engineering, forensics, evolution, etc. DNA and its applications, through
the narratives from popular media, symbols and forensic cases, have built
an unparalleled familiarity with scientific ideas among the public at large.
Typically, school biology adopts a piecemeal approach to teaching the
structure and functioning of DNA by beginning with its component struc-
tures, then discussing the molecular composition, the model of B-DNA, its
functional properties and later the alternate forms in higher grades. The cur-
ricular content packaged and presented as facts, may lead learners to con-
strue science as information-laden, significant in terms of applications for
humankind. Naturally, the assessments at each level, are directed towards
checking the recall and comprehension of concepts.
The impression of science as a subject which has precise, definite tools and
an informed methodological approach to reliably study natural phenomena,
gets reinforced. In this scheme of curricular content, the role of pedagogy is
limited to transmission, and the function of assessment becomes checking
the correctness and reliability of ideas transmitted. The role of human strug-
gles, emotional engagement, handling of uncertainties, failures and building
on multiple ideas from different sources, often do not get discussed in the
teaching of sciences. The question then is, in what ways would teaching be
different in a context where content, pedagogy and assessment are signifi-
cantly intertwined? Earl (2003) argues that the challenge of foreseeing an
intertwining of curricular content, pedagogy and assessment call for conver-
gence of assessment as, for, and of learning within the context of practice.
Participants, settings and the context

To make a case for productive integration and use of assessment approaches
to support learning, I draw upon evidence from my teaching involving 60
social science undergraduates in a course on life sciences. The teaching
involved a variety of sources to anchor learning which included audio–video
snippets, activities inviting reflections, hands-on tasks, etc. which eventually
led to classroom discussions. While several activities involved whole-class
engagement, some involved working collaboratively with each group con-
taining three to four individuals.
The teaching involved not just presenting concepts but also integrat-
ing ideas and episodes from history, philosophy and sociology of science.
While such an integration contributed to unpacking some epistemological

foundations concerning the scientific process, the hands-on activities and
discussions provided opportunities for connecting with real-world events,
societal issues, encouraged problem solving and enabled making some
interdisciplinary connections (Wilcoxson, Romanek & Wivagg, 1999).
Though the teaching experience relates to undergraduates, the illustrative
case has ideas to offer to practitioners for restructuring their pedagogic
design as well as for those engaged in teacher preparation programmes
where connections between content, pedagogy and assessment need
foregrounding.
Synchronising assessment for learning

Several concepts in the sciences are abstract in nature and call for an expe-
riential or a modelled reinforcement for their meaningful internalisation.
DNA is a case example of an abstract concept. It’s discovery historically
posed a challenge for scientists. The problems in the teaching of DNA are
many. For learners, a physical model may help internalise the structural
features of the molecule. The aspects of functioning are often deliberated
as explanations based on the structure. Models may well turn out to be
exclusionary with the structural imagination as a “given”. In reconstructing
a model, the aspects of visuospatial thinking are assumed to be deciphered
with structural properties (arrangement, orientation, etc.), propagating the
thesis that “form guides function”. On the other hand, if the learners are
provided with components and not given any blueprints for making, the
model may well bear an “emergent” property, encouraging learners to deci-
pher the assembling, thereby supporting an iterative linkage between struc-
ture and function. The possible structural outcomes that learners may arrive
at from a different assembling of components serves as a context for assess-
ment and the handling of alternative ideas.
Adults often assume 3-dimensionality (3-D) emerged from 3-D material
modelling. However, while teaching it was interesting to note that the learn-
ers’ use of 2-D representations for making a 3-D model not just helped
in internalising the structure–function relations but also addressed alterna-
tive arrangements, paving ways for strengthening conceptual understand-
ing. Observations and inputs during the formative process of developing
a model helped synchronise assessment for learning. After discussing the
story of the discovery of DNA, particularly the alternate models of 1-, 3-
and 4-stranded DNA, the question raised was – why was it so difficult to
get to the structure when we had known the details of components, namely,
deoxyribose sugar, phosphate group and a nitrogenous base? This question
in biology alludes to a compelling parallel of gestalten in psychology of
perception. To be able to appreciate this, let me briefly describe the task and
learners’ engagement with the task.
The participants worked in groups of three to four individuals. Each

group was expected to cut the various shapes (shown in Figure 6.2a–d)
and glue them by exactly matching the corresponding symbol spots (for
instance, the star symbol on component 1 say, deoxyribose sugar molecule,
is glued over the star symbol of component 2 say, phosphate group) (see
Figure 6.2e). While the molecular outline and symbol combination may
seemingly construe the exercise of modelling as a mechanical activity, inter-
esting questions emerged from teams entrusted with the exercise.
Some questions that repeatedly came up after joining the three compo-
nents were, “We have joined the parts but where do we glue this ladder? Do
we have a stick or a board on which we stick this part?” These questions
bring out the persistent, canonical imagery of DNA anchored on a stick, a
base or placed on some planar surface. I asked groups to join the three com-
ponents and place it on the floor once they are done. I gave the same colour
(blue) to two groups and asked them to colour their outcomes. I went to the
other three groups and asked them not to glue the points between nitrog-
enous base pairs (see Figure 6.3b). The request for an incomplete struc-
ture from these groups led to a group discussion about why such a request
was made. After completion, all the groups placed their piece of DNA on
the floor and were requested to name their group work (see Figure 6.3c).
I requested them to count the base pairs, write it in brackets, and place
this label besides their production, so that we could identify each specific
group’s work. Groups quickly realised that they could connect parts and
make a long chain. They used the spare components left over to join all the
parts into a continuous string. But as they were joining, students noticed
that the molecule was deviating towards the right side. Some even said it
aloud, “Something’s not right, the molecule is moving on its right. It should
be a ladder!” I asked them to continue joining and made all students stand
in a straight line beside the continuous molecule. The deviation was evident.
I requested the students to add the total base pairs to get a sense of the mol-
ecule length.
This “emergent” model had started raising curiosity among learners. It
could be concretely used to demonstrate a larger constellation of concepts.
I engage with a few here to drive home my point on assessment for learn-
ing. The fact that we did not glue the group’s productions onto a concrete
support made students imagine the molecule in 3-D cell nucleus. Further,
the bonding pattern afforded a structural arrangement that demonstrated
the natural inclination of molecule to turn and spiral on its right. I asked
some students standing beside the molecule to carefully lift the molecule and
turn it on its right from one loose end. The turning resulted in two distinc-
tive space volumes at the point of turn, namely the micro-groove and the
macro-groove, which can account for sub-molecular associations. Placing
the model back on the floor allows explanation of two important ideas,
namely, the gene concept and the replication process. Incidentally, the two
134
Ritesh Khunyakari
Figure 6.2 Resource provided for paper modelling of DNA structure. Source: Author
Figure 6.3 Learning concepts around DNA through a modelling engagement. Source: Author
groups who had coloured their parts placed their productions at different
places in the continuous model. Gene as a conceptual idea became evident
when we discussed about how spatially separate parts of the DNA may be
responsible for some specific function. Now, just like our coloured por-
tions, the gene responsible for a protein expression may occupy two distant
spaces, yet together be responsible for the functional expression of a protein.
Attending to this understanding of gene, not just as a mere component of
DNA, but as conceptualised by the function it manifests, became grounded.
In fact, students on their own measured the number of base pairs and con-
cluded that the gene we are discussing will therefore be of so many base
pairs. The complexity of introns and exons in gene functioning could be
dealt later. The imagination of replication process involving steps of activity
of polymerases and free nucleotides could also be initiated for a discussion
through the model. Thus, a variety of related concepts could be clarified and
discussed through the model.
Reflections on assessment of learning

Typically, tests examine learner’s assimilation of knowledge. Students, in
this case, were able to reflect on a structural sequence of a part of DNA
and explain the correct complementary sequence. Students were also able to
explain detailed steps of replication of a DNA molecule. Analysing student
responses to a wide spectrum of ideas brought out a sense of internalised

understanding. Some evidences come from an affective attachment with the
class outcome. Students took photographs along with the DNA model (see
Figure 6.3d) and posted it on social media. They decided to make turns to
the DNA molecule and stick the spiral molecule on a wall in their class (see
Figure 6.3e). They called it, “Class DNA”. It was interesting to overhear
students speak to each other, “Why were we not taught DNA like this?” A
student used a computer programme to create a structure by which you can
remove the sugar–phosphorus bonds and just see the arrangement of base
pairs within a model sequence. He demonstrated an angular rotation on his
laptop screen to highlight the macro- and micro-grooves. Later, I learned
that several students were able to lay their hands on the autobiographies of
Wilkins, Crick and Watson. They read feminist perspectives on works of
Franklin and the works of Levene. Such evidences demonstrate that inte-
grating assessment with learning can also open newer gateways for learners.
Invoking assessment as learning

While assessment of learning (summative) and assessment for learning
(formative) are measurable through instruments such as tests, tasks, etc.
and are often discussed widely, little is spoken about assessment as learning.
Some manifestations of assessment as learning occur not just in activities
but also the substance and process of learning. A fundamental change in the
world-view of the nature of science is rendered possible through a reflective
negotiation with content which is otherwise assumed to be fixed and fac-
tual. An attention to some other features that were prominently uncovered
from my consecutive years of teaching about the DNA molecule are detailed
below.
(a) Complex character of knowledge engagement: Often, narratives are

argued as helpful means to draw learner attention, situate knowledge
ideas and make relevant connections. The pitfall, however, is that those
narratives may project a sequence of episodes as obvious, following
a predetermined storyline or a rational logic. This may happen, par-
ticularly, while eulogising milestones that have shaped our present-day
knowledge. For instance, in the case of the discovery of the DNA mol-
ecule, we can build a narrative around the earliest finding of “nuclein”
in white blood cells of pus in surgical bandages by Johann Freidrich
Meischer in 1869. From this observation, we often jump to structural
details of components and their arrangement that comprise the mol-
ecule. There is a passing reference to Chargaff’s law as substantive evi-
dence. Depending on who is narrating the story, a few select aspects of
interest may get added. But, rarely do we raise ideas, questions of inter-
est, dilemmas, mental blocks, hypotheses, explanations and alternatives
around that time. Interests generated through isolated episodes often

fail to capture scientific dilemmas and conceptual crossroads con-
fronted by the scientific community at large, not just individuals. A
punctuated narrative can raise questions such as – why did it take 84
long years for discovery of the DNA structure, although Meischer had
identified nuclein to be a nucleoprotein, had found relative percentage
of nitrogen (14%) and phosphorous (2.5%), and also predicted it be a
substance of sui-generis?
A deeper engagement with the history and philosophy of science allows us

to relive the episodes along with the contexts and dilemmas around that
time (Allchin, 2013). In the spirit of Clandinin and Connelly’s (1999) work,
unfiltered stories told and retold allow meaningful experiencing by relating
to others, and reflecting on their actions and thoughts. The social aspects
in growth of knowledge create scope for discussions on how elements of
fortuitous rediscoveries, power relations, politics, friendship, betrayal, con-
flict, frustration and dismay happened along with progression and scientific
triumph.
(b) Formative idea of discipline: We speak of biology as a subject and the

need for multi-disciplinary connections (with mathematics, physics,
chemistry, etc.). From the historical narrative, it is clear that insights
about DNA structure came from a variety of disciplinary sources –
chemical analysis of molecular subcomponents by Phoebus Levene,
calculated ratio of base pairs by Erwin Chargaff, crystallised struc-
tural examination by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins involv-
ing instrumental physics, protein structure by Linus Pauling and so on.
Thus, the growth and identity of biology owes itself to thinking from
eclectic disciplines. In fact, a meaningful connection of knowing and
connecting insights across fields led to the DNA discovery as has been
voiced by the discoverers themselves.
Mainly because of this they had missed the pairing of the bases and
they had completely overlooked the significance of Chargaff’s rules.
(Dr. Crick, 1974)
Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins at King’s College in Lon-
don had a general idea of what DNA looked like at the time but also
overlooked the base rules… They had done no proper model building.
(Watson’s talk at Cold Spring Harbor Lab, 1999)
(c) Best minds and scientific discoveries are not “perfect”: Although the
information about structural and chemical components of the DNA
molecule were discovered and advanced by Phoebus Levene, he derived
a 4-stranded structure around 1910. Also, Linus Pauling had discov-
ered the protein structure and with Robert Corey (1953) proposed a
3-stranded structure (Pauling & Corey, 1953). These developments
played a critical role in uncovering the model of DNA as a biomol-

ecule. Just a few months later, Watson and Crick (1953) announced
their double stranded molecular structure through their journal article
in Nature. Even the discoverers had erroneously suggested 3, instead
of 2 nitrogenous bonds between A and T. Later, when empirical evi-
dence came to the fore, they corrected their idea of bonding pattern in
their double helical model. The tentativeness and evolving character
of scientific knowledge, evident through these episodes, are a part of
the process of DNA discovery. Thus, history reveals that science, often
considered as constituting factual knowledge, is an ongoing, active
human process (Eichman, 1996), prone to tentativeness and errors.
(d) Relation between evidence and scientific claim: Several ideas about
structure and functioning were proposals or conjectures which became
established later with empirical studies. For instance, the paper by
Watson and Crick (1953) had conjectured about the role of structure
in the replication process. In the discussion of experimental evidences,
learners can be invited to design experimental set-ups and conjecture
their possible outcomes. Frequently, I have either raised questions of
interest to science at that time or projected visuals to encourage learn-
ers to anticipate the steps in experimentation and later discussed the
possible outcomes. Such a process of contemplating ideas offers learn-
ers space to identify and relate to observations and the logic of findings
in the classical experiments. Such an approach to encouraging learners
to imagine, challenge and initiate them to take risks in thinking allows
for a nuanced connect with assessment as learning.
Harping from an integration of learning with assessing

The pedagogic discourse initiated not merely a narrative of sequential unfold-
ing of historic milestones but also richness of experiences through related
stories about people, their conflicts and struggles providing greater mean-
ing and purpose to understanding the discovery of the DNA molecule. The
“emergent” modelling experiences also supplemented as means for assess-
ing to inform learning. Teaching learning as a mediated activity involves
the content, learners and the teacher. It therefore follows that assessments
would inform the learner, teacher and the very activity of engagement.
Table 6.1 attempts to achieve a dual purpose. On one hand, it captures
the tight coherence and inter-contingencies between content, pedagogy
and assessment (recall Figure 6.1a). On the other hand, the table provides
a snapshot of how the three assessment approaches could be integrated
with the learning discourse. For each of the approaches, there seem to be
explicit and implicit internalisations, which have been detailed through
exemplified aspects of teaching about DNA. The reference points identify
strategies and expectations that would enable realisation of an assessment
Table 6.1 Assessment as, of and for learning exemplified in the case of DNA teaching and in relation to Earl’s (2003) characterisation (cf. grey
rows)
Approach Aspects focused in teaching & learning Reference points Key assessor
Assessment of Judgements about the extent of knowing, placement, promotion, Other students Teacher
Learning credentials, etc.
Explicit internalisation Understanding bonding of deoxyribose sugar with phosphate group Collaboratively built Teacher and
and nitrogenous bases, antiparallel strands, base pairs as length model and responses to students
measure, macro- and micro-grooves, gene concept, semi- questions
conservative replication and basis for genetic inheritance
Implicit internalisation Socio-scientific aspects of the discovery of the DNA molecule, Readings Teacher
dependency of insights from diverse observational and
experimental data
Assessment for Information for teachers’ instructional decisions External standards or Teacher
Learning expectations
Explicit internalisation Assembling leading to spiral structural outcomes, 3-D imagery, Behavioural actions Students and
conceptualising gene, length extension of DNA, and steps in with regard to model teacher
process of semi-conservative replication structure
Implicit internalisation Repetitive structure resulting in regular pattern with turns at Sketches, programming Students
definite lengths model rotations
Assessment as Self-monitoring and self-correction or adjustment Personal goals and external Student
Learning standards
Explicit internalisation Formative understanding of scientific knowledge, correspondence Readings, peer discussions, Peers
of the modelled structure with the diffraction pattern of Rosalind response to questions
Franklin’s X-ray diffraction plate in class
Implicit internalisation Connecting ideas across disciplines, experiment-claim-evidence Resources, questions, and Teacher and
relation to be fluid and non-linear, role of chance and human episodes within narrative supporting
factors such as friendship, betrayal, politics, etc. in developing evidential
science resources
Source: Author
approach to be achieved. The last column on key assessor indicates how

assessment may effectively be handled to achieve the aspects intended to
be assessed.
It is interesting to note that assessment as learning can be facilitated
through peers and can form a means for discussing the interpretations from
the readings. It is often informed that Franklin’s X-ray photographic plate
provided the empirical evidence for a double helix model. However, encour-
aging learners to explain the reasons for how it makes the plate an evidence
results in active data interpretations, leading to weighing up the alternative
structural formulations of the DNA model. The case of the teaching of DNA
argues for consciously attending to all three approaches to assessment and
establishing an interdependent, iterative connection between curriculum,
pedagogy and assessment.
Concluding thoughts: mix of turmoil and hope

The discourse on assessment suggests that the understanding around assess-
ment is more like a shifting target which has been changing over the years.
However, what has remained common is the consistent relation of assess-
ment for the purpose of accountability. The predominant emphasis on
communicative and managerial purposes over the pedagogical purpose con-
tinues to this day. The present policy of education seeks to harp on instru-
menting assessment as a means of securing quality. This vision for the future
is rather unsettling as assessment shifts from relating to learners to becom-
ing a means for judging the effectiveness of education. The possibilities of
conceptual enrichment mediated through pedagogic discourses, interactions
with materials, problem situations and collaborative dialogues seem to be
missing in this larger narrative. Black (2000) cautions us about the tempting
yet limited understanding gained from assessment survey exercises. He calls
for greater investment in classroom assessment which can motivate further
research and development.
If we were to turn back to the global scenario and understand what has
really paid off well in terms of harnessing the benefits of assessment, it is
heartening to find that countries such as Finland who do not push their
students through the rigmarole of frequent standardised testing and filtering
tend to succeed in bringing the best out of their students, even in tests of
quality like the TIMSS and PISA. These countries converge their attention
on pedagogies for meaningful engagement and make assessment integral
with learning. The extensive work by Kimbell and Stables (2007) in the UK
context emphasises the need for using authentic, performance assessments
to gain insights into the capability of learners (as opposed to competence or
skills) and strengthen the interrelationship between teaching, learning and
assessment. Attending to this aspect of global wisdom raises hope for mak-
ing education effective and meaningful.
The question for us, then, is whether frequent evaluations would help
us steer the quality of learning or should we, instead, develop connections
between teaching, learning and assessment which will aid in crafting learn-
ing and maximise achievements? The former is a path of economic invest-
ment, monitoring and control guided by outcomes. The latter is an intensive
approach requiring teacher agency in enculturing critical learning engage-
ments (Wragg, 2001), involving pupils in assessment processes that encourage
evaluative and metacognitive skills, acknowledging social and cultural back-
grounds (Gipps, 1999). Research (Suskie, 2009; Shepard, 2000) in the field
seems to favour the latter. In addition to this understanding, we need to recall
the observations made in the LwB report bringing our attention to an exces-
sive overloading of information and non-comprehension of ideas as critical
roadblocks to learning. If we were to reasonably attend to these concerns, the
perceived burden arising from co-working of the three parallel systems (text-
books, syllabus and examination) could be adequately challenged, altered and
mindfully addressed. Both the vision of, and the dividends from, contempo-
rary educational discourse rests on the path we choose at this juncture.
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Chapter 7
Learning without Burden in the Era

of Connected Computers
Amit Dhakulkar
Introduction
The report titled Learning without Burden (LwB) (GoI, 1993) was pub-
lished in 1993. It is relatively short and discusses the problems of curricular
load, its roots and finally gives its recommendations to address some of the
problems. Though the report is now more than 25 years old, most of the
issues it raises are neither addressed fully, nor is their relevance any less
today.
When the report was written, computers were a scarce resource and hence
the report barely mentions computers. If at that time, someone had sug-
gested that computers could be used in school teaching, it would have been
laughed off as an impractical daydream. But now, 25 years later, we have an
unprecedented proliferation of computers in all aspects of our lives. (Note:
here and in the rest of the chapter by computers we mean not only desktops
or laptops, but also smartphones and tablets.) With the ongoing rise of pow-
erful smartphones the idea that computers can be used for learning does not
seem that unrealistic anymore. In addition to this, the COVID-19 pandemic
has made the use of computers for teaching-learning in various forms an
unavoidable necessity.
In this chapter, we explore how some of the issues raised by LwB can be
addressed by use of connected computers. We focus particularly on three
areas from LwB, namely, the problems of textbooks (and other teaching-
learning materials), “joyless learning” and assessments. So, keeping in mind
these three themes, let us ask ourselves this question: what has changed in
the last 25 years about these issues? Have we got our children to carry fewer
books or have we managed to reduce their cognitive load? Have we funda-
mentally redesigned our textbooks to address local contexts and languages?
Have we changed assessments or examinations in any way so that it is not
rote learning and memory based? Answers to all these questions are mostly
negative. It is not to say that no improvements have been made post-imple-
mentation of the National Curriculum Framework 2005, though if you look
at the larger picture these improvements appear mostly cosmetic in nature.
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059-9
Learning without Burden in the Era of Connected Computers 145
We will look at each of these themes in the context of connected computers.

We discuss each of these themes in the coming sections, identify the prob-
lems raised by LwB and determine their historical and technological roots
and see how the new technology can potentially address them.
Joyless learning
The basic premise of LwB can be described in a single sentence.
“a lot is taught, but little is learnt or understood”

(GoI, 1993, p. 4)
So, if something is being taught, why are the students not learning? That is
the question that the report tries to address. One of the roots of the problem
is the fact “learning” has lost its meaning. Most of our school education has
become a chore for both students as well as teachers. The phrase that the
LwB report uses to describe this state of affairs is “joyless learning”. What
they mean by this is the fact that neither the teachers nor the students feel
joy in learning and the entire process is focused on preparing the students
for examinations.
They (students) are daily socialised to look upon education as mainly

a process of preparing for examinations. No other motivation seems to
have any legitimacy.
(GoI, 1993, p. 5)
We thus see all the “joy” from learning has been removed, and what remains
is the ritual of preparing for the examinations.
The burden of learning

The picture showing children going to schools with their bags fully loaded
with books as shown in Figure 7.1 above is a typical one. Very young chil-
dren, even those in the pre-primary grades carry large school bags. The fact
that children are carrying such physical loads to school is directly related to
the amount of things they have to study: the cognitive load. And yet, even
with so much studying, the children do not seem to learn.
The fact that children are carrying huge loads to school and back has
become normalised in our times. The thinking seems to be that since the syl-
labi and the textbooks are designed and created by “experts” it must have
been thought through. For the physical aspect of the load, computers offer
a relatively simple solution. You can load an entire library of thousands of
books into a very small physical space. And it need not be limited to books
146 Amit Dhakulkar
Figure 7.1 The load of learning. Source: Author
Figure 7.2 The XO Laptop from the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Project was specifically
designed keeping children in mind. Source: Author
with pictures and text, one can have a variety of media stored in a very
small form factor, for example your smartphone or a laptop (Figure 7.2).
With the proliferation of connected computers, that is computers with
internet access, more and more people are having unprecedented access to
knowledge and information. So, this is the easy way to solve the “physi-
cal” part of the learning. But it does not address the problem of cognitive
load which represents a much deeper problem in the way the entire system
of education is constructed. The phrase in LwB, “a lot is taught, but little
is learnt or understood” succinctly represents the problem. The syllabus
writers assume a normative child for a given age. Though this may have
some empirical basis, it may be mostly historical in nature. For example,
let us say we take a child in Class 6. Now, any child in Class 6 is supposed
to know some things (for example, what is the capital of India?), and sup-
posed to have certain cognitive and physical skills. A child who can fulfil
all such desiderata is the “normative” child. So seen in this way, the aim of
school education seems to be to guide a child to a “normative” state. But
what is the basis for deciding what a Class 6 child should know? What do
you make of the fact that many children who are in Class 6 cannot read or
write?
The syllabi and textbooks are created with a single “normative” child in
mind. It is a one size fits all approach. They do not do well for children who
are not at par or below the level of the normative child. It is this incongruity
combined with other aspects of alienation, socioeconomic aspects, access
to resources, and state of schools and teachers which is responsible for the
failure of the system as a whole. The historical roots for such a state of
affairs are the technologies available at that time. One simply cannot design
textbooks, learning tasks and assessments to suit each learner without using
the digital technologies which will lead to personalisation of the learning
process at the individual level.
The problem of textbooks

School textbooks in the Indian context are at the core of the educational
system. The textbooks permeate every aspect of the educational process,
Krishna Kumar aptly describes this as a “textbook culture” (Kumar, 1988).
School textbooks in the colonial era represented central control, and they
do even now, with the actual stakeholders (teachers, students) having little
or no say in the processes they participate in. For most students and teach-
ers “the textbook is the only accessible and affordable curriculum resource”
(NCERT, 2006, p. 19).
And in general textbooks are “fact” driven rather than making learners
think. This in turn is directly related to the examinations.
If ‘facts’ or ‘information’ constitute the main burden of an examination,

the same is true of textbooks. Barring exceptions, our textbooks appear
to have been written primarily to convey information or ‘facts’, rather
than to make children think and explore.
(GoI, 1993, p. 7)
148 Amit Dhakulkar
Similarly, the language of the textbooks is often centralised and formal. This
creates a barrier for children who often find the language of the textbook
alien to their own.
An artificial, sophisticated style dominates textbook lessons, reinforcing

the tradition of distancing knowledge from life. The language used in
textbooks, thus, deepens the sense of ‘burden’ attached to all school-
related knowledge
(GoI, 1993, p. 10)
Most of the content and contexts of the school textbooks do not take into
account the local contexts which students experience in their everyday lives.
Both of these issues, language and content, originate from the centralised
production of textbooks in physical print format. The textbooks produced
thus cannot be fine-tuned in terms of language or local contexts. The same
is true for most of the teaching-learning materials (TLMs) other than text-
books which are available in schools. It is a one size fits all approach to
producing TLMs (including textbooks). The entire process is a static one,
once produced the textbooks are unchanged for years, even when obvious
faults and problems are discovered.
In contrast to this, digital media production and reproduction can be a
dynamic process. The digital textbooks can be updated and adapted to local
contexts, and in some cases even individual demands. The modern digital
textbook can be interactive, with updated content, decentralised with local
context, with multiple languages and media. Many of the traditional ideas
about textbooks are being challenged and addressed successfully. For exam-
ple, see the various implementations of the open textbook projects. Such
open textbooks can be adapted to meet the demands of local language and
contexts. This of course is not possible without supporting a framework of
licenses which allow for reuse and remixing of content.
The copyleft movement and its licenses has created an alternative frame-
work for sharing digital resources which have given rise to unprecedented
levels of access to information to everyone. The creation of Open Educational
Resources (OERs) has made it possible for anyone to access and use quality
materials from anywhere in the world. There are several OER repositories
which have exhaustive listings: OER Commons (https://www.oercommons
.org), and National Repository of OER (NROER). Seen in this way, the cen-
tralised static textbooks and TLMs that are a part of the legacy of textbook
culture can be surely challenged and made into a decentralised and localised
project which can be meaningful to the learners.
Joyful learning
The LwB report laments that most learning is “joyless”. In this section, we
will see how technology can create learning contexts which are relevant
and “joyful”. We will look at episodes from two projects that the author
has worked with, namely, One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) and Connected
Learning Initiative (CLIx). The theoretical framework of constructionism
proposed by Seymour Papert (Papert, 1980; Papert & Harel, 1991) forms
the basis of this discussion. Papert posits that “learning to learn” is one of
the most important and powerful ideas that children can be exposed to.
According to Papert:
The kind of knowledge children most need is the knowledge that will
help them get more knowledge.
(Papert, 1994)
So, we need to design learning environments which allow the learners to

gain knowledge that will help them get more knowledge. Microworlds are
such learning environments (Noss & Hoyles, 2017; Rieber, 2004). Papert
(1987) describes a microworld as “a simplified piece of reality which you
can explore, and again there’s no right or wrong”. The microworlds make
learning visible to the learner through immediate feedback on actions,
allowing debugging in context of personally meaningful projects.
Though the idea of microworlds is not new, the implementation of these
have not been as widespread as one would have expected. Instead we have
the idea of using new technology to do things that were done with the old
technology. There are several extant examples of this. For example, consider
the problem of cake cutting as given in the textbook to illustrate the concept
of ratio. Now, when using technology this might be converted exactly as it is
in a digital form. This does not create any radically new learning opportuni-
ties for the learner, and the affordances of technology are not fully utilised
in this example. Whereas in the real world, the cakes most of the time are
never cut as shown in the idealised versions of the textbooks (Figure 7.3).
In the constructionist framework, instead of using such programmes, the
learner would create them. In Papert’s vision
Figure 7.3 The textbook and real-world cake cutting. Source: Author

150 Amit Dhakulkar
the child programs the computer and, in doing so, both acquires a sense
of mastery over a piece of most modern and powerful technology and
establishes an intimate contact with some of the deepest ideas from sci-
ence, mathematics, and from the art of intellectual model building.
(Papert, 1980)
Episodes, such as the cake cutting described above, involving the use of new
technology to do things the old way is termed as the “QWERTY effect”
(Papert, 1980). In such cases, the practices originating from a particular
technology outlive the technology and persist with a newer technology
only because of historical reasons. A simple but pervasive example of the
QWERTY effect that is seen as so obvious in the schools is the case of writ-
ing with a pen or pencil. Children are made to drill writing each letter of the
alphabet 500 times in their notebooks. Such drill goes on for about the first
three to four years (maybe more) of their school lives, and yet the results
are often disappointing (Figure 7.4). Writing a full sentence, without any
mistakes, can be a challenge for a Class 6 child (remember the “normative”
child). The physical dexterity and cognitive load that is required to con-
struct a coherent and correct sentence is perhaps too demanding for most
children. And this is directly expressed in terms of how they perform in the
exams and are assessed, as most of the assessments happen in a written form
in a limited time.
And if we ask ourselves this question: what is exactly being learnt here?
The skill of writing a script by hand or ability to communicate via a lan-
guage? Perhaps till very recently the two aspects were intertwined in a
manner that they were seen as equivalent. Given that there was no other
technology available for doing this say 50 years ago, the only way was to do
Figure 7.4 Writing with a pen is a difficult skill. Source: Author

Figure 7.5 Typing with a computer. Source: Author
writing practice. But this is no longer the case. Compare this to typing on
a computer (Figure 7.5). Our experience in the OLPC project in India has
shown that even primary level children can learn to type both Devanagari
and Roman scripts using a computer keyboard within a couple of months
with continuous access to computers.
Yet, we insist on teaching children writing by hand. Why? Because we
want them to learn keeping in mind a technology that is fast losing its rel-
evance (a QWERTY effect!). But in the current era, when more and more of
our communication is becoming digital, we should rather focus on allowing
them to work on the computer to talk to each other. This way the ability to
communicate language develops naturally. As an example of a contextual
learning of typing we presented learners with various writing challenges in
CLIx project. In each of the writing challenges the responses of the learners
or group of learners were unique which entails collaborative learning via a
zone of proximal development (Dhakulkar, Shaikh & Nagarjuna, 2018).
Some examples of microworlds include TurtleBlocks (https://turtle.sug-
arlabs.org/), Scratch (https://scratch.mit.edu/), GeoGebra (www.geogebra
.org/) and NetLogo (https://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/) which provide
excellent learning opportunities for learners to create meaningful arte-
facts. The online galleries of these applications provide a glimpse of what
is possible.
Assessments
The final theme we discuss is assessments. In a way, assessments remain at
the core of any educational process. Assessments generally take the form of
examination systems which rely heavily on rote memorisation as a measure
of learning. They are not experiential in nature and are rigid and highly
bureaucratic. The annual examinations have become institutionalised ritu-
als, and preparing for them seems to be the only purpose in which the entire
structure and processes of schools exists. As LwB remarks:
152 Amit Dhakulkar
The major, well-understood defect of the examination system is that it

focuses on children’s ability to reproduce information to the exclusion
of the ability to apply concepts and information on unfamiliar, new
problems, or simply to think... what really matters in education is the
score one gets in the final examination.
(GoI, 1993, pp. 6–7)
Given such dependency of exams on rote memorisation, any educational

reform without corresponding change in assessments is bound to fail.
It (examinations) can also be the way to wreck a new program – keep

the old exams, or try to correlate students’ progress with success in old
exams.
(Rogers, 1969, emphasis added)
This is a multifaceted problem indeed. But some of the roots of this lie in
the nature of technology for assessment and the QWERTY effect. Written
exams in a given time, where all students answer the same questions comes
from an era where individualised exams or assessments were not possible.
So many progressive educational reforms have been applied to teaching
methods only while assessments were largely insulated from these reforms,
hence leading to a status quo in the overall system.
So, how can the use of connected computers challenge this status quo?
We list major ways in which connected computers can help in assessing the
learners.
Self-assessment: connected computers can very well facilitate self-assess-

ment. One way to achieve this is to enable learners to maintain
electronic journals (digital portfolios) which keep a record of their
learning activities. In this way not only the product but the process of
learning is also captured. And such journals help the learners to look
at their own learning process and the progress that they have made
over time – learning to learn. In the case of OLPC, the Sugar Labs
operating system records the activities which learners can revisit. In
the case of CLIx, some of the modules implemented this using self-
reflection questions at the end of each session. A collection of such
answers over time will enable the learners to assess themselves and
how they have fared.
Peer assessment: when the artefacts are shared with other learners the scope
for peer learning becomes possible. This can be in the form of comments
given to the work that was shared.
Mentor assessment: mentors can have access to the work done by learners
and can give them feedback. This can also be a part of the assessment
done by mentors.
Standardised assessment: online platforms have already been used for

standardised assessments, though they mostly replicate physical assess-
ments. For example, only giving objective type questions. We need to
make full use of the potential of connected computers to make assess-
ments more meaningful.
Other than these, artificial intelligence–based solutions can offer fine-tuned

and nuanced feedback to the learners.
COVID-19 and NEP 2020

Two major events happened in the year 2020 which will have a long-term
impact on education at all levels. The first one was a global phenome-
non: the COVID-19 pandemic, while the other event was specific to India:
the release of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 (2020). In this
section, we revisit the three themes that we have earlier discussed in the
light of these two events. First, we look at how the COVID-19 pandemic
affected the teaching-learning process, and discuss the long-term implica-
tions of it.
Covid-19 and its impact on the teaching-learning process

The Covid-19 pandemic took the world by surprise and necessitated changes
in our behavioural patterns and modalities of work and education processes.
The pandemic, through its exponential spread in a very short time, necessi-
tated drastic action to stem the spread such as lockdowns, quarantines, and
use of masks in public spaces and hand hygiene.
One of the first major impacts that COVID-19 had on education in India
was the closing of schools with the start of the lockdown in March 2020.
This perhaps was the first time in recent history that entire educational insti-
tutions were prevented from normal functioning. Initially it was thought
that the lockdown might last only for two to three weeks, but it was clear
by April that the lockdown may last for several months. This realisation led
to an en masse overnight shift to online learning. This event forced both
teachers and students to adapt whatever resources they had at their disposal
to conduct the online classes. This change was a drastic one given that there
was no preparedness in terms of planning, infrastructure or the technologi-
cal penetration among the stakeholders.
Perhaps one can even say the COVID-19 pandemic played a role of a cat-
alyst in changing many of the practices of online teaching that would have
taken a decade or so otherwise to happen. For example, the complete shift
to online teaching might have been delayed citing some reason or other,
while the pandemic forced people to start working for online solutions. But
such an ad hoc adoption of online mode has had its problems.
154 Amit Dhakulkar
Technology and infrastructure

The first obvious problem is the digital divide. Online education can only
be effective if all the participants are at par with the technology and the
infrastructure they have access to, that is to say that there is a last mile
access. For example, if the internet or the electricity fails during an online
class, how will the learning take place? To switch to such an online mode
of teaching and learning, a robust infrastructure needs to be present at all
levels. Without this prerequisite being in place, the divide between the dif-
ferent socioeconomic classes will only increase and those at the lower end
will suffer the most. Many learners suffered because of this.
Textbooks and other materials

Since the online mode was unplanned, most of the teachers just adapted
their methods of regular classroom teaching to the online mode. The class
notes were converted to slideshows and the computer screen replaced the
blackboard in the school. But the basic nature of the teaching-learning pro-
cess did not change from the classroom mode. As already discussed in the
previous sections, the digital modality was not utilised to the fullest. It is
an example of the QWERTY effect when people don’t want to give up.
Though a systematic review of both teachers and students at all levels is
needed, much of it was done by the schools and teachers at their own level.
An overarching framework which can provide support to both the teachers
and the learners was missing.
How has the teaching-learning process changed in the online mode?
Though learners could perhaps shift to the online mode much faster than
the teachers (remember that young learners adapt to new technologies much
faster than the teachers), whether such an online-only mode of learning
should be continued in the future remains to be seen. Perhaps a comprehen-
sive study on the perception of learners, teachers and parents could be done
to gauge the perspectives on this matter.
Assessments
Assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic were done in an ad hoc man-
ner. Anecdotal evidence suggests that teachers used whatever means they
could find to do the assessments, proving that they were not at all prepared
to conduct the assessments in an online manner. Some of the teachers used
Google forms for taking assessments, while others simply gave questions
and asked answers to be typed out in documents and submitted. One of the
worries was cheating during the online assessments, this further suggests
that we should have assessments which are not based on memory but com-
petencies and skills. Hopefully with the NEP 2020 in place, we will be better
prepared to deal with such circumstances in the future.
Overall, the COVID-19 situation was handled by the teachers as well

as learners and their parents to the best of their ability with limited infra-
structure and almost non-existent frameworks in place regarding online
learning. Of course, many things could have been done better, but this
experience has taught us that it would be possible to shift to online mode
for a majority of classes. Perhaps an online plus face-to-face mode for prac-
tical and skill based learning would be a way forward in the future. In the
next section we look at some aspects of NEP 2020 in context of our discus-
sions so far.
A critical analysis of NEP 2020

The NEP 2020 (GoI, 2020) is a vision document that heavily stresses the
use of technology in education in all aspects. Though an overarching docu-
ment, the NEP 2020 leaves out several crucial aspects relating to the three
themes we have discussed: educational resources, software and assessments.
New modes of learning and assessments supported by technology fit into
the vision of NEP 2020. The NEP 2020 also recognises the importance of
learning to learn:
it is becoming increasingly critical that children not only learn, but more
importantly learn how to learn (p. 3, emphasis added)The key overall
thrust of curriculum and pedagogy reform across all stages will be to
move the education system towards real understanding and towards
learning how to learn – and away from the culture of rote learning as is
largely present today (GoI, 2020, p. 12, emphasis added).
Such an aim to move towards “learning to learn” is certainly welcome. The

NEP 2020 spells out several schemes to accomplish this. The foremost has
been the intensive use of technology at all levels and all processes of teach-
ing and learning.
Use of ICT
The NEP 2020 looks forward to a future where computers will have a good
penetration. It also recognises the importance of the presence of digital
infrastructure in the schools and with teachers and learners and aims for
building high-class digital infrastructure:
However, the benefits of online/digital education cannot be leveraged

unless the digital divide is eliminated through concerted efforts, such as
the Digital India campaign and the availability of affordable computing
devices. It is important that the use of technology for online and digital
education adequately addresses concerns of equity. (p. 58)... There is
156 Amit Dhakulkar
a need to invest in creation of open, interoperable, evolvable, public

digital infrastructure in the education sector that can be used by mul-
tiple platforms and point solutions, to solve for India’s scale, diversity,
complexity and device penetration. (GoI, 2020, p. 59)
ICT can be used for a variety of purposes other than regular classroom
teaching-learning processes. For example, to learn different languages to
make sure some of the classical and now neglected languages gain popular-
ity. Other than this, emerging disciplines like AI and design thinking are
emphasised. Also, mathematical and computational thinking and coding
as a part of curriculum will be introduced in middle schools (p. 15). Such
an emphasis on computational thinking fits rightly in the constructionist
framework. We hope that this would be done along the lines of construc-
tionist microworlds, though there is no mention of these in the NEP 2020.
The NEP 2020 identifies several areas of focus such as
improving teaching-learning and evaluation processes, supporting

teacher preparation and professional development, enhancing educa-
tional access, and streamlining educational planning, management, and
administration including processes related to admissions, attendance,
assessments, etc. (GoI, 2020, p. 57).
It remains to be seen how radical the changes in these areas would be.
Though in the NEP 2020, there is a mention of software resources and
virtual labs (p. 59) there is no cognisance of the existing educational soft-
ware like NetLogo, Scratch, GeoGebra, etc. Instead, the NEP suggests that
software will be developed:
A rich variety of educational software, for all the above purposes, will
be developed and made available for students and teachers at all levels.
All such software will be available in all major Indian languages and
will be accessible to a wide range of users including students in remote
areas and Divyang students. Teaching-learning e-content will continue
to be developed by all States in all regional languages, as well as by the
NCERT, CIET, CBSE, NIOS, and other bodies/institutions, and will be
uploaded onto the DIKSHA platform (GoI, 2020, p. 57).
To start developing such software afresh will be like reinventing the wheel.
The bodies responsible must recognise this and perhaps contribute to devel-
oping the existing FOSS. Adding desired features (like accessibility), cus-
tomising and translating them to Indian languages should be taken up as a
priority. This will not only lead to faster development cycles, but will also
result in contributions from India for the rest of the educational community
in the world.
Learning resources
The NEP 2020 in various places proposes creation of repositories for online
resources:
A national repository of high-quality resources on foundational literacy

and numeracy will be made available on the Digital Infrastructure for
Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA). Technological interventions to serve as
aids to teachers and to help bridge any language barriers that may exist
between teachers and students, will be piloted and implemented. (p.
6) …A digital repository of content including creation of coursework,
Learning Games & Simulations, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
will be developed, with a clear public system for ratings by users on effec-
tiveness and quality. For fun based learning student-appropriate tools
like apps, gamification of Indian art and culture, in multiple languages,
with clear operating instructions, will also be created (2020, p. 59).
Unfortunately, there is no mention of the licenses either for the software or

for the content throughout the NEP 2020. This is a rather alarming issue
as acceptance of OERs and OEPs require both policy and grassroots level
initiatives. An affirmative action by the NEP regarding the specification of
licenses for all the software to be FOSS and for all the content to be OERs
will go a long way in scaling and deployment efforts in the future. The
license of digital media (for both software and content) should be of para-
mount importance as this will decide the nature of how things will progress
including scaling and contextualisation. Such affirmative action regarding
the license will also allow for development, customisations and translations
without any bureaucratic hassles.
The document also makes it sound as if there are no already existing
resources either in software applications or OERs which are becoming
increasingly adopted across the world as seen previously. Even the already
existing Indian repository by NCERT, the NROER, is not mentioned any-
where. Only a few other repositories such as SWAYAM etc. are mentioned.
Any effort at the national level must cognise the open licenses and the work
done in existing projects to maximise the impact. Being non-committal on
the issue of open licenses at the policy level will not help, an affirmative
action is needed.
Assessments
The NEP 2020 talks about the need to change the assessments from tradi-
tional summative and memory-based ones.
The aim of assessment in the culture of our schooling system will shift
from one that is summative and primarily tests rote memorization skills
158 Amit Dhakulkar
to one that is more regular and formative, is more competency-based,

promotes learning and development for our students, and tests higher-
order skills, such as analysis, critical thinking, and conceptual clarity.
(2020, p. 17, emphasis added)
Looking at this quote it seems a very comprehensive approach to assess-

ment. We need to see how such an idea will be implemented in practice.
The NEP 2020 also makes note of different forms of assessments like self-,
peer- and a digital journal in the form of a work portfolio. The ideas of
project- and inquiry- based learning also are mentioned.
It will include self-assessment and peer assessment, and progress of the

child in project-based and inquiry-based learning, quizzes, role plays,
group work, portfolios, etc., along with teacher assessment (2020,
p. 18).
The NEP 2020 also mentions that tracking the students through their school
years could be a possibility:
AI-based software could be developed and used by students to help

track their growth through their school years based on learning data
and interactive questionnaires for parents, students, and teachers, in
order to provide students with valuable information on their strengths,
areas of interest, and needed areas of focus, and to thereby help them
make optimal career choices (2020, p. 18).
We need to be aware of inherent issues of bias and discrimination in the

approaches based on AI. Utmost care should be taken so that such algorith-
mic approaches should not further marginalise learners from disadvantaged
backgrounds.
The board exams which are a cause of anxiety and stress among learners,
parents and even the teachers will be made “easier”:
Board exams will also be made ‘easier’, in the sense that they will test
primarily core capacities/competencies rather than months of coaching
and memorization; any student who has been going to and making a
basic effort in a school class will be able to pass and do well in the cor-
responding subject Board Exam without much additional effort (GoI,
2020, p. 18).
The idea for this reform in assessments is rather radical. Such a reform where
the “load” of board examination would certainly change the priorities of the
Indian educational system if implemented as imagined. This idea resonates
with the discussion we had in earlier sections about the impact of exams
in the context of the LwB report. Similarly, apart from the board exams,
reforms are also envisioned for the university entrance exams which will
be designed by a new central agency called as the National Testing Agency
(NTA). Some aspects of such an agency were discussed in NCF 2005.
These exams shall test conceptual understanding and the ability to apply
knowledge and shall aim to eliminate the need for taking coaching for
these exams (2020, p. 19, emphasis added).
If the proposed changes in examinations could be implemented this would

definitely be very radical. The explicit statement of the aim “to eliminate
the need for taking coaching for these exams” is very welcoming. The tight
nexus between the coaching classes and the examination patterns which
they cater to would perhaps be broken via this.
But, overall, the NEP 2020 looks at centralising all aspects of educa-
tion via formation of various centres and agencies. The assessments are no
exception to this:
Appropriate bodies, such as the proposed National Assessment Centre

or PARAKH, School Boards, NTA, and other identified bodies will
design and implement assessment frameworks encompassing design
of competencies, portfolio, rubrics, standardized assessments, and
assessment analytics. Studies will be undertaken to pilot new ways of
assessment using education technologies focusing on 21st century skills
(2020, p. 60).
This over-emphasis on the centralisation of assessments should not

develop into another “Board” type examination. Rather, frameworks
within which teachers will have some agency at the local level should be
developed. If the content is contextualised and localised according to the
learners, so should the assessments. If assessments are still centralised, the
localising of content would be a moot point. So, there should be a balance
between centralisation of the assessments and their implementation at the
local level.
Connected computers: potential and possibilities

This section provides a brief summary of the points discussed so far.
Digital natives
Children of the present generation and the following ones are going to be
immersed in digital media for all aspects of life. The proliferation of smart-
phones and other digital devices has, in many aspects, made computers an
160 Amit Dhakulkar
integral part of living in the twenty-first century. Digital computers and

technology are here to stay, we cannot wish it away. More so in the context
of upcoming learners, the digital natives, who will be well versed with digi-
tal technologies from the beginning of their learning. As such, we need to
fundamentally rethink our ideas of education.
Disruptive technology
Digital technology has been massively disruptive in most other endeavours.
But in education, we still have to feel its impact in a major way. So far, digi-
tal technology has been mostly subverted and blunted to retain the existing
practices in teaching and learning (QWERTY effect). To fully bring to the
fore the potential of what is possible with the digital technology of con-
nected computers many cherished notions about teaching and learning will
have to be given up. This includes our ideas about learning, teachers and
their role, and finally assessments. We do not want computers programming
the children, we want the children programming the computers.
Free/copyleft licenses
The rise of copyleft licenses in the digital era allows for scale and commu-
nity involvement. All the educational resources must be released with copy-
left licenses. This is a necessity if digital resources are to be scaled to meet
the requirements of all sections of society. Similarly, all the software used
for teaching-learning should be Free Software, allowing it to be scaled and
customised as per requirements. Failing these two, the digital technologies
in education may create an unprecedented digital divide between the differ-
ent socio-economic classes of the society.
TLMs
Since their emergence in the early 2000s, the OERs have been a game changer
in the digital era. The creation of OER repositories providing quality con-
tent has been immensely helpful in providing for the learning demands of
millions of people. OERs have allowed quality learning materials to reach
millions of people worldwide where the learners can interact with their
mentors and peers. Finally, the various online fora, both formal and infor-
mal, where learners can exchange ideas have been instrumental in creation
of zones of proximal development where learners can both learn and teach.
Learning to learn and microworlds

Our idea of learning has to be visualised in the light of microworlds which
allow learners to develop deep conceptual connections in contexts which are
personally relevant. With the rise in access to connected computers, the idea
of using microworlds on scale is now tangible. Microworlds and specially
designed interactive digital platforms will help implement the idea of learn-
ing to learn and allow for “joyful” instead of “joyless” learning.
Post NEP 2020

Many of the suggested reforms in NEP 2020 are in line with some of the
ideas that we have discussed in the earlier sections. As we have previously
remarked, having digital infrastructure in place will have to be the top pri-
ority before we take any further steps to steer our learners to an online
learning era. The shifting focus from summative, memory-based assess-
ments to assessing skills and competencies, and introducing self- and peer-
assessments, the overall envisioned reforms in assessments are welcoming
and even seem radical at times. The issue of FOSS and OER licenses must be
approached with affirmative action. Also, at times it feels as if NEP 2020 is
oblivious to the progress within India (except for mention of a few flagship
projects) as well as across the world with regard to technology use in edu-
cation and movement towards OERs. Also, too much centralisation in the
form of various centres and bodies, should be carefully evaluated. Efforts
should instead be given to developing grassroots expertise and local ecosys-
tems for the needs of teaching-learning processes. It needs to be seen how
well the suggested reforms will be implemented and how favourably they
will be received by all stakeholders.
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.1975217
Chapter 8
Education of Children with Diverse

Learning Needs
Jayanthi Narayan
Introduction
One significant change in education in India since the submission of the
report of the National Advisory Committee headed by Professor Yash Pal
is, making education a fundamental right by implementing the Right to
Education Act (2009). Further, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act
(RPwD, 2016) ensures free and compulsory education of children with disa-
bilities. Following this, a number of schemes were in place to implement the
Acts to ensure education reaches all children in the country. “Education for
all” in the name of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan was the flagship programme of
the Government of India, centrally sponsored and implemented by state gov-
ernments. Currently, since 2018, the scheme renamed as Samagra Shiksha
Abhiyan, includes education from pre-primary to Class 12 and teacher edu-
cation (MHRD, 2019a). This resulted in a significant increase in the number
of children enrolled in schools, retention rates of children in school improved
and importantly, education of children with special needs received attention
and focus. As a visible step, 67.65% of schools were made accessible with
ramps as reported by the Unified District Information System for Education
(UDISE, 2020). Yet, has the educational system moved away from just pro-
viding information, to move towards enhancing knowledge in children, by
facilitating critical thinking and application of what is learnt in the lives of
the learner? Is the learning joyful for children? How do children with special
needs receive and apply the learnt knowledge? Is the learning monitored
with carefully developed objectives rather than by fixing numerical values
resulting in comparisons and future decisions based on those values? Above
all, are they learning without burden? The rest of the chapter looks at the
educational status of children with diverse learning needs and the relevance
of the recommendation of the Yash Pal Committee report or Learning with-
out Burden (henceforth, LwB report) to inclusive education.
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059-10
164 Jayanthi Narayan
Children with diverse learning needs

Children with special educational needs (SEN), children with special needs
(CwSN), children with disabilities (CwD) and such other expressions are
in use in the educational system to refer to children who need additional
support to learn. The Ministry of Education (earlier, Ministry of Human
Resource Development, MHRD) uses the term CwSN to refer to children
who have disabilities as well as those marginalised populations due to socio-
economic reasons and/or belonging to a scheduled caste or scheduled tribes
(SC and ST). The use of the expression “children with disabilities” is pre-
dominantly seen in the context of the Department of Disabilities Affairs in
the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJ&E). This ministry
has separate schemes for persons with disabilities and those belonging to SC
and ST. All of these terminologies refer to some kind of deprivation that the
individual faces because of disability or due to socio, cultural and economic
disadvantages.
The usage of “children with diverse learning needs” came into use world-
wide (Tileston, 2005; Kelly, O’Shea & Tanner, 2014) with the intention
of highlighting the diversity among human beings and not to highlight the
impairments in a person with the usage of such terminologies including,
disability or name of a specific disability, such as blind, deaf, intellectual
disability and so on to justify their difficulty in learning. Kelly et al. (2014)
simply calls diverse student population as those learners who are at different
stages of learning. The idea is to reach the children with education, accept-
ing and respecting diversity and to not look at these differences as “deficits”.
Disability and the environment

Historically, disability was looked at as a deficit/defect in the person and the
inability to learn is attributed to the “defect” in the person and not to the
learning environments that prevent access to their learning. Take the exam-
ple of a classroom where the teacher uses blackboard, maps, charts and
other high-tech visuals in a geography class. If a student who is blind is not
able to learn in that class, is it the fault of the student or that of the learning
environment? If the teacher has provided the student with a tactile map in
advance and briefed him about the forthcoming class, the same student who
is blind would be learning like their other classmates. Therefore, it is the
learning environment and not the disability that is responsible for a child’s
learning or not learning. Another example where the environment creates
deprivation can be the location of a class on the second floor of the building
with no ramp or elevator access and a student who is a wheelchair user hav-
ing to attend that class. There are many such instances revealing where the
problem is – with the student or with the learning environment. The need
today is inclusive education where all children with “diverse learning needs”
Education of Children with Diverse Learning Needs 165
study in regular schools expecting the schools to be prepared to admit them

and provide a learning environment that is appropriate to them. Here, the
learning environment includes adaptation in assessment to identify learning
needs, curricular adaptation, modification in teaching strategies and flexibil-
ity in the evaluation system. In other words, the educational system should
ensure quality education with equity as well as equality to all learners.
Relevance to context
In many inclusive schools the current practice is to admit students with dis-
abilities, and to “help them catch up” with the curricular load; their leisure
time or the allotted time for music, games and crafts are utilised to teach
the curricular areas. Does this student not deserve leisure time or the said
activities? As noted in the introduction of the LwB report (GoI, 1993) in the
context of curricular and textbook load,
leisure has become a highly scarce commodity in the child’s, especially

the urban child’s life. The child’s innate nature and capacities have no
opportunity to find expression in a daily routine which permits no time
to play, to enjoy simple pleasures, and to explore the world (GoI, 1993,
p. 4).
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (2016) has included 21 disabilities
as legally recognised. All children have varied learning needs. Special edu-
cation teachers address the learning needs of children with disabilities by
carrying out an educational assessment and planning a suitable programme.
Where children have average or above average intelligence, as in vision or
hearing impairment, locomotor disabilities, blood disorders and those other
disabilities where cognitive functioning is age appropriate, regular school
curriculum is used with the teaching method modified so as to reach the stu-
dent. For children with intellectual disabilities, both content adaptation and
special strategies for teaching are considered. With adaptations provided
by the boards of education, they appear for board examinations. For chil-
dren with moderate or severe levels of intellectual disability, the curriculum
focuses on daily living skills, social and communication skills, vocational
training and preparation for adult life. One salient feature that emerged in
the LwB report that is of relevance in the education of children with mod-
erate or severe disabilities is the application of learnt skills in daily living
situations. As recommendation 2.a of the report says,
classroom teachers to develop curricular materials on their own, best

suited to the needs of local environment. All the schools be encouraged
to innovate in all aspects of curriculum, including choice of textbooks
and other materials.
If done properly by the trained teacher, this approach is definitely meaning-

ful, as what s/he would teach would be required for the student’s independ-
ent living, with the learning relevant and not disjointed from the living style.
Review of recommendations of the LwB report

vis-à-vis diverse learning needs of students
The committee was framed with the objective to advise on the ways and
means to reduce the load on school students at all levels particularly the
young students, while improving quality of learning including capabil-
ity for lifelong self-learning and skill formulation.
The key focus points here include, (i) reduction of load on students at all lev-
els; (ii) scope for lifelong self-learning; and (iii) skill development. These are
well thought out focus areas that apply to all children at all levels including
children with disabilities. Whatever the disabling condition, the person with
a disability is likely to have some dependence, transiently or permanently, at
some point in time. The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed
a biopsychosocial model of classification system based on the activity limita-
tion a person with disability faces when s/he interacts with the environment
(WHO, 2002). Further, while referring to intellectual disability, the defini-
tion describes the level of disability based on the extent of dependence on
others or need for support which can be intermittent, limited, extensive or
pervasive (Luckasson et al., 2002). Hence, when we talk of school education
for children with a disability, it is important to focus on curricular content
that is relevant to daily living, leading towards independent living as the
ultimate goal. Such a focus has to be from early childhood. While planning
such a curriculum, some of the key factors to consider include, utility of that
learning in the child’s life and the method of teaching to be in the natural
setting, where the skill is to be used. By this, the scope for transfer of train-
ing is reduced and generalisation of learnt skills is enhanced. Such learning
certainly is meaningful and relevant. Though blind and deaf children study
the regular school curriculum, they are given additional inputs on develop-
ing skills towards orientation and mobility in the environment, personal,
social and communication development that is functional and essential for
their eventual independent living. A child with a visual or locomotor dis-
ability has the right to mobility, and a deaf child the right to communicate
with people around them. The onus of learning to do so lies with the school
which must prepare them with relevant and appropriate functional focus.
The issues of “curricular load”, textbook-oriented teaching and the rigid
evaluation system raised by the LwB report is critical. Learning is mean-
ingful when it relates to life and living at all stages. Even if teaching is
adapted to address the needs of children with disabilities, if the content is
not relevant to the child’s environment in which she lives, it does not fully
accommodate the child’s needs. A special educator once shared that, while
teaching basic addition and subtraction to a nine-year-old child with mild
intellectual disability belonging to a rural area in Andhra Pradesh, she said
that the plastic beads and blocks typically used by teachers were not effec-
tive in teaching these concepts to the child. The moment she shifted her
context to talk about eggs, potatoes and tomatoes to learn addition and
subtraction, it worked for the child as she could relate to the context and
so learnt quickly. As the LwB report notes, textbooks are disjointed from
reality and the student does not find it meaningful. In fact, skill development
and lifelong learning are the overall objectives of learning at any stage and
textbooks can support this learning.
Roots of the problem as noted in the LwB report

The report lists the following six areas that are responsible for the “joyless
learning” of children: knowledge versus information; isolation of experts
from classroom realities; centralised character of curriculum construction;
convention of teaching the text; competition-based social ethos; absence of
academic ethos.
Knowledge versus information

The learning environment should encourage students’ critical thinking and
independent action. It should allow for exploration and learning, having
the teacher only as a facilitator. In today’s educational system, where the
teacher follows a textbook to “complete the syllabus” within a given time-
frame, with a great deal of homework and assignments given to children as
a requirement for the final examination, even children without a disability
have no scope to think and explore. There are occasions where, if the chil-
dren tend to express opinions that do not go with what the teacher has
taught, they are penalised. In short, there is an information transfer from
the textbook that the children have to “memorise” and reproduce in the
examination to be considered for academic excellence”. In inclusive class-
rooms, where children with different disabilities are admitted, with varied
challenges and at a different pace of learning, the teacher does not have
the time or the competency to address their needs. This applies not only to
children with disabilities but also those who have other socio, economic and
cultural deprivation. Even children without any of these challenges, in most
instances, go through a “tuition class” after school, to cope with the exer-
cises related to “information transfer” and not learning to get knowledge.
The report of MHRD (2019b) on inclusive education reveals that the plan
for the education of 21,00,918 CwSN (from Classes 1 to 12) under Samagra
Shiksha was planned for the year 2018–2019 with budget allotment for spe-
cial teachers and resource teachers so that special and regular teachers work
together to provide appropriate education to children with special needs.

The success of the programme will depend on how the teachers coordinate
among themselves and how much opportunity is given to children to gain
knowledge and not just information.
Isolation of experts from classroom reality

The practice of using curricula developed by experts who do not teach in
the classrooms also has a negative impact on the learning of children with
special educational needs. If every learning is meaningful to the child, the
learning experience is joyful. If the child does not see a relevance to what
s/he learns in day to day interaction, it is meaningless and uninteresting. A
study on analysis of the relevance of prescribed textbooks of primary classes
in Malayalam language, English and environmental science, to children in
fishing communities enrolled in schools, Jament (2018) reported that the
content did not have any lessons related to fishing, fishermen, ocean or oce-
anic life. He added that though there was awareness on the importance of
education in the fishing community, the irrelevant curricular content holds
the threat of students dropping out of school. The fishing community is
marginalised in one manner and the children with disabilities are marginal-
ised in another. For example, to a child with an intellectual disability who
has limited cognitive ability to learn, it is best to have curricular content
that is useful and meaningful to the child. The way to develop a meaningful
curriculum is to involve teachers who know the students in the development
of the curriculum and also provide them with the liberty to make prescribed
content flexible to suit the child’s strengths and needs.
Centralised character of curriculum construction

India is proud of its rich and varied heritage. It is obvious that “one size
fits all” is not a possibility when it comes to learning among children, all
the more so, when we talk of children having disabilities. Each child with
a disability is unique and it is imperative that these unique needs are met.
Therefore, a tailor-made curriculum for children based on the assessment of
their strengths and needs is an absolute necessity if the education has to be
meaningful. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and some of
the State Boards of education have initiated efforts to help children with dis-
abilities to have a curriculum suitable to them. For instance, the CBSE has
made language a mandatory subject and has given a list of ten other subjects
from which the student may choose any four. This includes domains such
as music and art (CBSE, 2019). Certainly, this is a step towards allowing
some flexibility within the existing rigid system. Yet, this does not allow for
decision making by the teacher, but has opened an avenue to help the child
move forward on his/her chosen path. The concept of multiple intelligences
(Gardner, 2006) is helpful for children to decide on learning goals, rather

than simply focusing on academics alone. Multiple intelligences at its core, is
the proposition that individuals have the potential to develop a combination
of eight separate intelligences, or spheres of intelligence; that proposition is
grounded on Gardner’s assertion that an individual’s cognitive capacity can-
not be represented adequately in a single measurement, such as an IQ score
(Nuzzi, 2010). The eight intelligences include, linguistic, musical, logical-
mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinaesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal and
naturalistic intelligence. The teacher needs to be sensitive to identify the
child’s abilities and potentials and development of the child’s skills. To nar-
rate an experience that is relevant here, we discuss the journey of a young-
ster, V.N., with specific learning disabilities brought to National Institute
for the Empowerment of Persons with intellectual Disabilities (NIEPID)
after he failed in the board examination of Class 10. On assessment V.N.
was found to be having dyslexia with a reading level of Class 3. The student
trainee doing Bachelor degree programme at NIEPID who worked with
him as part of the practical work, observed that V.N. was doing free hand
drawing with pencil in the notebook. The trainee brought it to the atten-
tion of the supervisor and, after talking to his father, V.N. was admitted to
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA). It took a degree of effort to convince the col-
lege authorities, but eventually he was admitted. He successfully completed
not only BFA with distinction, but also MFA and is currently working as
a graphic artist and also teaching art to students, leading a successful life.
Identifying the ability in him and nurturing at the right time has paved the
way for successful living for V.N.
Convention of teaching the text

The whole system of school education in the country is textbook focused.
Children with disabilities who study in inclusive schools find it a big chal-
lenge to go through this process of textbook centred teaching. Children tend
to learn the professional skills of their parents in rural and tribal communi-
ties, such as farming, agriculture, poultry or dairy farming, cattle breeding,
aquaculture and so on. Many of these skills are concrete, learning by doing,
enabling even children with limited cognitive abilities to master them, thus
strengthening them with skills they can perform effectively, allowing their
low cognitive functioning to go unnoticed by the community (Narayan &
Patnaik, 2020). In special schools, the teachers tend to take the current func-
tional level of the student and the learning style into consideration while
planning the lessons. Thus, the process of teaching is adapted or modified
to meet the unique learning needs of the student, but the content is from the
conventional textbook as these students, too, have to pass the board exami-
nations to be eligible for higher studies or enter the job market. Though
there are skill development programmes and job reservation for students
with disabilities in government schemes such as setting up Skill Council for

Persons with Disability (SCPwD) and the Scheme for Implementation of
Persons with Disabilities Act (SIPDA) with the focus on catering to the occu-
pational aspirations of persons with disabilities and enhancing their skills
for wage employment (MSJ&E, 2015), all students are expected to have
completed at least Class 10 of one of the boards of secondary education.
Despite curricular modifications made to suit the profile of the student with
disabilities, the central focus is still on the prescribed textbooks. National
Education Policy 2020 promises flexibility and focus on critical thinking in
school education for all children (GoI, 2020). We have to wait to see how
this will be implemented. At present the reality is, however, the teacher
teaches the student, ultimately the student has to be prepared for the exami-
nation of the respective boards of education. In the given situation, how can
the student be not textbook oriented to be called “educated” at a certain
level? This situation leads to the competition-based social ethos.
Competition-based social ethos

From the first day of entering school, the child is compared with others. The
blessings of elders also articulate this intent when they say, “you should
come first in class”. The aspiration of the parents too is that the child is
first in class. The pressure from various angles adds to the stress in the
student which may in fact hinder the student’s performance. So many cases
of suicides of students of Class 12, seen every year in the news, frequently,
is not attributed to the failure of the student but his/her confession of not
having been able to put up with pressure. Children with disabilities have to
compete in the same environment despite their own challenges due to the
disabling condition and the unfriendly environment that is insensitive to
his/her special needs. The reservations for persons with disabilities made
through quotas in higher education or government jobs is again competi-
tive. In a life filled with comparison and competition at every stage from
early years, persons with disabilities find it difficult to cope and tend to
drop out of school. Struggling to swim against the tide with these chal-
lenges, frequently, persons with disabilities develop a lower self-esteem and
a sense of worthlessness. As rightly observed in the LwB report referring to
competition-based social ethos, “The experience of the ignominy of failure
on the part of millions of children have long term deleterious effect on the
personality of the individual and the matrix of society” holds especially for
persons with disabilities and other marginalised populations.
Absence of academic ethos

In India, inclusive education is overseen by the Ministry of Human
Resource Development (now renamed as Ministry of Education) while
the purview of special education is with the Ministry of Social Justice

and Empowerment. Hence, preparation of special education teachers and
establishment of special schools are with the Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment. In the inclusive education school system, special educa-
tion teachers are appointed as resource teachers with the intention of sup-
porting the “regular” teachers. The education of children with disabilities
(from Classes 1 to 12) including financial support for the resource teachers/
special educators is allotted in the scheme of Samagra Shiksha. With two
such parallel systems working in the country for the education of chil-
dren with disabilities, the academic environment suitable for children with
disabilities is questionable. The special schools are expected to have the
required material specifically needed for teaching children with a disability
including adaptive laboratory equipment and other assistive devices. In an
inclusive school set-up though, there is an arrangement to provide students
with suitable teaching learning material, and resource rooms established
for this purpose, the student does not always get the best, either because
the equipment/assistive device is not available or the regular teacher is not
trained to use the equipment to teach the student. Opportunity for learn-
ing through observation and exploration is limited. In a few schools, both
in special and inclusive school settings, a conscientious teacher is seen to
be doing her best to bring out the potential of the student. This exception
has to become the norm to have a conducive academic environment for all
students.
The roots of the problem as identified in the LwB report shares common
factors in the context of education of children with disabilities. In some
areas, the problems are compounded due to lack of preparation for includ-
ing children with disabilities in regular education, thus demanding systemic
changes.
Relevance of recommendations in the LwB report

for education of children with disabilities
The committee’s recommendations are relevant to the education of children
with disabilities. For instance, the recommendation
if we continue to value a few elite qualifications far more than real

competence for doing useful things in life, and if the economic distance,
between those who can manage to cross some academic hurdles and
those who can’t continue to widen, we will probably continue to spend
our effort in designing hurdles instead of opportunities for children to
learn with joy.
If the educational system is so changed to look at the competencies in a

student aiming to bring out his/her/their best, that is meaningful in the
individual’s day to day life, without comparisons, it will pave the way to
meaningful learning.
Reward group achievement

The recommendation of Yash Pal Committee on group competition is one
healthy way of recognising the abilities of all children, particularly so, when
the children have diverse abilities. Group activities using cooperative learn-
ing techniques are bound to lead towards learning without burden. There are
numerous examples. In one such incident that happened during the Special
Olympics National Games (SONG) that happened in 1999 in Hyderabad,
India, eight youngsters with intellectual disability were all ready for the
track event and they started to run towards the finish line on the start sig-
nal. Midway through, one athlete on track fell down. All the participants,
including the one who was leading, turned around and ran towards the one
who had fallen down, all of them helped him to get up. Joining hands, all
of them happily walked towards the finish line with a big smile. Needless
to say they received a standing ovation from the thousands of spectators
gathered in the pavilion.
Flexibility in curriculum development

By design, the curriculum developed for persons with disabilities has certain
flexibility to suit their needs. However, while deciding the content of the
curriculum, if the teachers or local educational committees in the respective
areas, whether rural, tribal, coastal, urban, wherever, have the autonomy
and the relevant competence to develop/adapt the content to be relevant
to the context, the learning will be more meaningful. As noted by Alsubiae
(2016), curriculum must be a usable tool to assist teachers in the develop-
ment of individualised strategies and giving the methods and materials nec-
essary for them to be successful in teaching. Universal Design for Learning
(UDL), advocates flexibility in content input, flexibility in expression by
the students and flexibility in the level of engagement of students as the key
factors for successful learning (Rose & Meyer, 2002; Al Hazmi & Ahmed,
2018). All students with or without disabilities will be able to learn in the
same class if a universal design is adapted.
Preparation of textbooks
Children with disabilities learn better when their strengths are identified; the
learning content is decided based on student profile, and the environment
in which the student lives is considered. To achieve this, the recommenda-
tions made by the committee with regard to involving teachers in prepara-
tion of textbooks is apt for all students, including those with disabilities,
thus making inclusive education a reality. Autonomy given to the teachers

on these aspects make learning more meaningful. Activity-based learning
(ABL) in school education today, with textbooks designed to incorporate
activities, is a positive change in the educational system where many chil-
dren with special educational needs benefit due to the concrete nature of
teaching learning experience.
Examination system
Flexibility in the evaluation system relevant to the context is a necessity in
any learning environment. Continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE)
introduced in the school education system in India is a welcome move where
the teachers are expected to evaluate the student through many avenues
throughout the academic year and not just through the end of term exami-
nation. However, at secondary and higher secondary levels, the students
continue to go through the conventional examination system with a numeri-
cal value attached to judge the ability and potential of the student which
eventually decides her scope for higher education. Students with disabilities
in inclusive schools tend to seek special education support only at Class 9 or
10 as the students need to face the board examination. Examination and
evaluation seem to have no relevance to learning in the current system of
education and needs a major systemic change.
Teacher readiness
Existing research has demonstrated that under certain circumstances inclu-
sion can be efficacious, yet many teachers remain uncertain with regard to
its implementation in their schools (Rose, 2006). To support inclusion, the
teachers need to be prepared with relevant competences. The regular teacher
education programmes are with the Ministry of Education and the special
teachers are prepared by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
with approved curriculum and certification by the Rehabilitation Council of
India. The qualifications of regular and special teachers range from diploma
in teacher training to postgraduate levels in education. The special/resource
teachers have disability-specific teaching qualifications and these teach-
ers work in special schools as special educators and in regular schools as
resource teachers. In regular schools they are expected to support the regu-
lar teachers to plan and implement educational programmes for children
with disabilities who are included in the respective classes. Das, Kuyini, and
Desai (2013), after studying 223 primary school teachers and 130 secondary
school teachers found that nearly 70% of the regular school teachers had
neither received training in special education nor had any experience teach-
ing students with disabilities and 87% of the teachers did not have access to
support services in their classrooms.
To be meaningful, both regular and special teachers have to find ways

to work together to provide knowledge and skills to reach the child with
a disability. Frequently, teachers work in silos resulting in an inadequate
and inappropriate learning environment for children who need support. As
rightly noted by Sharma, Forlin, Deppeler, and Guang-Xue (2013), unless
national approaches are based on a much stronger foundation that includes
a well-established process for implementing policy by accommodating the
needs of all learners and ensuring that teacher education, resources and pro-
cesses are made available at all levels and stages of execution, inclusion is
unlikely to move beyond policy.
Lifelong learning
Sustainable Development Goal on Education (SDG 4) states: “Ensure
inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning
opportunities for all.” SDG-4.1 further aims at ensuring that all boys and
girls receive complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary
education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes (UNESCO,
2015). The relevant learning outcomes, if achieved, will pave the way to
lifelong learning. In the current educational system, when what is taught is
found less relevant to the lives of the learners, even the school experience
is found to be a burden, let alone lifelong learning. Self-initiated learning
geared towards personal development is lifelong learning. If one should be
motivated to do that, the early learning experiences have to be meaningful.
Lifelong learning is a process of continuous learning in all stages of life that
is directed towards not only providing the individual needs, but also that of
the relevant community (Laal, 2011). In a world with rapid technological
development, one should have the ability to adapt and learn new skills to
cope with the demands and keep pace with the developments. Two and a
half decades ago the LwB report visualised the need for lifelong learning and
preparing children in school for joyful learning that would lead to lifelong
learning. Inclusive education being the need of the day, all children have to
be aware and informed about their peers with special needs. Paradigm shift
from “Charity to Right” has brought about significant changes in the lives
of persons with disabilities and constant learning and staying informed is
the only way to move towards a right-based society where everyone lives
with freedom and dignity.
Way forward
Sustainable development goal on education (SDG 4)

SDG 4.5 states that “By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and
ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for
the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and

children in vulnerable situations”. This is an ambitious goal. Further, the
United Nations convention on rights of persons with disabilities (UNCRPD,
2006) adopts a broad categorisation of persons with disabilities and reaf-
firms that all persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human
rights and fundamental freedoms. It clarifies and qualifies how all categories
of rights apply to persons with disabilities and identifies areas where adap-
tations have to be made for persons with disabilities to effectively exercise
their rights and areas where their rights have been violated, and where pro-
tection of rights must be reinforced. India was one of the early countries to
ratify the convention thus endorsing it and aligning the legislation on the
rights of persons with disabilities (RPwD, 2016) to the UNCRPD.
Begin early
To achieve both SDG 4 as well as to protect the rights of persons with dis-
abilities, the beginning must be from the preschool years of children. When
children grow up with those who look different or those who have diverse
needs, inclusion will be natural. The scope for forming a negative attitude
is minimal as such exposure is from early childhood and the acceptance of
diversity will be spontaneous. It is observed that in primary schools when
there are children with disabilities, the other typically growing peers tend
to interact with them naturally. They are seen asking a child using a wheel-
chair, questions like “why he cannot walk, why his legs look different” or
ask a blind child if he ever sleeps as his eyes look closed all the time, and
so on and the children who have the disability respond to these questions
without any hesitation or ill feelings, allowing the peers to explore their
wheelchair/calipers.
Early intervention leading to preschool education is advocated for chil-
dren with disability with the goal of minimising the effect of disability in
them and to promote their wellbeing. When this provision is made in a
happy environment with no loads of books and notebooks but by learning
by doing together, the all-round development of the child with and without
disability is enhanced. The National Education Policy (2020) has included
preschool education in elementary education thus paving the way for early
entry to school for all children including those with disability.
Inclusive classrooms
Internationally, provision for children with disabilities or those from other
marginalised groups has often been addressed only after the establishment
of systems aimed at addressing the needs of the general school popula-
tion (Rose, Garner & Farrow, 2019). This would result in adjusting and
accommodating within the existing system and may not serve the purpose
of helping children with disabilities. Vygotsky (1978) pointed out that a

child learns best in his or her “zone of proximal development”. It becomes
the responsibility of the teacher to identify her zone of proximal develop-
ment, support and scaffold learning keeping in mind the learner’s readiness.
Universal design for learning (UDL) holds a key to successful and inclusive
learning and promotes joyful learning without burden. UDL advocates total
flexibility (UDL, 2000). It is based on the following three primary princi-
ples: multiple means of representation, to give diverse learners options for
acquiring information and knowledge; multiple means of action and expres-
sion, to provide learners options for demonstrating what they know; mul-
tiple means of engagement, to tap into learners’ interests, offer appropriate
challenges, and increase motivation.
This demands that, to transact the prescribed curricular content, the
teacher needs to use varied modes and material, may be visual, auditory and
experiential so that children with varied learning styles in the class benefit
from the teaching. To ensure learning, the teacher may encourage students
to express in different modes, these may be verbal, written, drawing, mak-
ing models and so on as all are ways of expressing what is understood by
the student. The third principle aims at accounting for the pace of learning
in children which again can vary. Hence the teacher is prepared with tasks
of varying challenge levels to meet diverse learning needs. The point is, all
children learn and participate in the class, irrespective of the diversity in their
learning needs. As noted by Al Hazmi and Ahmad (2018), the concept of
UDL allows the educator to customise the curriculum and the style of teach-
ing according to the needs of the students. As an example, let us consider a
lesson on the respiratory system at Class 4 level. The teacher might use charts
and models as done traditionally. If the teacher also prompts the students
to breathe consciously and share what they experience and then explain the
process of inhalation, exhalation, holding breath and its effect, function of
the lungs and so on, all children in the class are likely to participate. The
teacher may allow multiple modes of expression, verbal, written, drawing,
making models and so on. To meet the individual ability levels of students,
a learner interested in challenges can be given quizzes, crossword puzzles
and such word games designed to have vocabulary related to the respiratory
system, or given the task of developing a scrapbook on the respiratory system
while a learner who is in the early stages of learning the topic can be given
tasks such as naming parts. UDL gives the teacher flexibility to render the
content suitable to varied learning needs. Where possible, taking advantage
of technological advances is found to be beneficial in applying UDL.
Alongside UDL, differentiated instructional (DI) technique is used in
inclusive classrooms. Tomlinson (2017) describes differentiated instruc-
tion as a process that provides different avenues to acquiring content, to
processing or making sense of ideas, and to developing products so that
each student can learn effectively. While using differentiated instruction,

typically, the teacher offers different approaches to what students learn,
how they learn it, and how they demonstrate what they have learnt. As
noted years ago by Tomlinson et al. (2003), as transformation in society and
schools evolve, effective teachers in contemporary classrooms will have to
learn to develop routines that attend to, rather than ignore, learner variance
in readiness, interest and learning profile.
Inclusive education in India

The efforts put forth to implement inclusive education in India has led
to children with disabilities enrolling in regular schools. The Ministry of
Education has taken significant steps following the implementation of the
Right to Education Act (RTE, 2009) with the government’s flagship pro-
gramme now called Samagra Shiksha. Certified special teachers registered
with the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) are recruited to support reg-
ular teachers in schools while the onus of the child with special educational
needs is with the regular class teacher. Yet, there are challenges faced by
teachers and students as the special and regular teachers tend to work inde-
pendently with the child on most occasions. An ideal inclusive classroom,
where all children learn together using the UDL principles stated earlier, is
yet to happen on a large scale. A number of studies reveal that, while teach-
ers have a positive attitude towards inclusive education, they have concerns
on the ways to implement it successfully (Kumar, 2016; Singh & Singh,
2020). The regular teachers are not trained to address the special educa-
tional needs of the student. The preservice teacher training programmes
have minimum content on teaching children with special educational needs.
It is essential that both special and regular teachers work together all the
way through, including assessment of the special educational needs, and
programme planning that includes adaptations and accommodations. It is
important to assess the content to identify the segment that can be taught
for all of the children together in class including those with special needs
and what segment needs to have the special support. Once this is worked
out, inclusion can be spontaneous where all children learn together and an
inclusive classroom environment will evolve. Teachers play a major role in
involving all children by respecting their abilities and facilitating learning
through various flexible modes such as peer tutoring, cooperative learning
and fun ways to make the learning joyful.
Keeping pace with technological developments

The rapid advance in technology has totally changed the lifestyle of peo-
ple globally. Communications are instant irrespective of distance. One good
recent example of the power of technology is the way the world functioned
during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Students from primary school
up to professional courses continued their education staying at home using
this technology. It has become a necessity for everyone to keep abreast of
technological development and impart this to students right from their first
day of schooling. To support the education of children with disabilities,
numerous materials and gadgets are available and much software is free.
The teacher needs to be informed so that the students are guided appropri-
ately. In addition, weblinks to answer every query in mind are a boon to
learners. Lifelong learning is a possibility whilst staying at home as online
classes and webinars with suitable accessibility provisions for those with a
vision or hearing impairment or limitations in hand function or other neuro-
logical impairments as well as those students who are immobile for varying
reasons can be supported too. In short, anyone can learn from anywhere. As
noted by UNESCO (2006), teaching and learning are becoming more inde-
pendent from specific physical locations; the number of resources available
to students outside the classroom has increased dramatically; the locus of
control to initiate educational encounters has now passed to the learner. The
learner begins the process on an “any time – any place” basis. This demands
that teachers are equipped with skills and competencies to effectively use
technology to teach.
Teacher preparation
The role of teachers should change to be facilitators of learning in children
and not as examination-oriented authorities. The educational paradigm
has moved from the “instructional” paradigm that emphasised the roles
of education and a teacher, to the “personal” paradigm focused on the
learning itself and the student who learns; now the important thing is that
the student learns, and all elements of the educative system are subordi-
nated to this process of learning, including the teacher and education itself
(UNESCO, 2006; GoI, 1993). Such a vision by UNESCO and the Yash Pal
Committee is yet to become a reality. Teacher education requires a systemic
change in the country and education for all in inclusive schools should be
the aim rather than the exclusive preparation of teachers to teach chil-
dren with disabilities. The idea of “inclusive education” must be reframed
from being a special education issue, to an issue of including, supporting
and teaching all students. When inclusive education is viewed as a special
education concern, it is too often thought of as an add-on programme, a
problem for somebody else to take on, or something to be addressed when
time and resources permit (Kurth & Foley, 2014). Inclusion is the key as
the diverse learners are everywhere including in the so-called homogeneous
classroom.
National Education Policy (2020)

The policy lays emphasis on developing the child’s creative potential. It
addresses most of the aspects discussed so far. Early childhood care and
education is given importance in terms of a child’s overall development
and not solely aimed at “academic” learning. With inclusive education in
place it would allow children with disabilities, along with their nondisa-
bled peers, to be educated right from the early years, which will lead not
only to “learning without burden” but also “natural” inclusion. Literature
since the 1990s indicates that early intervention leads to minimising the
effect of disability in children (Guralnick, 1997). Among the major prin-
ciples on which NEP 2020 is built, the following resonate with the Yash
Pal Committee recommendations from the perspective of education of chil-
dren with disabilities: flexibility, conceptual understanding, creativity and
critical thinking, focus on regular formative assessments and life skills (GoI,
2020, p. 5). Furthermore, the policy states that it is in consonance with
and endorses the recommendations of the RPwD 2016 (GoI, 2020, 6.10; p.
26.). The policy assures equitable and inclusive education and learning for
all. Accordingly, teacher preparation in both general and special education
is likely to be revamped to meet the objectives of the NEP 2020. In addition,
extensive use of technology is envisaged in the NEP 2020, which is likely
to provide more options for education of students with disabilities. The
objectives and action plans in the policy are certainly promising a learner
a friendly environment and a step towards realising some of the Yash Pal
Committee recommendations. The impact of its implementation will be
seen in the coming years.
Research and innovation

NEP 2020 has emphasised research and has plans of setting up a National
Research Foundation (GoI, 2020, 17.9. p. 46) which is a welcome move. In
the field of disabilities where we face the challenges of heterogeneous groups
of persons, qualitative research will throw light on the “why” of a certain
phenomenon. In addition, working in collaboration with government bod-
ies and non-government organizations (NGOs) to reach children will help
in achieving the goal of zero rejection and education for all. Teachers who
are in a key position to provide primary information on effective teaching
strategies should be encouraged to publish which, in turn, will benefit their
fellow teachers.
To conclude, the education system has undergone major changes since
independence and since the submission of the LwB report. It is of signifi-
cance to note that, though the committee report did not address education
of children with disabilities, most observations and recommendations of the
report are applicable to the education of those children. For the vision of
the LwB report to become a reality, the rights of all children for learning
without burden, including those with disabilities and other marginalised
communities, must be realised.
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Chapter 9
The Demands of Ethical Learning

and Character Development in Our
Changing Times
Alok Mathur
Our changing times

None would deny that life in contemporary human societies is full of dif-
ficult and ethically challenging situations. We are living through times that
have been described, in recent corporate jargon, as Volatile, Uncertain,
Complex and Ambiguous or V.U.C.A. The term, our “VUCA world”1, was
popularly used to characterise the rapidly changing conditions of world-
wide economic activity in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008.
Apart from this current context of its usage, this term could be equally
applied to the overall moral context of our human societies today. In a
world that has been amalgamating into a global melting pot, with cultures
that were hitherto relatively distinct from each other being compelled to
contend with each other, there is an overall sense of volatility, uncertainty,
complexity and ambiguity.
In the context of this essay, another expansion of the acronym, VUCA,
could very well be: Violent, Unsustainable, Corrupt and Anxiety-ridden.
This may appear at first glance to be a somewhat one-sided characterisa-
tion, for it seems evident to many that humanity has made much progress
since medieval times in its forms of governance, social arrangements and
technology-led conveniences. Yet, if we were to survey happenings across
today’s world, there are equally evident symptoms of all these above-men-
tioned features.
The twentieth and twenty-first centuries have seen a churning and a flux
in long-standing structural injustices in human societies the world over.
This unrest results in clashes of mentalities that continue to be shaped by
mass identities. These find expression in repeated instances of nationalistic
aggression, religion-based divisions, racial as well as caste and class-based
oppressions, as well as sexual and other forms of violence. Combative poli-
tics, terrorist attacks, instances of police brutality, mob lynchings, rapes, the
stuff of daily news today, are some visible indicators of violence that remain
deeply embedded in our societies.
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059-11
184 Alok Mathur
We live today amidst global market forces that have gained ascendance
in the past century, undercutting community-based allegiances and pro-
moting heightened consumer aspirations, individualism and rampant self-
interest. At one level, “me-first” or “we-first” mentalities are endorsed in
multiple ways. Acquisitive attitudes and ruthless competition, as well as a
lack of cooperative spirit and civic sensibility are normalised in individual
behaviour. At another level, with escalating demands of growing human
populations, rapidly expanding cities, towns and industries are taking over
larger and larger swathes of forests and open landscapes, consuming natural
resources, and poisoning air, water and land at alarming rates. Clean air
and drinking water are at a premium and pollution has risen to dangerous
levels in concentrated “gas chambers” such as Delhi. Habitat loss, mass
extinctions of species, and climate change triggered by human activities
are leading to forms of destruction that could very well make much of life
unsustainable.
At a collective, societal level, hard-won commitments to responsible,
inclusive political governance seem to be giving way to the promotion of
narrow identity-based agendas in many countries. These are accompanied
by incredible levels of media-driven image-projections that have little basis
in ground realities, as well as newer forms of violence fomented by social
media. Misinformation and fake news aimed at shaping public perceptions
in insidious ways prepare a ripe ground for the ready acceptance of hypoc-
risy in public life and corruption of an extreme kind. This post-truth era
has thrown up a bewildering intertwining of false narratives that make it
hard to discern what is true from what is false. Documentary film-maker
Adam Curtis characterises this phenomenon as the “hyper normalisation”
of a “fake world” constructed, as it were, by corporations and politicians,
while the complex realities of our actual worlds are sought to be occluded
from view2.
For many children growing up today, even as there is greater access to
technological gadgetry alongside schooling of a kind, family support struc-
tures are breaking down. Faced with the moral ambiguities thrown up in a
fast changing social, economic and technological environment, many young
as well as older people experience high levels of anxiety and stress. For those
from marginalised or displaced groups, who survive on minimal resources,
chronic anxiety in daily life is a factor they are compelled to live with.
The ongoing pandemic crisis of 2020–2021 has brought all of these trou-
bling features of our times into sharp relief. Amidst the precarious, fragile
reality of global interconnectedness, the sense of division, oppression, cor-
ruption and unsustainability of our living patterns have only heightened.
But alongside this, the pandemic has also brought forth in individuals and
communities more considerate, compassionate responses to those in dis-
tress. It also compels us to a new appreciation of nature’s power to derail
the collective hubris of humanity. More importantly, the crisis has enforced
The Demands of Ethical Learning 185
a pause in our frenetic lives, which could be used as an occasion for a deeper
reflection into our individual as well as collective predilections. There is a
felt need for a re-examination of the very basis of our human nature and
its moral dimension. We are faced, as never before, with the multiple chal-
lenges of educating ourselves as well as future generations in the domain of
ethical learning and character development.
Engaging the moral dimension of human beings

As human beings our lives are entwined with an ever-present moral dimension.
Each person is always related to others, to one’s surrounding environment,
and hence never free of the requirement of responding rightly to persons and
situations in one’s life. Alongside the self-enclosing, conflictual and habitually
violent tendencies that arise in our human nature, there is also a yearning
towards decent behaviour, a sense of fairness in relation to one another, a
feeling of being connected with others, with one’s human community, as well
as one’s living environment. At a deeper level, there is perhaps also an inner
call to a sense of wholeness within ourselves. Despite all the disturbances that
we may be embedded in, human beings have the capacity for sensing this
deeper connectedness and visualising the possibility of better ways of living,
a better tomorrow. The ways we respond to and bring up the young in our
midst remains the most critical factor in the prospect of a more widely shared
human goodness being realised in our world. For it is the younger generation
who are being educated today that will shape the world that is in the making.
However, what constitutes “goodness”, “ethical action”, “a morally
worthy decision”, a “situationally right response” or a “worthwhile way
of life”, are not issues that are easily settled. In today’s changing world,
ethical learning and the development of character are becoming increas-
ingly complex. This is then a crucial aspect of upbringing and education
that demands much greater attention from concerned parents, educators
and policy makers.
In this chapter I attempt to unpack the broad notions of “ethical learning”
and “character development”, by approaching them from two directions. It
is first useful to delineate a composite, layered, view of human nature, on
the basis of which one may conceptually examine essential aspects that con-
stitute the domain of moral development. Second, I attempt to trace some
alternative conceptions of moral education that have been prevalent in the
changing sociopolitical landscape of India, and examine how these have
been sought to be positioned vis-à-vis the enculturation and education of
the young. Against this conceptual as well as sociohistorical backdrop, I
underline the critical role of education, and suggest a broad framework of
educational aims and processes that may be kept in view by policy mak-
ers, school administrators and teachers concerned with the moral challenges
thrown up by our present times.
186 Alok Mathur
On human nature3
To begin with, we cannot but acknowledge that human beings are bio-
logical creatures, products of a long evolutionary process. We have large
multi-layered brains that have evolved through millennia, as well as a bodily
structure and sensory apparatus that is alive to subtle changes and nuances
in its environment. We have innate drives that are an inheritance of our evo-
lutionary history, including the survival instinct and the sexual urge. These
biological features are essential ingredients of our everyday lives.
All of us are social beings too, growing up and participating in a family,
and a particular community with its cultural surround. The culture we are
born into inevitably seeks to socialise our behaviour and outlook in specific
ways, including attitudes to relationships, gender roles and sexuality. Our
human tendency towards habit-formation may readily result in the inter-
nalisation of a whole repertoire of attitudes and behaviours, especially when
repetitive messages are accentuated and get coded in the neural pathways
of the brain. The formation of “group identities” that shape our behaviours
has its genesis in such shared and reinforced habit patterns within families
and communities.
We are also emotional creatures, prone to a wide range of inner mental
states and feelings, alongside accompanying thought patterns. These may
be experienced within us individually, but are largely evoked and medi-
ated by social and cultural norms and expectations. Emotions such as pride,
envy, hatred, desire, guilt or shame arise in our social interactions, and are
assigned meanings in particular cultural contexts. Even so-called basic emo-
tions of aggression, anger, fear or gratification arise in the intersubjective
contexts of a social setting. An overriding predisposition we are born with,
and which remains operative through our lives, is the seeking of pleasurable
emotional states and avoidance of painful ones.
Apart from these basic constitutive factors, human beings have a highly
evolved capacity to visualise, imagine and think. We feel and think in the
varied situations we encounter. Our cognition of situations is invariably
shaped by prior mental frames, images and beliefs, and we respond or react
to these situations with a range of emotions and motivations. But we also
reflect and think about reasons for our emotions and actions in shared col-
lective contexts. We are able to communicate and articulate our feelings
and thoughts through gesture, speech as well as written symbolic language.
This emotional and intellectual capacity goes hand in hand with an
impulse towards seeking continuity or coherence in our responses. This is
perhaps the basis of our sense of having a “self”, an “individual identity”
apart from the “group identities” shaped by our participation in community
life. The “psychological self” is however not a stable entity, but a compos-
ite shifting phenomenon, drawing on our multiple identities and constantly
constructing and reconstructing the stories we tell ourselves and by which
we live. It is also the substratum on which reasonable and rational thinking

in human affairs arises. In dealing with collective contexts, multiple perspec-
tives need to be taken into account, and common grounds among diverse
persons and groups need to be worked out. The very notion and functioning
of a “democratic society” rests on this human capacity.
Inconsistencies or dissonances between surrounding situations that one
meets, and one’s inner capacity to make sense of these, may however pro-
duce a heightened range of emotions. At times, this gives rise to a deep
discontent which may lead individuals to critically question accepted reali-
ties and ascribed identities, to imagine alternatives, and seek creative resolu-
tions, inwardly, and in our outward actions. The essential plasticity of the
human brain allows for new neural connections to form, for fresh configu-
rations to emerge, and new perceptions and feelings to arise in the course
of our lives.
The ecology of our human nature is, moreover, not a landscape with
defined boundaries. It is permeable, open, with a possibility of dissolving
boundaries, and directly experiencing oneself as a person among other per-
sons, as also among other living beings. This is a basis of the capacity for a
feeling of relatedness and empathy. Empathy allows for an understanding
and sharing in the feelings of others, a sensitivity to those around, and a
concern for the well-being of others and for one’s overall environment. Such
sensitivity is essential for actions that are not limited by a self-protective
instinct that keeps us within our own shells.
Human beings are also endowed with a capacity for self-awareness, and
a propensity to inquire, to ask existential questions such as: Who are we?
What brought us into being? What influences are shaping me? What is my
connection with the wider society around me, with other human beings,
with other creatures, with nature? What is my place on this Earth, in this
cosmos? Is there any purpose to life, and if so how may I realise this? Can
I experience a sense of wholeness, a connectedness in all that can be per-
ceived? Such self-conscious questioning, often beginning with discontent,
may lead to a stilling of the circularity of conditioned thought-feeling. It
opens us to a dimension in our human nature that may bring us in contact
with the source of energy that animates a living cosmos. It could give rise to
a sense of wonderment, a feeling of being an integral part of a larger whole.
When shorn of the limiting sense of “self”, it may evoke a sense of compas-
sion and creative action that is other-directed.
These interconnected aspects of human nature are represented in the bub-
bles and cloud shapes in the diagram in Figure 9.1 below.
All these aspects of human nature, in one way or another, participate in
our moral and ethical life. I examine these more fully in the next section;
but one could say at the outset that a proper balance in the cultivation
of these factors – the biological, social, emotional, intellectual, empathetic
and self-aware dimensions – form the basis of character development in the
188 Alok Mathur
Awareness Earth
Se
Cosmos c lf-c
eti o
be nscio
a th e ing
p
Em natu
r s us
Emotional Thinking
Creatures Beings
Social Environment Physical Environment
Biological
Nature
Community Social Beings Nature
Figure 9.1 Aspects of human nature Source: Author. I am grateful to Professor Jayashree

Ramadas for her suggestions for refining Figure 9.1 as well as Figure 9.2.
sense that the term is being used here. While other factors continue to play a
significant part in the many ways that our human nature expresses itself, it
is the capacity for empathy and a spirit of self-inquiry that are perhaps the
primary basis for ethical learning and a morally awakened existence.
Examining ideas related to ethical learning

Any talk of “ethical learning” invariably brings up two basic notions: the
idea of “moral values” to be inculcated and the notion of “virtues” to be
cultivated. A more recent term that has come into vogue is “social-emotional
learning”. Taking just these four terms into account, it is helpful to examine
their distinctions as well as their connections. We might note at the outset
that two of them – social-emotional learning and ethical learning – refer to
processes of learning, and the two others – moral values and virtues – are
often associated with possible outcomes. In most traditional cultures it is
moral values and virtues that are emphasised in the education of the young;
hence I first examine their place in our lives.
Moral values
Moral values commonly refer to the inculcation of a sense of right and
wrong, of valuing that which is deemed right, just or good in society, and
trying to shun that which is considered bad, harmful or selfish. In most

societies, values such as being honest, truthful, considerate of others, etc.
are seen as “right”, while lying, stealing, being mean-spirited, hurting oth-
ers, etc. are seen as “wrong”. Young children may begin to hear this form
of social discourse from early in their lives: “be a good boy or girl” by doing
such and such, and do not be a “bad person” by indulging in such and
such. When this form of social morality is internalised by a young person, it
becomes an inner voice that may be heard through the course of ones’ life.
The values thus implanted in us become the common yardsticks that provide
a measure or a standard for morally acceptable behaviour within particular
social groups. When this inner voice is applied to judging our own actions,
it is often referred to as one’s “conscience”, and this is a significant factor
that can influence our behaviour and emotions. However, very often this
voice becomes a standard by which we may judge specific actions of others
or even stereotypical propensities associated with particular social groups.
While conventional “moral values” may be intended to enable social cohe-
sion, when they are internalised in an unreflective manner, they could just as
well become a source of unjustified judgements and discrimination among
groups of peoples.
Virtues
The term “virtues” refer to attitudes and dispositions that persons may dis-
play in their practical everyday behaviour, which are considered good for
the well-being of those around them as well as for themselves. Being benevo-
lent, courageous, honest, humble, just or prudent, are personal traits that
have been taken as virtues in most traditional social contexts. The opposite
kinds of traits, such as meanness, cowardice, dishonesty, vanity, injustice
and recklessness – when they become habitual – are, on the other hand,
taken as vices. Virtues have been sought to be cultivated through an encour-
agement of desirable behaviours in the young.
We may, for instance, learn to behave, say, benevolently, prudently or
justly, through encouragement of adults in one’s life; but if we are to at
all imbibe this as a character trait, we need to repeatedly see the value of
such an attitude in one’s own responses in specific life situations. A person
is virtuous to the extent that the trait is displayed fairly consistently in a
range of situations. Virtues are in fact exhibited only by applying one’s own
perceptions and conscious judgements in particular situations that arise. We
might say that some form of “moral values” are in fact embedded in any of
the virtues, but the behaviour of a person who exhibits a certain virtue must
be based on a certain inner conviction of the rightness of something, and is
not restricted simply to judgements of specific actions being right or wrong.
Further, as and when we meet varied and changing life situations, the ten-
dency to act in certain virtuous ways needs to be tempered or balanced with
190 Alok Mathur
a practical understanding of the impact this would have in specific instances.

A habitual, unthinking display of any so-called virtue in excess can also be
a vice. For example, on some occasions, even a normally benevolent teacher
may need to exercise firmness and authority, if being indulgent of some ado-
lescent youth’s unthinking behaviour might lead him to self-harm or harm
to others. Or a courageous person, in the face of grave bodily danger – such
as being accosted by an armed robber – may take considered, evasive action,
rather than become confrontational and therefore reckless. Or a normally
honest person may not tell a bald truth, if this would be a tactless or hurtful
thing to do. A certain quality of care and sensitivity to persons and contexts
are called for in exercising the virtues.
Social-emotional learning
This links up directly with the vital place of “social-emotional learning”.
This term refers to the processes by which we learn to be in contact with
our own emotions, even as we are able to sense other people’s emotions,
so as to take responsible decisions in specific contexts. Relating well with
others and responding appropriately to situations that arise in our lives,
requires that we are not simply driven by our habits, emotions or moral
judgements, but are sensitively aware of situations, as well as the moods and
emotions of others. This is the basis for nurturing the qualities of empathy
and care for others, as well as self-care, which includes at times saying a
firm “no” to harmful interactions. Social-emotional learning thus leads to a
moral sensibility that appreciates and acts in accordance with appropriate
values, without becoming rigidly moralistic. Clearly this form of learning is
also the basis for fostering virtues. Since the young and the old, as they live
out their lives in today’s world, face increasingly complex environments and
encounter a wide diversity of persons and life situations, this is an essential
form of learning that needs to be on-going throughout life.
Ethical learning
“Ethical learning” can also be considered an on-going process that needs a
foundation of moral values and virtues. While drawing upon the fruits of
social-emotional learning, that is, empathy, care and concern, it also rests
on growth in mental maturity, a widening experience and knowledge of
the world, an awakened capacity to reason, as well as a heightened level of
awareness, especially self-awareness. This kind of learning becomes possible
when we begin to critically reflect, individually as well as in dialogue with
others, on prevalent and changing moral codes in our complex societies, and
are able to gain a more independent basis for thought, feeling and action.
Ethical learning comes into play in determining what one ought to do
in ambiguous moral situations, where the right thing to do is not readily
evident: for instance, in a family setting, should a doctor who takes her
work with needy patients seriously and thus often works till late, necessarily
make more time to spend with her own children and family who feel that
they too need her presence? With social and individual roles undergoing a
flux, and new balances needing to be struck in the lives of women and men,
these dilemmas may be resolved in an ethically satisfactory manner only if
the concerned persons can work through them with a mutually caring and
mature outlook.
Apart from matters connected with personal and interpersonal well-
being, wider systemic issues that impinge on individual and collective lives
may also come to be of concern and worth deliberating upon. These con-
cerns could be of a sociocultural, economic, political, educational or legal
nature, and may include, for example, issues of social justice, consequences
of growing economic inequality, the presence or absence of a democratic
spirit in school cultures, or the impact of lifestyles, government policies and
economic decisions on people’s lives and the environment. Such engaged,
reflective understanding comes with a propensity to act on the basis of rea-
soned and self-governed principles, which are themselves open to re-exami-
nation as new situations present themselves in a fast-changing world.
Ethical learning thus demands a more autonomous form of moral judge-
ment and public reasoning, which is not averse to taking issue with conven-
tional moralities of extant cultures or the policies and practices supported
by those in power. It may lead to staking out a different course if this is seen
as essential for ameliorating current problems of self, society or the world.
In our VUCA world, a worthwhile education of the young would thus need
to provide the impetus for such “ethical learning” as a lifelong process.
Goodness
The full potential of human life extends beyond the ability to make criti-
cally guided ethical decisions in particular instances or living by an evolving
self-directed empathetic code. For ethical reasoning and empathy typically
operate against the backdrop of conflicting pulls and pressures of everyday
living that give rise to the “psychological self”. A mature mind engaged
in deeper self-enquiry may awaken a capacity for unbiased observation, a
simultaneous attention to the dynamic frameworks that shape oneself and
others. This is the beginning of a “freeing up” of a qualitatively different
space in the layered and bounded human psyche, triggering an insight into
the illusion of a separate “self”. Buddhism, Vedanta and other mystic tradi-
tions allude to the ending of a “separate I-sense”, a heightened awareness
of one’s participation in the wholeness of the cosmos. A direct experience
of this deep interconnectedness of all beings with the living Earth, may then
be embodied in an integral sense of “goodness” that matures through one’s
life journey. Such an innate kind of goodness, with an awakened quality of
192 Alok Mathur
Goodness
Self-inquiry, unbiased
observation and insight,
compassionate
intelligence
Ethical learning
Self-awareness, critical
reflection in dealing with
Knowledge complex moral issues Critical Thinking
Widening awareness of Ability to evaluate
the world, the sciences, arguments and
humanities and current justifications, to think
issues independently
Social-Emotional
Learning
Moral Values Emotional intelligence in
Virtues
Standards for ‘good’ and Good qualities or
dealing with
‘bad’ OR ‘right’ and dispositions displayed in
relationships
‘wrong’ judgements everyday life
Figure 9.2 Aspects of morality, ethical learning and goodness Source: Author
compassionate intelligence, perhaps manifests in rare human beings. Even

if such persons err on occasion, their life energies remain ever-renewed and
expansive, free of self-delusionary conditioning, or conceptual frameworks
that limit cognition. All other forms of ethical learning and moral action
are then subsumed within this enduring quality of goodness, which has its
own action and impact on the quality of life of others and the world around
them.
Figure 9.2 above, summarises the distinctions and linkages discussed thus
far.
Character development as an aim of education

Character development is a broad term, for it refers to the composite emer-
gence of traits, attitudes and dispositions in a person that are sustained
through time and circumstance. John Dewey’s characterisation of educa-
tion as a “process of formation of fundamental dispositions, intellectual
and emotional, towards nature and fellow men”4, points to character devel-
opment as a central aim of education. We could add that, apart from our
intellectual and emotional sides, character development ought to engage the
biological, the social, as well as the self-awareness dimensions of our beings.
This notion is echoed in the words of India’s first national commission on
secondary education5, which devotes a full chapter to the “Education of

Character”. Its report expresses this as follows: “The supreme end of the
educative process should be the training of the character and personality of
students in such a way that they will be able to realize their full potentialities
and contribute to the well-being of the community”. In its normative, educa-
tional sense, character development thus has a direct relationship with ethi-
cal learning, for its goal is to educate ethically oriented, responsible people,
who are capable of choosing a worthwhile way of living and contributing to
the common good. Another equivalent term for “character development”,
which I prefer to use, is nurturing the capacity for “goodness” in the young,
so that they may learn to live and act with integrity, sensitivity and compas-
sionate intelligence.
Diverse conceptions of moral education

and their implications
We may now approach the pressing question of ethical learning and char-
acter development by sketching out the many different sources of moral
education, and their associated practices, that have prevailed over time in
the education of the young in India. This is but a brief survey of key shifts in
the cultural and political contexts of upbringing and education over the past
century, and the accompanying conceptions of moral education that have
been promoted in our society. In doing so, we may come to see their pos-
sibilities, their limitations, as well as their problematic nature with regard to
the demands of ethical learning and character development in our present
times.
Moral upbringing in pre-independence times

In societies with long-standing religious and cultural traditions, the moral
education of the young has primarily been the province of the family and
community, with ethical perspectives being typically drawn from religious
sources. In multi-religious societies like India there has been some cross-
cultural interpenetration of religious ideas leading to syncretic practices
and some commonality of values held by different communities. Yet there
have been significant differences in the metaphysical beliefs – for instance,
about the relationship of humans to the divine – in different religions, and
there remains the potential for considerable divergences in values as well
as practices across religious groups. Caste-based social groupings too have
been responsible for determining the specific values and virtues that are
emphasised by different groups. It is well established that various kinds
of power hierarchies and discrimination have long been built into the
accepted relations among various social groups, as well as between men
and women.
194 Alok Mathur
Family-based upbringing had also been supplemented by local forms of

religious education that sought to maintain the traditions. Apart from the
community-based schools in towns and villages, there have been religious
schools such as Vedic pathashaalas or Islamic madrassas, where the cur-
riculum aims at the inculcation of specific religious and moral values in the
young, apart from certain forms of secular knowledge. Family and com-
munity cultures and such faith-based schools perhaps remained the primary
source of ethical learning and character development for those growing up
in past centuries.
Superimposed on this mosaic of cultures, there later came the dominating
influence of European missionaries. They established different denomina-
tions of missionary schools and brought to bear on their students a set of
values and virtues that drew upon the diverse beliefs within Christianity.
These were subsequently supplemented by the British colonial administra-
tors with their own impulse of “civilising the natives”, who established gov-
ernment-supported schools across the subcontinent. Those who have been
students in schools established since these times may readily recall the cur-
ricular subjects of “moral science” and “civics” that respectively sought to
enculture their students into Christian values, while seeking to also prepare
them as compliant law-abiding citizens.
It can be stated with some veracity that all these forms of moral education
continue to cast their long shadow and, with some contemporary variations,
are still very much practiced in the India of today.
Moral and civic education in the post-independence period

However, the freedom movement and subsequent independence from colo-
nial rule created new conditions that have given rise to alternate conceptions
of moral development. Foremost among these is a conception of morality
which draws its ideals from the secular, quasi-federal constitution of India,
which exhorts each individual to look beyond the family, community, reli-
gious or regional identity or interest. It aimed at the cultivation of a pan-
Indian mindset and a patriotic allegiance to a nation-in-the-making. The
Mudaliar Commission’s Report, for instance, emphasised such a perspec-
tive. School being a key space for socialisation and value formation of the
young citizen, this enterprise of nation-building found its way, more or less
unchallenged, into curricula and textbooks of the expanding school system.
This took various expressions, from a reiteration of constitutional values
through the “preamble” that adorned textbooks, to privileging historical
narratives that extolled the virtues of rulers who had sought to bind together
large swathes of the land. Also highlighted were the lives and achievements
of prominent Indian leaders who had more recently participated in throw-
ing off the yoke of colonial domination and forging a new nation that aimed
at promoting “unity within its diversity”.
However, in a multi-cultural democratic society the problem of moral

diversity and a pedagogy for moral development remains a complex one,
since such a society seeks to value both, scientific temper and individual
agency, as well as the traditions of different cultures. In the backdrop of
increasing tensions and cynicism in Indian society as a whole, a conception
that gained ground from the 1960s to the 1990s and into the early 2000s,
was the broad notion of “value education”, under which many kinds of
concerns and desirable attitudes could be listed. For instance, the National
Policy on Education of 1986, demanded that schools “promote values such
as India’s common cultural heritage, egalitarianism, democracy and secular-
ism, equality of sexes, protection of environment, removal of social barriers,
observance of small family norm and inculcation of scientific temper.” It
further suggested that
to promote equality, it will be necessary to provide for equal oppor-

tunity for all, not only in access but also in the conditions of success.
Besides, awareness of the inherent equality of all will be created through
the core curriculum. The purpose is to remove prejudices and complexes
transmitted through the social environment and the accident of birth.6
These may be laudable goals indeed, but there was very little practical guid-
ance on how this long list of value-laden objectives was to be achieved in
the manner of teaching and engaging with young minds in a school context.
Learning without Burden (1993) and National

Curriculum Framework (2005)
The report of the Yash Pal Committee of 1993, titled “Learning without
Burden”7 made some incisive observations about the underlying causes of
an overloaded curriculum and examination-driven form of pedagogy, and
their deadening impact on young people’s mental and emotional capaci-
ties. A direct consequence of this burden of “incomprehension” that school-
going children were being subjected to is an inability to think for themselves,
inquire and create meaningful conceptions of a good life in a democratic
society. The report made a number of recommendations for moving towards
a more thoughtful approach to teaching the young to become creative and
independent thinkers essential for a thriving democratic citizenry.
The National Curriculum Framework 2005 (NCF 2005)8 built on
this report and attempted to provide greater substance in its educational
aims to what were seen as essentially democratic, constitutional values.
It makes a plea for enabling children to experience dignity, confidence to
learn, development of self-esteem and ethics, as well as the need to culti-
vate children’s creativity, making children sensitive to the environment and
finally the need for fostering democracy as a way of life rather than just
196 Alok Mathur
a system of governance. The framework underscores the need to reaffirm

our “commitment to the concept of equality amidst diversity” and states
that “education must be able to promote values that foster peace, humane-
ness and tolerance in a multi-cultural society” (p. 2). It further indicates
that independence of thought and action, capacity for value-based decision
making, sensitivity to others’ well-being and feelings should form the basis
of a rational commitment to values, and that this be among the core aims
of education.
The NCF 2005, however, also proposes a new conception of moral edu-
cation in the name of what it calls “peace education”. The backdrop to this
is a recognition that “we live in an era of unprecedented violence – local,
regional, national and global”. It observes that a “disturbed natural and
psycho-social environment often leads to stress in human relations, trigger-
ing intolerance and conflict”, and proposes that “living in harmony with
oneself and one’s natural and social environment is a basic human need”.
This echoes some of the features of a VUCA world that were described ear-
lier. The NCF 2005 thus sees as another key goal of education “building a
culture of peace”, “empowering individuals to choose peace as a way of life,
and enabling them to become managers rather than spectators of violence”.
It states that “peace as an integrative perspective of the school curriculum
has the potential of becoming an enterprise for healing and revitalising the
nation” (pp. 6–7). Even as these observations represent a significant turn in
desired value orientations in education, a brief glance at the daily news on
television or social media will make it evident that the urgency of these aims
remains even more pronounced 15 years hence.
The NCF 2005 perhaps comes closer than other policy documents thus
far in spelling out a richer conception of ethical learning and character
development. It also proposes that child-centred pedagogies, that take into
account children’s life worlds and thought processes, are most suitable for
building the right climate for nurturing these processes at the school level.
What it perhaps does not offer are approaches to ethical learning and char-
acter development that may continue into the middle years and secondary
levels of schooling.
Global ethical concerns

There are two parallel developments in our conceptions of moral educa-
tion at a global level that are important to dwell upon. “Protection of
the environment”, as a value or a moral commitment, does get a mention
in various listings of value education in India. But it acquired a legally
binding advocacy from the Supreme Court in a 1991 judgement, which
required all educational institutions to compulsorily teach environmental
education at all levels. This was seen as a moral imperative that relates
to the “right to life”, which can be interpreted as a “right to a healthy
environment” for all citizens. While this approach, arising as it does from
a humanistic interpretation of man-made laws, is necessarily based on an
anthropocentric conception, it did result in the introduction of new cur-
ricula that has led to greater awareness of environmental concerns among
many school-going children. The concern for environmental sustainabil-
ity has since gained much greater traction with worldwide acknowledg-
ment of a “climate crisis” and several international agencies pointing to
the extreme urgency of politico-economic as well as educational action to
mitigate this crisis. There are now several advocacy groups demanding a
radical shift in our attitudes to nature and to the Earth as a living system,
proposing greater humility and care, and a minimising of our “carbon
footprint”.
Another level of ethical concern, arising from initiatives of bodies such
as the United Nations in the wake of rapid globalisation of economic activ-
ity, global migrations and prominence gained by the World Wide Web, is
the conception of “global citizenship”. It is believed that engagements with
peoples across national boundaries can allow for a more tolerant, multi-
perspective view of the world and the possibility of a genuine sense of
being a part of this planet, and not just identified with a particular nation.
Organisations such as UNESCO have taken steps towards articulating a
“common framework of ethics for the 21st century”, which builds on the
idea of “universality in diversity”.9 In 2012, at the UN conference in Rio Di
Janeiro, 17 Sustainable Development Goals were agreed upon that aimed to
tackle a wide variety of interconnected global issues, ranging from conflict,
poverty, hunger, issues of equity and sustainability, and climate change.
According to the UN, “Education must fully assume its central role in help-
ing people to forge more just, peaceful, tolerant and inclusive societies. It
must give people the understanding, skills and values they need to cooperate
in resolving the interconnected challenges of the 21st century”10. Coming
from another orientation, the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has
been actively promoting an educational curriculum for a global “secular
ethics” that is “beyond religions”, which is seen as “an inclusive approach
to embracing our shared human inner values”.11
However, a more powerful current that has come with increasing glo-
balisation is a heightened trend of economic domination of the few over the
many, bringing in its wake a host of poignant ethical challenges. Our com-
pulsive production and consumption cycles continue to create a headlong
collision with Earth’s capacity to sustain profligate lifestyles of some, jux-
taposed with misery for many others. Global economic activity is also lead-
ing to a homogenising of cultures, and a neo-colonised consumer mindset
that rejects the value-orientations of respectful restraint embedded in older
cultures and traditions. Ambiguities and clashes in value systems give rise
to inner conflicts, and to fundamentalist reactions, with acts of terrorism as
one extreme response.
198 Alok Mathur
Shifting sociopolitical climate

The recent decades have also seen the rise of right-wing politics in many
countries the world over. This manner of politics rests on the promotion
of defensive as well as aggressive forms of “national identity”, along with
sociocultural aspirations that seek “greatness” at the expense of significant
sections of their own populations. In India too this trend appears to indicate
a shift in moral orientations of a substantial populace. This has led to the
unchallenged legitimacy gained by rightist parties with the agenda of pro-
moting a majoritarian, development-oriented state, that is highly central-
ised, and yet professes to create room for the assimilation of religious and
other minorities. While this is clearly in contradiction with the inclusive,
pluralistic founding principles of the Indian constitution of 1950, the official
discourse continues to proclaim an adherence to “constitutional values”.
If scientific temper, constitutional democratic values and peace were the
frameworks for generating our aspirations in the previous decades, refer-
ences to myths, ancient texts and past achievements of Indian civilisation
have come to be viewed in official circles not only as a primary source of
moral pride and values, but also authentic sources of contemporary knowl-
edge. Nationalism defined in simplistic, narrow and strident terms, pro-
motes a divisive “us” versus “them” mindset. Reactive and habitual ways
of boxing persons into categories and stereotyping whole social groups – a
potent tendency that has always existed in human nature – become a nor-
malised part of public discourse. Given the susceptibilities of human nature,
this divisive tendency could readily be imbibed by the young of the coming
generation unless more vital forms of ethical learning and character devel-
opment are able to provide a substantial counterpoint.
India’s New Education Policy

It is significant that in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, and after much
delay, a new National Education Policy (NEP) was recently unveiled in
2020, which speaks explicitly of promoting “holistic development of learn-
ers”. The bulky draft NEP 2019 in fact had a complete section on “Ethical
and Moral Reasoning” with eight sub-sections and suggestive pedagogical
approaches for different stages of schooling12. In the pared down NEP 2020
this domain of education initially finds a passing mention in the midst of a
very long list of core “skills” to be developed in learners (in section 4.23):
While students must have a large amount of flexibility in choosing their

individual curricula, certain subjects and skills should be learned by
all students to become good [emphasis mine], successful, innovative,
adaptable, and productive human beings in today’s rapidly-changing
world. ….These skills include: scientific temper and evidence-based
thinking; creativity and innovativeness ….digital literacy, coding, and

computational thinking, ethical and moral reasoning [emphasis mine];
including knowledge and practice of human and Constitutional values
(such as patriotism, sacrifice, non-violence, truth, honesty, peace, right-
eous conduct, forgiveness, tolerance, mercy, sympathy, helpfulness,
cleanliness, courtesy, integrity, pluralism, responsibility, justice, liberty,
equality, and fraternity); gender sensitisation; fundamental duties, citi-
zenship skills and values….
The list further includes, “…knowledge of India (including Indian knowl-

edge systems); environmental awareness, water and resource conservation;
current affairs and knowledge of critical issues facing local communities,
states, the country, and the world”. A somewhat fuller statement on ethi-
cal learning is found a little later (in section 4.28), but here too it seems to
rely on the inculcation of various disparate kinds of values to propose that
“basic ethical reasoning, traditional Indian values and all basic human and
Constitutional values… will be developed in all students”13.
Perhaps it is in the nature of such documents to adopt a catch-all “laundry
list” approach to this complex domain of human and social life, and this has
been the style of some earlier education policy documents too. It remains to
be seen whether any new directions would emerge as a result of the present
vision document. The characterisation, in the final version of NEP 2020, of
“ethical and moral reasoning” as simply one among a multitude of “skills”,
however, does not inspire confidence that a richer, informed and truly holis-
tic conception of moral education will find a place, or make a dent in the
types of school cultures and pedagogies that continue to dominate the Indian
educational landscape. The NEP 2020 does make proclamations of bringing
shifts in the type of high-stakes, exam-focused “rote learning culture” that
exists today. But so have other past educational policies, starting with the
Mudaliar Commission in the 1950s. The NEP 2020 perhaps suggests a more
explicit course of action in this regard, and if it does manage to set in motion
reforms in this area, it could be a significant and welcome breakthrough. For
it is, unfortunately, a sad and dismal fact – poignantly highlighted 25 years
ago in the report “Learning without Burden” – that students in most Indian
schools are thrust from their early years into a competitive, exam-focused
environment, where there is little scope for exercising their own minds and
feelings, and engaging meaningfully with the complex world they encounter
as they grow up. Such schooling cannot but have a stunting impact on the
ethical outlook and character formation of its students.
The role of schools in nurturing goodness

It remains evident nevertheless that schools need to undertake a much
deeper purpose in today’s world than most people usually associate with
200 Alok Mathur
them. They are, of course, meant to teach children to read, write, calculate,
become adept at contemporary technologies and so on, that is, to inculcate
the knowledge and skills for making a decent livelihood in this changing
and uncertain world; but much more than that schools need to be involved
with nurturing in the upcoming generations the disposition towards being
morally awake individuals. It is hence schools that are conceived “against
the grain” of the type of academic culture that prevails, schools that so to
speak represent a “counter-current” in education, which I attempt to envi-
sion and describe in this essay. These are schools in which educational aims
and processes are intended to support the kind of ethical learning and char-
acter development that was discussed earlier.
In this perspective, the development of “ethics and moral reasoning”
goes hand-in-hand with nurturing the “good” in a human being (both these
being richly connoted terms that appear at present to be just an incidental
part of the NEP 2020). If nurturing the “good in a human being” could be
considered a central aim of education, what constitutes a “good human
being” needs to be spelt out. Clarifying some facets of this notion would
also suggest educative means that may lead towards this end. I enumerate
here what may be viewed as some key connected aspects of “goodness”:
• There is first of all the need for cultivating a healthy body and a sound
mind, which includes senses that are alert, an active brain, and a keen
intellect; a mind which can think clearly, precisely, see connections
among ideas, and communicate well with others.
• The cultivation of mind and body must not however focus on intel-
lectual and physical skills alone, these being only partial aspects of our
human nature. If these are over-emphasised, as often happens in even
well-resourced schools today, we produce one-sided human beings,
who may be prone to destructive tendencies induced by the turbulence
of contemporary life.
• A good human being must be especially intelligent in relationships. This
requires the cultivation of a quality of sensitivity and empathy, a feeling
of connectedness with others, and the promotion of a wider sense of
cooperation, care and responsibility.
• This in turn requires on-going opportunities for social-emotional learn-
ing: to become aware of one’s impulses and influences, learn construc-
tive ways of responding to one’s own emotions, while being sensitive
and responsive to others. One would not then grow up self-centred,
seeking power and privilege, caught up in conflict, or subject to emo-
tions like jealousy, or anger and aggressiveness, and its necessary corol-
lary, fear.
• Moreover, as one becomes aware and increasingly conscious of various
levels of one’s being, one is able to free oneself to think and feel inde-
pendently, as well as creatively and expansively, and not be tethered
to the approval or disapproval of others or even to self-generated

identifications and images.
• A good human being must also have a feeling for nature, an attitude
that is not exploitative and self-enclosed in its own desires; one may
then nurture a feeling of connection with other living things, a sense of
the beauty and order in nature, and feel part of the universe in all its
grandeur.
In this characterisation of a good human being, I draw from the writings of

J. Krishnamurti, a radical spiritual teacher and founder of schools with aims
of education such as these. For him, “that is the real issue in education – to
see that when the child leaves the school, he is well established in goodness,
both outwardly and inwardly”.14 He further states that: “a good human
being is someone who is well-put-together, who is whole, not fragmented,
broken up, narrow-minded” and in a larger sense “such a human being feels
a part of the whole of humanity, is capable of a quality of love and compas-
sion. Such human beings alone can bring about a good society”’. This is
clearly a huge demand. But it is a demand that is all the more pressing in our
changing times, for these are times of escalating crises within this country,
as well as for humankind and the planet.
Towards a philosophy of ethical living in schools

What can be practically done in schools towards this aim? First of all, we
need to acknowledge that schools are indeed a vital arena for a broader,
deeper education, as much for the teachers and other adults, as for the stu-
dents. Adults and children together need to participate in an education that
engages all dimensions of human nature, since these together form the basis
of ethical living.
Administrators and teachers conscious of this responsibility would
attempt to create and sustain, in the face of all other pressures and forces, a
wholesome environment for nurturing their students as good human beings.
A humane, inclusive outlook needs to pervade the educational ambience
of the school, even as the school community remains responsive to new
developments in the world and changes in society. The school’s curricu-
lum and practices must necessarily evolve with changing realities and the
opportunities of our times. However, these responses need to be deliberate,
thoughtful, coherent, and not knee-jerk, riding on some new bandwagon or
driven by some anxiety among higher authorities to get ahead of others in
a fast-changing world.
A spirit of dialogue and collegial relationships among colleagues, if
explicitly encouraged, would allow for a sharing of each other’s percep-
tions and concerns, and sustaining a sense of care and cooperation in work-
ing together among the adults (including parents), rather than comparison
202 Alok Mathur
and competition. If there is an impetus towards such a feeling of cohesion

in the school community, students of all ages can sense this and are non-
verbally impacted by it. This, however, requires the adults themselves to
be self-aware, and open to engaging with the complex moral challenges of
everyday life as well as the larger issues of our present times. Grounded in
an inquiry-based philosophy of living, they may endeavour to educate them-
selves as well as their students towards a sense of ethical balance and grace
that comes with a life of self-enquiry.
I briefly sketch here some further aspects of adult dispositions, the quality
of teacher–student relationships, as well as some practices at different stages
of schooling, that would promote ethical learning and character develop-
ment in the young.
Early years
The adults who deal daily with the younger children in school, including
teachers and parents, need to become acutely aware of the longer-term
impact of their behaviour and actions on children. Teachers in particular
need to shed older, rigid ways of disciplining and teaching, and instead learn
to respond with flexibility and sensitivity to the diversity of students in their
care. They may then be able to create an atmosphere that is secure and sup-
portive, yet challenging. For children need a sense of security along with
the freedom to explore. They need to be free to think, to ask questions, to
express their impulses; and yet not be allowed to simply do what they please.
Moral dictums, exhortations or punishments are not an appropriate way of
dealing with children’s infringements, for they lead to fear and suppres-
sion. Clarity of expectations, basic consideration for others, and learning to
restrain one’s desires when needed, when this is communicated consistently,
make for a mutually respectful relationship between teachers and students,
and amongst the students. Other forms of learning then become possible.
In the early years, for instance, there ought to be ample opportunities for
contact with nature and using one’s body and senses – learning to listen, to
observe, to physically touch and handle things. It is such processes that lay
a solid foundation for mental growth and moral development in later life.
NCF 2005 has in fact articulated a nuanced appreciation of these factors.
The middle years

The middle years in school are critical, for students become open to many
influences beyond home and school: their peers, the surrounding com-
munities, new technologies, multiple messages from various media, and
even daily happenings in the news. Bodily changes and stirring of sexual
impulses also leave them self-conscious, attracted to others of their age,
and often confused or anxious. Apart from teaching them skills and subject
knowledge, teachers need to instruct, guide and respond to students in many

other matters, holding conversations on varied topics of interest within and
outside of the curriculum. This is also a stage when many questions arise
in their young minds, and questioning of authority and authoritative asser-
tions begins. Allowing freedom of inquiry to pursue such questions is some-
thing that the “Learning without Burden” report too had pointed to as an
essential part of education.
Teachers also need to be sensitive to changing moods and emotions in
individual students, help them become aware of their feelings and responses,
and learn to accompany them in their journey of growing up. Helping stu-
dents to take greater responsibility for themselves, their behaviour and their
learning, creates a climate for social-emotional learning, as also the devel-
opment of rational, reasonable thinking and the emergence of virtues. This
requires a culture of discussion and learning among teachers too, for only
then can they become aware of their own biases or blind spots, and together
learn to see each student as a changing, composite being of many parts.
The wider aims of education also find expression through the ways in
which teachers teach the academic curriculum and encourage students to
develop their own learning goals and strategies. Non-comparative assess-
ment and individualised reports to parents are a comprehensive way of giv-
ing constructive feedback on the progress and difficulties of each student,
and including parents in the process of their child’s growth, without simply
adding to students’ or parents’ anxieties. When competition with each other
and a strong achievement orientation are not the major focus, it generates
an atmosphere of cooperative learning and fosters relationships.
Alongside the formal curriculum, the administrators and teachers can
ensure that there are spaces in the timetable for being in contact with the
outer world and with nature. This can be done through out-of-school field
trips, nature-based activities, selected films and readings as well as open-
ended discussions. Equally important are opportunities for contact with
their inner world. Practices that encourage awareness of one’s thoughts,
feelings and emotions, as well as experiences of silence, play a part in sup-
porting the growth of emotional intelligence. Silence allows contending
aspects of our human nature to find a better balance, and may awaken new
questions and wonderment about oneself, the universe and life. This is often
the beginning of a deeper questioning.
The senior years

As students grow into their senior years at school, they face many more
expectations and life pressures – from within and without. Academic work-
load becomes much greater, and exams loom ahead. They wonder about
their future, their place in society, and what they will do in life. Some begin
to question accepted conventions and moral expectations of society, even
204 Alok Mathur
the whole education system, and are often willing to take risks. In some
there is a growing urge towards sexual exploration with a partner. They
often find excitement as well as solace in closed friends’ groups. Even as the
peer group exerts a strong influence, there is a tendency to see oneself as an
individual and move away from adults.
And yet these students would readily interact with any teacher who is
committed to their well-being, and they are open to conversations with such
teachers on even delicate and controversial topics. With imaginative and
rational capacities of senior students expanding greatly, teachers can bring
in more complex ideas as well as expose them to particular value orienta-
tions in the teaching of a range of subjects – literature, history, sociology,
even science and mathematics. The experience of engaging richly with these
subjects opens up their viewpoints on the world, and is capable of enhanc-
ing varied intellectual facilities in students. These may include recognition of
elegance and power of scientific theorising or mathematical proofs; seeking
evidence for historical assertions; appreciation of multiple perspectives in
human affairs; understanding structural iniquities that underlie prevalent
social conditions and everyday news events. If teachers, too, bring a spirit
of discussion, rather than assertion, in unfolding these topics with their stu-
dents, young people can develop into reflective thinkers who would equally
use these capacities in dealing with other complex ethical questions that
may arise in the course of their lives.
It is also important at this stage for students to develop a critical aware-
ness of the world around them, of the complexity of society, of global forces,
their influences and built-in hegemonies. Good documentary films can trig-
ger thinking and discussion, but real-life visits to places where they can meet
people and experience quite unfamiliar life issues – such as the struggles and
successes of organic farmers; the aesthetics in the life of a craftsman; or the
plight of tribal communities in the wake of a dam construction project –
serve to enlarge their moral horizons. Issues that were hitherto somewhat
distant, might become genuine long-term concerns. While not all students
would respond in the same way, for some there may be a “moral awaken-
ing” of a sort not experienced before. This can then become a lifelong impe-
tus to seek a form of goodness in action that is coherent with what they have
come to know of themselves.
Even as they are at the point of leaving school, students may, together
with their teachers, inquire into questions such as: what do I want to do
with my life? Should I follow what my parents aspire for me, or is it right
for me to seek my own path? Why is there so much division, injustice and
environmental degradation in the world? Do I have a part to play in this?
And also, a deeper question “what is it that keeps us alive and flourishing?”
The latter question, which is concerned with the well-being of all, is a ques-
tion that promotes deeper self-inquiry. When pursued in depth, it may come
to infuse a life lived in goodness.
The challenge for humankind

The framework for ethical learning and character development sketched
above in the context of a school, undoubtedly places a high demand on the
collective human capacity for creating and sustaining such learning envi-
ronments. While I believe that it is possible as well as essential to draw out
these capacities in our human nature, it needs to be supported by deeper
shifts in the education of teachers, in processes of self-education of parents,
as well as a policy framework that allows such educative spaces to exist
without excessive governmental controls. The creation of such ethical learn-
ing environments in different parts of the country and the world are among
the highest challenges for humankind today, if we are not to hurtle down
the destructive pathways of the VUCA world. For it is in such seedbeds
that a renewed human culture could take root and grow over the coming
millennia.
Notes
1 An overview of the origins and some usages of the term “VUCA world”, can be
found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatility,_uncertainty,_complexity_and
_ambiguity
2 Adam Curtis’ four-part 2002 documentary, “Century of the Self”, may be
viewed on YouTube at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ3RzGoQC4s
The 2016 documentary “Hyper Normalization” may be viewed on YouTube
at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh2cDKyFdyU
3 This attempt to delineate a composite, layered, portraiture of “human nature”
owes inspiration to the introductory and concluding chapters of L. Stevenson
and D. Haberman’s (1974) book, Ten Theories of Human Nature, New York,
Oxford University Press.
4 Dewey, John (1918), Democracy and Education, Chapter 24 (p. 354), Delhi,
Aakar Books (Indian Edition, 2004).
5 The Secondary Education Commission, better known as the “Mudaliar
Commission”, 1953, was the first full-fledged education commission set up in
post-independence India, to advise the Government of India on reforms required
in school education. Quote is from Chapter VIII, p. 97.
6 The National Policy on Education, 1986, with modifications undertaken in
1992. This is available at the website: www.mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd
/files/upload_document/NPE86-mod92.pdf
7 “Learning without Burden”, report of the Yash Pal Committee, 1993, may be
found at the website: www.academia.edu/4553242/Yash_Pal_committe_report
_lwb
8 National Curriculum Framework, 2005, National Council for Education
Research and Training. This was an extensive exercise in remapping the aims
and the basis of the school curriculum. The main document as well as the
accompanying 21 focus group position papers may be accessed at: https://ncert
.nic.in/focus-group.php?ln=
9 The full text of the document, “A Common Framework for Ethics for the 21st
Century” may be found at the website: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/
pf0000117622
206 Alok Mathur
10 See the UNESCO website: www.unesco.org/new/en/gefi/priorities/global-citi-

zenship/
11 More details of the Dalai Lama’s perspective and this approach to “secular eth-
ics” may be found at: www.secularethic.org/home-1
12 See the relevant section of the Draft National Education Policy 2019, on pp.
95–98 at the MHRD website: www.mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/
Draft_NEP_2019_EN_Revised.pdf
13 New Education Policy, 2020, pp. 15 and 16. The full text of the policy docu-
ment is available at the MHRD website: www.mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/
mhrd/files/NEP_Final_English_0.pdf
14 Krishnamurti, J., (1974), Krishnamurti on Education (p. 76), Chennai,
Krishnamurti Foundation India.
Poster credits:
Challenges and prospects to handling socio-emotive burden
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059-12
The social conditions, peer and societal pressures, impose several challenges
and inculcates a comparative accountability in formal learning environ-
ments. Expanding the horizons of learning possibilities by making it inclu-
sive, allowing for peer learning, learning offered through virtual platforms
and extended beyond structured confines of schools and classrooms can be
emancipatory.
Part 2
Perspectives from Domains

Chapter 10
Learning in the Arts and Aesthetic

Development
Ritu Gopal
Introduction: learning in the arts

The arts are intrinsic to the human experience of life and culture, and dis-
courses on art education have only been gaining greater momentum for its
implementation across a spectrum of learning settings. Learning in the arts,
across diverse educational systems, has been a core feature of the curricu-
lum for the purpose of facilitating engagement with multiple art forms, and
also for the usage of art as a device to teach other subjects towards more
enhanced quality of education (Meleisea, 2005). Music, dance, theatre, vis-
ual and other creative arts depict not only skill and imagination, but also
the endeavour to feel and express one’s understanding about the self and
the world by communicating through a chosen art form (Pritchard, 2014).
More than being a means to a definitive end or expected outcome such as
public performance or technical competency, the arts can be conceptualised
within the framework of curriculum to be a way of life (Menuhin, 1972).
To quote Yehudi Menuhin (1972, p. 104), one of the greatest violinists of
the twentieth century, “…a musical education is not limited to teaching chil-
dren to play or sing, and must so infuse their lives that they live a song…”.
John Dewey, in Experience and Education (1938) asserts the task of educa-
tion as enriching human experience with intellectual, moral and aesthetic
significance. In Rabindranath Tagore’s philosophy of education, aesthetic
development is as essential as physical, intellectual and spiritual develop-
ment. An orientation to the arts beginning at the level of primary schooling
aimed to “cultivate and develop the arts of life: poetry, song, drama, move-
ment in dance and design”, and the Shantiniketan Primary School firmly
embedded music and the arts in the everyday lives of students (Lesar, 2015).
Tagore advocated for “education through the arts” and the “cultivation of
feeling” to inspire students to learn and express knowledge and emotion
with awe, empathy and a sense of unity (Tagore, 1917).
In any discussion on the arts and learning in the arts, discourses on aesthet-
ics and aesthetic development are imperative to get to the core of what art is
and why it is important in the life of individuals and society, for perceptions
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059-14
212 Ritu Gopal
on art as fostered by institutional mindsets do influence the treatment of

art forms in the curriculum and its teaching methodology. Aesthetics refer
to the “awareness and appreciation of beauty and pleasant sensory experi-
ences” from a very early age (Feeney & Moravcik, 1987). Furthermore,
the experience of art and aesthetics varies for every individual. Levinson
describes philosophical aesthetics as concerned with the practice of art, the
beauty and dynamism of art, and the perception or experience evoked by
art. In the three conceptions of art discussed by him, the first conception is
of its “perceptible form and beauty” and its exploration for art’s sake; the
second is of art for expression and communication of emotion, and the third
is of “mimesis, i.e., an imitation or representation” of the external world
(Levinson, 2003).
Michael Parsons (1987) identified five stages of aesthetic development
described through responses to painting as a form of visual art in his study:
favouritism and the enjoyment of art without inquiry in the first stage, the
second stage of beauty and realism where art is assessed by its imagery and
resemblance to reality, and the third stage of expressiveness wherein art is
interpreted or appreciated for novelty and perceptions of how captivating
or interesting it is. In the third stage, the individual is aware of the “sub-
jectivity of the aesthetic experience” and its impact on personal preference
or interpretation. In the fourth stage, technical details such as the medium,
form, style, colour and texture in art are noted with references to art-history
and artistic tradition being made and cross-referenced with other observers.
The last stage leads trained viewers or taught learners to engage in social
discourses on the tradition of art and its cultural context (Hickman, 2010;
Ross, 1982). Educator Ralph Smith (1992) also developed a five-stage model
for art education, these being “exposure and familiarisation”, “perpetual
scrutiny”, “historical awareness”, “exemplar appreciation” and “building a
philosophy of art”. According to Hickman (2010), the practical application
of both Parsons’ and Smith’s work could have the following practical focus:
threshold skills through the use of basic art material, perceptual training
using several media, exploration through expression, skill refinement and
development of personal style with more creative freedom.
In a report on the arts and culture in Asian education, Shakti Maria
emphasises that the arts in Asia were traditionally “integrated with life
functions” for the “physical, sensory, emotional and cognitive development
of the growing child as way of transmitting family and societal values”,
“as a bridge between the worlds of nature, humans and the divine” and
“as a tool for meditation and transformative experiences and understand-
ing” (Meleisea, 2005, p. 7). Societies and cultures around the world have
formed, and continue to form, narratives about their struggles and victories,
their lived experiences, and the search for truth and meaning through song,
movement, storytelling and visual art. These narratives are communicated
not only by the public performance or sharing of the art, but also (and
Learning in the Arts and Aesthetic Development 213
more importantly) in the living environment where the younger generation

is nurtured and raised in specific social and cultural contexts either through
direct immersion as a learner of the art form, or through observations and
conversations that are not intended to be instructional. The living environ-
ment could be the home and community that one inhabits, or the school that
one attends, and the type of art that one has access to within these spaces.
Turning the attention of a child to art involves the facilitation of conscious
observation and conversation. The arts are often introduced and absorbed
in the early years through an orientation through less structured formats in
home and community settings – children could be listening to a lullaby or
song, plucking the strings of an old family guitar or playing a rhythm with
two sticks from a tree, watching a play or puppet show, dancing to a beat
on the radio, trying to repeat the lyrics to a traditional song during a festival
or birthday gathering at home, scribbling a colourful doodle with a crayon,
or drawing random patterns in freshly watered soil. For a child yet to be
conditioned into thought processes by institutions, art is still more fluid
and involves the stimulation of imagination. The ability to explore one’s
surrounding environment render the elementary years of education as most
crucial in unlocking innate curiosity and creativity, and channelling these
qualities towards fostering freedom, independence and confidence in pro-
ductively acting on the information and knowledge acquired from primary
to higher education (Gopal, 2017).
In a study on indigenous arts in early childhood curriculum, Bhatt (2019)
conducted an experiential workshop that used Indian art forms such as
Gond from tribal Madhya Pradesh, which derives from natural plant mate-
rials and sand to then relate to the concept of dots, lines and dashes which
can be innovated by encouraging children to fill in their favourite draw-
ings and shapes with numerals and letters of the alphabet as early reading
and writing exercises. The author also demonstrated possibilities of teach-
ing through Kalamkari and Madhubani art, which use natural dyes and
materials to teach concepts in early mathematics and science through the
innovative use of colouring techniques. Early childhood educators who par-
ticipated in her study later reported that these innovative ideas made for
an enthusiastic classroom experience that the children actively embraced.
Further, the materials necessary to create the art were easily available in the
school premises itself, rendering the idea sustainable.
Integrating the visual and performing arts in preschool education has been
found to improve the emergent literary and school readiness of children, with
the role of the arts in early childhood education (ECE) being that of offering
avenues for creative expression, with the teacher being more of a facilitator
than an instructor (Philips et al., 2010). The impact of learning in the arts,
evidenced in several studies (Gerrity, Hourigan & Horton, 2013; Ruppert,
2006; Barry, Taylor & Walls, 2002), is witnessed in its ability to shape the
developmental needs of children on an intellectual and physiological level,
214 Ritu Gopal
and aids in social and academic development (Gopal, 2017). It is also a form
of socialisation and skill development, a way of engaging with learning in a
more liberal environment, and leads to cultural awareness depending on the
pedagogical perspective of the system within which learning unfolds. India’s
recent National Education Policy (Government of India, 2020), with respect
to the foundational stage of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE),
aims for development that is physical, motor, socio-emotional-ethical, cog-
nitive, cultural and artistic development, and the development of commu-
nication, early language, literacy and numeracy. Towards an attainment
of these goals, the policy seeks a focus on play, activity and inquiry-based
learning comprising of “alphabets, languages, numbers, counting, colours,
shapes, indoor and outdoor play, puzzles and logical thinking, problem-
solving, drawing, painting and other visual art, craft, drama and puppetry,
music and movement”, while developing “social capacities, sensitivity, good
behaviour, courtesy, ethics, personal and public cleanliness, teamwork, and
cooperation”.
Schools often include arts in the curriculum with the intention of increas-
ing student enrolment and gain accolades through competitive activities,
but the role and impact of arts education is a great deal more than these
tangible gains. When the arts are accorded the status of assessment and
reward-based activities, they can become overtly technical, instructional
and demanding of perfection, in turn adding to the existing academic pres-
sure that students face as they progress into the higher grades of schooling.
The arts are not solely supplementary to what are considered mainstream
subjects of literacy – languages, mathematics, sciences, history and geogra-
phy, and computer studies. Learning in the arts offers more advantages than
the more evident purpose of performance, public reward and achievement,
though some might choose to do so for future training towards professional
careers. Rather, in a school set-up that is inclusive of social and cultural
diversity, the arts can stimulate conversations about life and living contexts
particularly at the secondary and higher education levels.
An arts classroom that is positioned to be non-competitive and participa-
tory, in addition to being a joyous space for communication, connection
and conversation through creative mediums, can reduce or balance aca-
demic burden with the right form of curriculum adaptation. Unlike a pri-
vate lesson where individual achievement and stage performance are usually
the foremost aims, a school setting is uniquely situated to be democratic in
offering all children equal opportunities to experience the arts collabora-
tively. Students should be given the opportunity to exercise their independ-
ent thinking by being given sufficient choice and agency in making decisions
on the capacity within which they would like to engage with art within
larger and more intense school curricula. Greene (1985, p. 24) believes that
“teachers must be open to what students tell about their lives and back-
ground: indeed, they must encourage the offering of life stories”. Identifying
and supporting interest and curiosity during the elementary years go a long
way in shaping independent thinkers and confident learners who eventually
take self-driven decisions on career paths in any field. In a study on foster-
ing autonomy through the arts at creative arts elementary school, Arnold
(1996) found that meeting the social, emotional and other developmental
needs before the skills in dance, music, movement and other arts was ben-
eficial in understanding what freedoms and experiences children needed in
uniquely expressing themselves. It is these outcomes that maintain sustained
interest in the arts that could very well lead to art as a way of life within any
professional sphere that students enter into later in life.
National discourses on art education in India

Research conducted in several educational settings reveals that including
art and culture in the daily lives of students contributes to their social, emo-
tional and cognitive well-being and development; it also improves concentra-
tion, self-concept and “personal and social identity perception” (Chemi &
Du, 2017). The 1952–1953 Report of the Education Commission, Kothari
Commission Report of 1964–1966, National Policy of Education 1986,
National Curriculum Frameworks of 1975, 1988, 2000, 2005 emphasised
the importance and relevance of arts education. The Education Commission
Report in 1964–1966 highlighted that education should be oriented towards
social, economic and cultural revolution to suit a modern democratic and
socialist society resisting feudal forces (Education Commission, 1970).
In “relating education to the life, needs and aspirations of the people”, it
becomes clear that the call is for a type of education that understands con-
texts, cultures and constructs, especially through the arts. The Education
Commission (1970) also stressed the role of the arts in instilling “national
consciousness”, and an inclusive and socially just move would be to engage
with how other lesser-known art forms in vernacular language or non-
standard dialect can be given due voice in the process of preserving unity in
diversity and cultural heritage. By giving students the option of expressing
their thoughts and ideas through a medium not necessarily “English” in
language and thought, but also in their vernacular, an educational attempt
is made towards liberation and creative use of personal cultural contexts,
one acknowledges at the school level the larger pluralistic society.
Art education, despite being recognised as a school subject that is impor-
tant for the development of children, has often been viewed as “useful hob-
bies”, “leisure activities” and “tools for enhancing the prestige of the school
on occasions like Independence Day, Founder’s Day, Annual Day, or during
an inspection of the schools progress…”, which the National Focus Group
on Arts, Music, Dance and Theatre (National Council of Educational
Research and Training, 2006), believes should be replaced by participatory
and interactive learning through a stage-wise implementation of a formal,
216 Ritu Gopal
age-appropriate curriculum including Indian traditional art and values, and

art appreciation lessons. Viewing art in the context of schooling and higher
education has usually led to art education being perceived as a supplement to
a larger academic agenda, and possibly even as a mandatory subject fulfilled
as a policy obligation. This notion has been challenged by experts, educa-
tionists and specialists who believe in the potential to combine perspectives
of art education being both an integrated aspect of broader educational
goals, as well as a core subject. A panel discussion by the British Council of
India, National School of Drama, and the National Council of Educational
Research and Training (NCERT) was conducted after the Conference on
Arts Education in 2013 to discuss the status of art education in India. The
NCERT, during these proceedings, emphasised the vision of arts education
as being two-fold – arts education as a subject from Class I to Class X, and
arts education as an approach by which all subjects can be integrated in
arts, and arts can be the basis of learning a subject, across the curriculum
(Sheffield, Sudhir, Jain & Chauhan, 2013).
While boards of education had earlier made learning in the arts man-
datory at least from Grades I to X, and preferably also in Grades XI and
XII, the effectiveness of its benefits have depended on the school’s socio-
economic position and accessibility to teaching resources, infrastructure,
learning material such as paints or musical instruments, and educators who
can facilitate classroom instruction. Further to this, it is important to note
which forms of arts are encouraged within the formal settings of urban and
rural schools based on national discourses and policies, parent expectations
and the funding allocated to adequately enable such learning. The wide-
spread preference in mainstream schools is for children to learn “classical”,
“popular” and “patriotic” art forms that are most commonly performed
and revered by the urban classes; very rarely do folk art forms find mention
or practice due to the marginalisation and exclusion of their practitioners
from daily life, public performance and discourse. This raises questions on
the positioning of the types of art, class-based preferences on the genre, and
the subsequent implications of these decisions on the future of art forms
and their audiences (Krishna, 2018a, 2018b). However, in India we have
rich traditions of art and craft, especially in rural settings and geographical
spaces spread across the country. In general, there seems to be an ignorant
attitude towards the cultural and heritage arts, at times even a gross neglect,
and a positive favouring of modern and fine arts. This unfortunate sociopo-
litical hierarchy within the arts is a major cause of concern, which inevitably
pervades art education from the early years.
It is important to acknowledge smaller schools and educational insti-
tutions in discussing their ability to integrate the arts in education, while
respecting their diversity and existing talent and enabling a realisation of its
creative aims through provision of the additional resources needed to carry
out their activities. A school in a remote village may not have the capacity
to offer musical instrument lessons but with some support, could have a lan-
guage teacher who can also sing and thereby form a students’ choir. Further,
making singing time both relatable and also exciting would mean taking
up songs in the local language and occasionally interspersing that with
something completely unheard of, such as a song in a different language or
genre. The role of curriculum is, therefore, not to make teaching in the arts
burdensome or inaccessible, but to provide recommendations for teachers
and learners to collaboratively plan lessons through brainstorming. Giving
schools the liberty and direction to design their own arts curriculum is of the
utmost need in addressing the social realities that every context comes with,
and is important to any discussion on learning in the arts. Teacher training
would also play a major role in empowering educators to be innovative and
act on new ideas with a sense of confidence in their abilities to experiment
outside the constraints of assessment, considering that the modes of instruc-
tion in major subject areas have until now been almost entirely dependent
on revering textbooks rather than exercising experiential methods.
A truly democratic move would be to ensure that teachers are given more
autonomy for them to realise their creative teaching methods in the process
of facilitating learning in the arts. Integrating the arts into the curriculum
by using local resources and conducting workshops with invited profession-
als could further strengthen the arts programmes that a school is able to
provide to its students (Government of India, 2020; National Council for
Educational Research and Training, 2006). For instance, choirs and orches-
tras in India conduct music appreciation concerts at public, private and gov-
ernment schools and education centres for students to observe from close
quarters not only the variety of musical instruments and vocal ranges, but
also qualities such as teamwork and rhythmic coordination. The exchange
of ideas that take place through a school and orchestra interaction could,
beyond the short-term novelty factor, potentially facilitate the enhancement
of existing curriculum based on the suggestions that arise from such a dis-
cussion, and inform arts pedagogy. The occasion to feel more connected to
the community of artists, whether folk or classical, demystifies art. What
seems within the four walls of a classroom as an intangible or unattainable
concept belonging to specific social strata (Krishna, 2018c; Krishna, 2013),
can potentially be a series of humble conversations among people beyond
the confines of their professional qualifications.
The National Education Policy 2020

The most recent National Education Policy (2020) by the Ministry of
Human Resource Development, Government of India, states India’s endeav-
our to be more interdisciplinary in its approach towards education, and
this has various implications on the perceptions surrounding art educa-
tion and its implementation. In its fundamental principles (p. 5), the policy
218 Ritu Gopal
states that there are to be, “no hard separations between arts and sciences,
between curricular and extra-curricular activities, between vocational and
academic streams, etc. in order to eliminate harmful hierarchies among, and
silos between different areas of learning”. It further states the drive towards
multidisciplinary, holistic education, conceptual understanding, creativity
and critical thinking as core values of the renewed education system. In
the policy’s section on Experiential Learning (p. 12), a critical point that
must be observed is that of art-integration as a cross-curricular pedagogical
approach that uses art and culture as the foundation for conceptual learning
across subjects. According to the text of the policy, “art-integrated educa-
tion will be embedded in classroom transactions not only for creating joyful
classrooms, but also for imbibing the Indian ethos through integration of
Indian art and culture in the learning process at every level” to “strengthen
the linkages between education and culture”. It would be most essential to
discuss, at the implementation stages of the policy, the meaning of ethos
and its harmonious expression in culturally diverse classrooms. While the
policy makes a case for national unity, it is important that those involved in
educational processes are vigilant of the morals, values, beliefs and ideals of
various communities, in ensuring that catering to the dominant cultures of
the country do not shadow the needs and beliefs of less dominant cultures.
The Learning without Burden report by the Professor Yash Pal Committee
discusses the problem of textbooks often being considered as substitutes for
practical experiences, and states the necessity of “bridging the gap between
textbook-centric instruction and the child’s world”, “instilling joy for both
teachers and learners in the educational process” and advocating for “non-
competitive and quality learning” (MHRD, 1993). The report makes a very
crucial observation on the problems associated with the restrictive school
goal of “covering the syllabus as synonymous with finishing the textbook”,
and proceeds to explain that when classroom learning is devoid of any refer-
ences to children’s experiences and perspectives, children are prone to form-
ing a bias on the knowledge that is valued inside the school, and that which
is useful or relevant outside school. Another prominent point addressed by
the report is that, “The distance between the child’s everyday life and the
content of the textbook further accentuates the transformation of knowl-
edge into a load”. The representation of knowledge in textbooks is often
unidirectional and depictive of specific sections of society that do not rep-
resent a majority of readers. Making this even more complex is the com-
pulsion that children face in having to learn and reproduce the very same
representations through speech and writing. The substitution of real-world
observation with printed pictures in textbooks and guides is problematic
and widens the distance between learners and the world that exists outside
the school environment. The arts then have the dual role of connecting stu-
dents to knowledge, and also of retaining their position as forms of learning
that are practical, meaningful and drawn from everyday life.
The new education policy promises several reforms in the functioning of

educational institutions, and calls for an increase in experiential teaching
and learning methods. A core objective that it discusses at length is the pro-
motion of Indian languages, arts and cultures to create a stronger national
identity and economy, and to simultaneously build an appreciation for other
cultures and identities (Government of India, 2020, pp. 53–54). The policy
states that the teaching of languages would be through experiential methods,
gamification and the usage of apps, and the content would draw from films,
theatre, poetry, music and storytelling, with the inclusion of projects that are
independent of assessment. It would be interesting to observe, as the policy is
implemented, how diverse languages across the country would begin to find
their space in classroom interactions both formal and informal. The policy
plans to ensure “the hiring of outstanding local artists, writers, craftspersons,
and other experts as master instructors in various subjects of local exper-
tise; accurate inclusion of traditional Indian knowledge including tribal and
other local knowledge in the curriculum, across humanities, sciences, arts,
crafts, and sports, whenever relevant” (Government of India, 2020, p. 54).
It also states that there should be more flexibility in curriculum especially
in secondary schools and in higher education for students to “choose the
ideal balance among courses…to develop their own creative, artistic, cul-
tural and academic paths”. At the higher education level, Indian languages,
arts, music, creative writing, comparative literature and philosophy would be
developed into departments and programmes, and into four-year Bachelor of
Education (B.Ed.) dual degrees. Further, the National Research Foundation
is expected to fund research in these domains. A key aim of the policy is for
higher educational institutions to hire local artists and craftspersons as guest
faculty, and to host “Artists-in-Residence” to enrich the learning experience.
The policy plans to offer support to gifted students and students with
special talents by including teacher education methods that recognise and
encourage involvement in areas of talent beyond the general school cur-
riculum through supplementary material. Schools would also be encour-
aged to conduct activities through project-based clubs and circles, including
music, dance, drama and performance circles with equitable, merit-based
access to “high quality national residential summer programmes for sec-
ondary school children”, while ensuring the inclusion of socio-economically
disadvantaged groups. The National Council of Educational Research
and Training (NCERT) and the National Council for Teacher Education
(NCTE) are expected to develop a set of guidelines for this purpose, while
the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) programmes would create a specialisation
in studying the educational needs of gifted children.
The policy takes into consideration the need for more experiential learn-
ing that draws from India’s history and current expert knowledge in the
arts and even mentions that several programmes and changes would be
enforced at the primary, secondary and higher educational level to provide
220 Ritu Gopal
students the opportunity to explore the arts outside the realm of assess-
ment. The implementation and execution of the policy in the realm of learn-
ing in the arts would be interesting to observe, especially considering the
Indian Government’s desire to have more integrated and interdisciplinary
approaches to education by the decade of 2030–2040 when the policy is
expected to be fully operational in all its endeavours.
Implementation of arts the in school curriculum

In music education, an appreciation and awareness of melody, rhythm and
musical genre are the introductory levels that later lead to studying music
through formal instruction in voice and musical instruments (Gopal, 2018a,
2018b). Similarly, dance and dramatics as art forms that nurture emotional
expression, awareness of breath, movement and rhythm, which like music
improve calmness and concentration, focus first on basic movement and
sequences, and then on the more technical nuances. The National Focus
Group Position Paper on Art, Music, Dance and Theatre (National Council
for Educational Research and Training, 2006), in discussing a stage-wise
implementation of learning in the arts, called for the sensitisation of “state
directorates, examination boards, education departments, school manage-
ment, teachers and parents” along with the provision of basic facilities, a
space dedicated solely to art education, and other physical infrastructure.
It further asserted the need for “non-examination based, process-oriented
evaluation”, and the development of aesthetic sensibilities. According to the
document, facilitating freedom of exploration and expression in the arts from
the pre-primary and primary stage of engaging in activities with colours, nat-
ural materials and movements forms the basis for the upper primary stage of
aesthetic appreciation, community participation, cultural consciousness and
the integration of art with other subjects. At the secondary stage, interaction
with traditional art created and performed by neighbouring communities
and attempting creative expression with local resources are highlighted, with
the higher secondary stage progressing to emphasise on proficiency, knowl-
edge of world art, and preparation for future performance by a select number
of talented students. This essentially refers to art education to pursue the arts
as a formal discipline and possible career path. The stage-wise model, though
presenting some advantages, should be adapted to suit the needs of students
who may come from different cultural and developmental backgrounds. The
arts as a separate subject should continue to be treated with the same fluidity
and allowance for personal expression as in the primary stages.
Adapting arts education to a less centralised and more localised structure
can bridge the gap between information or fact-based literacy, and real-life
situations. Here, a reflexive and non-prescriptive curriculum in the arts can
be effective in encouraging students to view the outcomes of their educa-
tion differently, and could make a departure from self-worth built solely on
numerical scores towards those founded on self-expression, creativity and

interpersonal relationships. It is equally imperative that learning in the arts
connects a child’s living context to the content of an arts classroom to be
emancipatory and transformative. The relationship between art curriculum
and artistic development is built not only on the theoretical and practical
nature of art, but also on the way that it is taught and discussed. Broadening
educational goals by striking a balance between aesthetic appreciation and
technical skills, and having an inclination to social justice concerns, is
important in providing a holistic view of what learning in the arts entails
as a practitioner and observer. A classroom exercise in learning a song and
understanding its lyrics with respect to actual happenings, according to Joel
Westheimer (Benedict, Schmidt, Spruce & Woodford, 2015), became a ses-
sion on understanding historical narratives, facts and their interpretation.
Westheimer also stated that standardisation of the arts curriculum would
be a hindrance to “democratic engagement and critique” due to its inability
to adapt from local contexts and its departure from the immediate environ-
ment. Sparking an early inclination towards such critical thinking through
the arts prepares the mind to be genuinely curious and analytical, and to be
aware of the wider realities within which one’s life is embedded.
Bruser (1997) argues that the role of “passion, confidence and vulner-
ability” in music learning are considered indispensable qualities in making
the process unique to each individual’s talent. The education system does
not herald vulnerability in its positive sense, and the same quality in the
arts is of the utmost importance in expressing a song, painting or moving
emotionally towards artistic intelligence. Therefore, the arts can be seen as
a space and time for students to deeply introspect, find strength in express-
ing themselves, and overcome the fear associated with success and failure
– two constant thoughts that seem to define education. Inspiring children to
practice the arts in order to develop inherent discipline and love for the form
or genre, and to reflect on their own perceptions of the process, is a funda-
mental aspect of personality development through the arts. Self-esteem and
autonomy are further built when students discuss together their experiences
and share feedback and opinions to grow as individuals supporting one
another (Fox & Berry, 2008).
The impact of learning music

Music is known to impact brain functions such as cognition, emotion,
memory, perception, action and learning (McPherson & Welch, 2012).
Neuroplasticity, the formation of neural connections in response to experi-
ence, is most active in childhood and music intervention and experiential
music learning at this stage has been observed as contributory to human
development. All areas of the brain are impacted by music training – the
occipital lobe is used to read and interpret pitch and rhythm, the temporal
222 Ritu Gopal
lobe processes sound, the frontal lobe is constantly attentive to music activity
and plays a role in memory, and the parietal lobe integrates all sensory infor-
mation (Izbicki, 2020). Different areas of the brain are required in playing an
instrument, which is believed to make neuronal connections stronger (Schlaug
et al., 2009). In a five-year longitudinal study that included children from
disadvantaged backgrounds, Habibi, Cahn, Damasio and Damasio (2016)
found that music training shaped auditory processes and the development of
language skills, which are necessary for social and academic development.
Musical exposure is also advantageous in addressing the needs of children
with neurological and developmental disorders (Ker & Nelson, 2019; Hyde
et al., 2009), and improves verbal skills and executive function (Moreno et
al., 2011). Children with disabilities and different cognitive abilities have
been found to be particularly responsive to art education, which is often
used in enabling learning across all subjects (Gopal, 2018b). Music, in par-
ticular, has been found to enhance mathematical learning, language acqui-
sition and reading skills to a great extent. Music classrooms can also be a
space for special education teachers to observe children more individually,
upon which they are able to decide if a child is ready for a more inclusive
educational set-up depending upon the skill and reflexivity of the educator
(Gerrity et al., 2013).
In a study on an after-school music composition programme by McCord
(2002), children with learning disabilities showed a high degree of respon-
siveness and success in a multisensory environment, i.e., learning through
visual, auditory, kinaesthetic and tactile modes (Mercer & Mercer, 1993),
which bring into play sight, sound, movement and touch, the grouping of
which are highly stimulatory and beneficial for children requiring additional
learning support. In McCord’s study, it was noticed that students were
more motivated to share their ideas after sessions in using music technology
and software to compose music, and also showed an increased motivation
towards creative writing. The vital role of the arts for children who experi-
ence challenges in coping with mainstream education begins with develop-
ing communication and connection to the self and the social group through
structured and unstructured activities designed to capture attention and
interest. Learning in the arts serves the dual role of providing unique medi-
ums of learning, and in bringing together both students with and without
disabilities in an inclusive atmosphere.
Music and autism
Experiences as a music therapist at Sampoorna

Music Therapy Centre for children with autism
The Sampoorna Music Therapy Centre was founded by Kavitha
Krishnamoorthy as a project of the nongovernmental organisation Kilikili,
an organisation that makes public play spaces accessible to all children,

regardless of their abilities, towards an inclusive society.
Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder characterised by difficulties
in communication and social interaction, though Berger (2002) puts forth a
much more inclusive definition of autism as a “neurologically atypical man-
ner of function, with genetic and sensory-motor implications”, and is “not a
behavioural problem requiring conformity”. No two children on the autism
spectrum are the same in their functioning, and have varying verbal and
expressive capabilities. The role of music in the learning and development
of children on the autism spectrum has been extensively documented across
educational and therapeutic settings. Sampoorna Music Therapy Centre
aimed to address developmental needs of children on the autism spectrum
through music intervention. Music therapy was part of children’s larger edu-
cational programmes, with many of them attending mainstream and special
education schools, and speech and occupational therapy. It was implemented
through a child-centric approach in individual and group settings to develop
speech, behaviour, social interaction skills and nurture an interest in music.
The music therapy model challenged the largely prescriptive outlook of most
other set-ups in India, and was known for celebrating diversity and accept-
ing neurodiversity for children in the 4–15 years age bracket. Understanding
the unique potential of each child and recognising methods to enable com-
munication and expression through music were the primary goals.
Observations over time revealed positive behavioural changes, reduced
anxiety and increased calmness. It is important to note here that the choice
of musical genre was based on initial experimentation with multiple Indian
and Western genres, and the eventual identification of songs and instru-
ments that each child connected with. Children were also able to better
articulate their needs and those who were non-verbal began to vocalise
through simple sounds, words and short phrases. In music instruction, one
learns to sing, to play an instrument or write a piece of music, while absorb-
ing art and developing interests in specific genres. In music therapy, the goal
is to additionally break down barriers to self-expression and communica-
tion, by working on cognitive, social, emotional, fine and gross motor skills
along with the overarching goal of providing each child with a safe and
sensitive space for self-expression (Gopal, 2018a).
For children with autism, regular tasks are difficult. There is the further
struggle of expressing feelings, needs and wants to the external world due
to the inability to communicate or verbally express thoughts as other chil-
dren would. For the same child, melody and rhythm provide a pathway
to unleash the flood of contained words through song. A child at the cen-
tre, for instance, expressed herself by replacing the lyrics of songs that she
knew with her daily routine and adventures. It helped her express her emo-
tions, and assisted the therapist in communicating the session plan to her.
Conducting similar exercises in the school set-up would not only inspire
224 Ritu Gopal
parents and students to stay in the education system, but would also give
them the confidence to take on more challenging tasks and assignments as
they grow into school life.
From the experience of conducting music therapy at Sampoorna Music
Therapy Centre, it was realised that children with autism were beginning
to cope more productively with regular school education. The centre com-
bined structured activity with improvised music in individual and group
sessions that were aimed at five goals: “connectedness” (the bond between
a child and therapist in the educational setting); “communication” (verbal
and non-verbal such as eye contact and body language; “breaking behav-
ioural patterns” (observing existing behaviours in speech and action, and
introducing new ones for better communication and socialisation); “social
skills” (communicating with the therapist and friends at the centre); and
“developing musicality: musical instruction and music as self-expression”.
Singing voices, speech sounds, visual cards, percussion instruments like the
djembe and ocean drum, a deep vibration gong, xylophones, metallophones
and several other handcrafted musical instruments were implemented in cre-
ating a stimulating and vibrant environment. Following a child’s response
to the environment greatly informed the sessions and was a part of ensur-
ing that practices were both inclusive and individual-specific to cater to the
varying needs and interests of each child. Understanding the culture and
preferences of the child’s family was also pertinent in collaboratively form-
ing methods for music therapy. Improved behavioural responses, calmness,
increased verbal abilities and better interpretation of social cues contributed
to the children being more confident in their interaction with teachers and
peers (Gopal, 2018a, 2018b).
Music therapy in education

There is increasing awareness on the importance of music in education, and
its use in a therapeutic format can be extended to regular education settings
towards inclusion. Alice-Ann Darrow (2015) states that the participation
of children with intellectual and sensory disabilities in music activities and
ensembles facilitated integration into larger social groups and communities.
This was in addition to the ability for music to both facilitate learning and
reinforce academic achievement. In regular music instruction where the edu-
cational plan or intent is to teach a specific form of music as per its histori-
cal, theoretical and practical performance aspects, children typically learn to
sing, play musical instruments and eventually develop specialised interests
that are genre-specific. The goal of music therapy for children is to facilitate
and develop self-expression and communication along with focus on cogni-
tive, social and emotional development. Expanding music therapy models to
regular classroom instruction for children with and without special needs or
disabilities to come together, according to professionals at the centre, could
be a major step in revolutionising how learning in the arts is perceived in

the existing curriculum, and could simultaneously assist in social inclusion.
Addressing ableism and social justice

Ableism is known as the discrimination of the differently-abled, and of
favouring the able-bodied or non-disabled (Benedict et al., 2015). Disability
or difference in appearance or thinking, essentially disability as a social con-
struct based on a bias of the non-disabled world (Gopal, 2017), lead to
the marginalisation and exclusion of people (Hehir, 2002). Darrow (2015)
makes a pertinent argument on the role of music educators in ensuring equal
music education opportunities for students with special needs, and believes
that the arts can include content that incorporates disability-related infor-
mation. Bringing discourses on disability into regular curriculum through
music classrooms by recognising those with different needs and discussing
the art created and performed publicly by performers with disabilities, can
also pave the way for more open dialogue on inclusion. Formally including
the representation of diverse visual and performing artists in the curriculum
would also make the process of discussing ableism more organic, and even-
tually create a space where the discussion is less about physical or intellec-
tual challenges, and more about the arts. This was a frequent practice at the
music therapy centre where performers from diverse backgrounds – artistic
and ability related – shared their art with children in an inclusive concert.
Valuing diversity in every form is extremely important to the outcomes of
learning the arts, and positions the teacher as a facilitator of larger debates
and conversations on human rights and social justice.
In another dimension of social justice in music education, it is important to
understand how dominant and non-dominant forms of music in the school
curriculum are chosen, expressed, represented and taught. While providing
equal access to learning in the arts is crucial, it is essential to also note the
tendency for an institution or administration to decide which type of art is
acceptable in largely centralised curricula. There is a tendency to generalise
or marginalise folk and tribal arts that are practiced by a smaller population,
for example, and these are introduced more for temporary novelty rather
than possible long-term engagement particularly in urban schools. Drawing
from the work of Rubén Gaztambide-Fernández and Leslie Stewart Rose
in Benedict et al. (2015, pp. 461–465) and applying it to an Indian con-
text, viewing the dominant or popular forms of mainstream art and music
as the appropriate form to transform students’ potential and prowess comes
with the problematic tendency to decide beforehand what a student might
need for artistic or intellectual freedom. The social justice stance on how
music is taught is that it should be democratic, open to participation, and
without adherence to the traditional authoritarian control in the teacher–
student relationship. This would imply shared decision-making that involves
226 Ritu Gopal
students through improvisation in the arts, and which also draws from their
daily lives outside school. In doing so, an arts classroom is able to include
diverse perspectives relevant to each student’s individual background.
The role of the arts in the education

of students with disabilities
Narratives from a qualitative study

Intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) are characterised by cog-
nitive impairment and its association with learning, adaptive behaviour and
skills, this being in accordance with typical age-appropriate levels of devel-
opment (World Health Organization, 2011). Autism, cerebral palsy, Down
syndrome, developmental delays in fine and gross motor skills, impairment
of social skills, anxiety disorders, and attention deficit manifest before the
age of 18 years, according to the American Association of Intellectual and
Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), and include difficulties in adaptive
behaviour to daily tasks, social skills, and communication within the envi-
ronment, thus impacting emotions, social relationships and motivation. In
an educational setting, issues include that of verbal comprehension, per-
ceptual reasoning and memory, and accumulating academic and practical
knowledge and skills. The study, having taken into account not only the
medical definition of disability but also how perceptions of the non-disabled
involved in education planning and assessment, was able to gather several
insights on the role of the arts in shaping the educational lives of the stu-
dents who shared their experiences.
The arts are inspiring and enjoyable by their very nature of being open to
interpretation by the learner or artist. There are multiple ways to sing a song
or paint a bird, and in its fluidity lies the freedom to experiment without
confinement. When this principle and philosophy of encouraging freedom of
expression is applied in educational settings that pursue the overarching goal
of enabling all-round development and inclusive participation of all students,
art can pave the way for breakthroughs that release hidden potential and skills.
Very often, parents and educators are surprised at what children are able to
achieve and express, and the connections that they are able to form between
academic disciplines through the arts. A select few may find their passion and
professional calling in the arts. It is more often that the arts enhance broader
educational goals by deepening self-concept, the outward expression of curi-
osity through creative mediums, and fostering teacher–learner relationships
in a considerably more informal classroom setting. Students also mentioned
in the interviews that being able to attempt some form of art led to a feeling
of belonging to the school community and improved peer relationships.
In the qualitative study on the educational journeys of students with
intellectual and developmental disabilities (Gopal, 2017), each of the five
narratives of individuals from diverse backgrounds illuminated the role that

music, dance, drama, visual art, painting and drawing played in developing
self-concept and helping them manage academic load. The selected students,
in the 19–26 years age group at the time of the study, provided narrative
accounts from the early childhood to higher education level. Each of them
had, due to the nature of various education systems and policies, strived to
balance their learning trajectories through a combination of mainstream,
alternative, special education, community resources, online learning plat-
forms and home-based learning to eventually join mainstream institutions
of higher education or the professional workforce based on their intellectual
and vocational interests and capabilities.
For a student who pursued a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, Statistics
and Computer Applications through distance learning after being educated
primarily in mainstream schools, music education played a major role in over-
coming challenges of delayed development and what was described as being a
comparatively slow learner. Initiation into music education through Carnatic
singing and Western Classical piano assisted the student in managing issues
of hand muscle stiffness and coordination, and difficulties in speech, com-
munication, social and motor skills. The student also received certificates for
successfully appearing in music examinations from local and international
boards of arts education. It was interesting to note that practicing vocal music
through regular singing was beneficial in honing speech skills, while playing
the piano was instrumental in developing fine and gross motor skills.
I felt that singing would help with pronunciation, and on joining the
music class it was discovered that my child has a good voice and also
liked the keyboard. Increased confidence led to an improvement in
mathematics and writing skills, and eventually greater participation
in school activities…the teachers even expressed that teaching music
could be a viable profession for my child and that was very motivating.
(Parent)
Being encouraged to take part in morning assemblies and other events at

school, and forming friendships through participation in music activities,
was credited as having made the daily school routine less burdensome.
Further, the student forms connections between mathematics, a favoured
subject, and the concept of musical rhythm. One of the student’s fondest
memories was of playing the piano in school and one day being asked to
present a song at the morning assembly. The student faced some difficulty
in the movement of hands and fingers, but the tone and emotion that was
producible through piano keys, and the opportunity to take pleasure in the
instrument in the company of classmates who would sing along, was nar-
rated as one of the most positive experiences of the teenage school years
(Gopal, 2017).
228 Ritu Gopal
During the narrative, the student shared an interest in teaching as a pro-

fession and demonstrated a piece of vocal Carnatic music and the tala or
rhythm accompanying the song between conversations.
In school and now in college, I could not have enjoyed my studies with-
out learning and practicing music. I was slightly older than all of my
classmates (due to delayed development) and it was difficult to cope.
I want to teach music – piano and singing – if I want to take music as
my passion, the graded examinations and certificates are not the most
important qualification. At the same time, I would like to complete my
Bachelor of Science degree and expand my knowledge in music and gain
qualifications to be a qualified teacher. One needs a deep knowledge of
music and its concepts, to keep practicing and overcoming challenges.
Understand a concept through practical education is more important
than marks and certificates. I want to teach students who have diffi-
culty in learning. I taught the piano to a few primary school students
at a local music institute during my own lessons; I learned by observing
my teacher’s method of introducing new topics in music practical and
theory. Along with music, I want to continue mathematics as a hobby.
(Student)
In the narrative of a student with attention deficit, emotional trauma and

withdrawal from social interaction, it was revealed that early inclusionary
support from teachers who facilitated participation in dance and painting
played a major role in instilling the confidence needed to take on other
subject areas. The corresponding teacher’s narrative of this student revealed
that the child was withdrawn and quiet, and not inclined towards writ-
ing. Therefore, non-academic activities where the child did not have a prior
negative self-image or the aspect of assessment were introduced to spark an
interest in participation. This was then followed by the introduction to basic
language and mathematics.
The student was encouraged to participate in an art exhibition, and

implemented a few suggestions before presenting it. Receiving positive
feedback and appreciation for the work was the first breakthrough.
There was gradual progress in reading and classroom participation in
the form of paying attention to what was being discussed…When the
Independence Day Celebrations preparations in the next academic ses-
sion were being held, the student wanted to be a part of something for
the first time and was greatly appreciated for participating. That built
the trust and rapport that was then used to build language and math
skills over the next two to three years to take the student to the age-
appropriate academic level. (Teacher)
One of the key points of emphasis in this student’s trajectory was the role of
art in building a deep sense of connection with the self and the learning envi-
ronment during the secondary school years. Further, the student felt that a
practical, hands-on exposure to the arts rather than the standard theoretical
curriculum, enriched the experience at an early age prior to the tenth grade
examination, and that it should be carried on to higher educational institu-
tions as well.
We had music, art, dance classes, other than (academic) studies, and I
learned dance and painting all the more at my education centre. That is
what improved my self-confidence and made me more interactive with
people…I loved to express myself through stories, but did not know
how since I did not consider writing to be my strength. The camera
interested me and, over time, I began expressing stories through photog-
raphy and it developed into an intense passion and my career. (Student)
This educational centre, considered alternative, had actively encouraged

participation in an art exhibition where the appreciation that the student’s
work received propelled a motivation to improve mathematics and language
skills. This form of arts-based intervention began from the elementary years
and continued till higher education. In this scenario, learning in the arts was
used to build trust and rapport, and the student’s interest towards express-
ing stories through the visual arts eventually led to the formal pursuit of
photography. The student also went on to enrol in a fine arts university,
owing to the continuous exposure to learning in and through the arts from
an early age.
Another student described that considering a childhood diagnosis of sev-
eral developmental difficulties, severe pain in the hands and legs, low motor
skills and issues with memory, being enrolled in a Waldorf school led to
early learning through art, colour, pottery, movement and dance. The stu-
dent believed that the school’s goal of ensuring ample immersion in the arts
then made the academic curriculum easier to cope with, and also fostered
the development of motor skills. While therapy was essential to overcome
physical difficulty, the school played a major role by ensuring inclusion
and education through the arts alongside the mainstream curriculum. The
school was able to ensure learning without burden through the identifica-
tion of individual needs within a group-learning environment. Addressing a
child’s problems, whether they are shared through a formal diagnosis report
or by a teacher’s keen sense of observing the response to problems in the
built environment, can be effectively achieved through activities conducted
without the weight of assessment. In this manner, learning is more organic
and less obligatory, and the emphasis is on connecting with students to
really understand their emotional, physical, social and cultural context.
230 Ritu Gopal
According to Ruppert (2006), learning experiences in the arts develop

reading, language and mathematics skills, cognitive and social skills, and
one of the most primary needs of an individual in an educational setting
– the motivation to learn. This is considered as one of the key factors in
ensuring a reduced risk of student dropouts, particularly those with spe-
cial needs (Barry et al., 2002). Across the narratives of students with intel-
lectual and developmental disabilities, it was evident that the attempt to
sustain enrolment at various formal and informal spaces of education was
propelled by arts-based interventions that provided students with an avenue
for expression (Gopal, 2017). It is of particular note that these art activities
were often in unstructured settings where assessment and performance were
not the initial goal, and rather sought to provide an environment of expres-
sion, engagement and the fostering of healthy peer relationships and mutual
appreciation.
Learning in the arts, cited across all narratives, was shared as contributing
to the feeling of educational inclusion and the ability to adapt to mainstream
curriculum and assessment. There is also potential for further research that
needs to be conducted as an ongoing process to inform curriculum design
and classroom practice. Of the five students who narrated their lived experi-
ences, all the students continue to pursue their arts-based passions and three
have made them a viable career choice towards independent living.
There is tremendous scope to include student voices on how they feel
about experiencing music and its impact on their lives, and their experi-
ences of inclusion or creating opportunities through an amalgam of multiple
learning spaces could be useful in shaping the method of making arts edu-
cation accessible to all students from early childhood. Student voices could
also inform pedagogy, syllabi and curriculum to take into account perspec-
tives of the younger generation in making them a part of larger educational
plans. Social outreach can also ensure that smaller, low-funded schools can
access these experiences through quality teaching and mentorship in the arts
(Gopal, 2018a).
Arts-based development of fine and gross

motor skills in students with disabilities
In the narrative study on the educational trajectories of students with intel-
lectual and developmental disabilities (Gopal, 2017), one of the students
expressed a childhood passion to study engineering. However, the student
was told that the academic discipline was drawing-intensive and would
involve writing extensively. This posed a problem due to the developmen-
tal challenge of muscle rigidity and difficulty in exercising fine motor skills
so, because of which, the student decided during secondary school not to
take up the field. Interestingly, an aspect of music education was also not
inclusive in assisting the difficulty in writing for a Carnatic music theory
examination that the student was attempting but could not due to lack of
inclusionary support.
When I write, my hands begin to get red and I cannot write very fast. At
this institute, the facility of getting a scribe to write on one’s behalf is
only for visually and speech challenged candidates. They could not give
me a scribe for the three-hour written music theory examination though
I mentioned that I have a writing difficulty and I felt bad because I have
had this muscular problem since my childhood. (Student)
The burden of a writing-intensive education system is sometimes a deter-

rent to a child’s educational journey. A few students who participated in
the study discussed that writing for longer hours was difficult for them due
to delays or challenges in their fine motor skills (Gopal, 2017). Fine motor
skills refer to coordination of small muscles and movements involving the
synchronisation of hands, fingers and eyes, and indicate the extent of dex-
terity and control (Reynolds & Fletcher-Janzen, 2007). The education sys-
tem across all boards is known to be writing-intensive with the maintenance
of notebooks and lengthy examinations being a prominent feature of assess-
ment and a benchmark of academic success. There is also a heavy load of
memorising information in a short span of time, and this does not always
reflect conceptual and application-based learning. This could be a deterrent
to inclusion since students with disabilities tend to feel left out of the educa-
tion system due to the inability to write at the same pace and volume as their
peers. Even if they are given an allowance of extra time during tests and
examinations, writing for more than 20 minutes to half an hour at a stretch
is a very tedious task that then makes the students question their ability to
succeed on a par with their classmates. Several students with disabilities,
both in urban and rural areas, tend to drop out of the educational institu-
tion due to factors hindering their personal growth and progress (Gopal,
2017; Das & Kattumuri, 2010).
Children with reading disabilities would prefer aural, pictorial and visual
mediums to grasp lessons, and might feel alienated from education if curric-
ulum delivery is not adapted to their needs. In contrast to writing textbook-
centric information for long hours, providing a student the aforementioned
multisensory environment to first exercise and improve fine and gross motor
skills through music and visual arts could provide a foundation to writing
for extended periods of time. Fine and gross motor skills and control can be
developed by holding a paintbrush or a colouring pencil, playing a musical
instrument, moulding clay or cutting shapes with scissors to create crafts
(Fox & Berry, 2008). These activities also offer the excitement of observing
audio-visual patterns and sensations through sight, sound and touch, and
aid in socio-emotional development (Sautter, 1994). Engaging the sense of
sound while running one’s fingers over the piano keys, beating the surface
232 Ritu Gopal
of a big drum to a specific count, learning simple hand movements and

gestures or mudras through Indian dance (Gopal, 2018a), or painting on a
large canvas without the restriction of copying a specific object or scenery,
could all potentially be conducted in a very natural environment within a
school itself, at the primary and secondary education level. This could be
of particular advantage to students who cannot afford to financially access
therapy or the arts outside school. It is also important to discuss assess-
ment of learning in the arts, and ensure that tests in art-based subjects are
not highly theoretical and time-bound. Modes of assessment could also be
adapted up to the secondary education stage to be more arts and creativity
based, for at least a certain percentage of the overall grading system, by giv-
ing children the independence and agency to express their learning through
a form in which they are most proficient. The possibilities of early arts inter-
vention for children with disabilities within existing institutional structures
are unlimited. Conducting workshops for teachers, parents and students to
collaboratively exchange ideas can facilitate the creation of an inclusive and
vibrant arts curriculum, with discussions on how locally available resources
can be funded and effectively managed in a sustainable manner.
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Chapter 11
Growing into Literacy

Part 1: The Building Blocks of Literacy
Jane Sahi
Introduction
A group of children are playing in an open space with wooden blocks.
Together, with varying degrees of engagement, they are building a grand
structure, adding characters both human and animal by using whatever
material is available. A running commentary is going on which changes and
shifts the story as new ideas evolve and others are discarded. Flowers, seed-
pods, bits of string and stones are added as new elements and fresh surprises
emerge and occasionally dramatic action gives the story another turn or
twist. Sometimes – accidentally or deliberately – some part of the structure
falls to the ground or collapses; it will rarely be re-built in the same way and
will often give rise for a new element of the story to unfold. At some points
the children may be called away and often have to dismantle the edifice that
they have spent so much energy, thought and attention constructing. The
blocks are put away and the space returns to emptiness. Has all that effort
and intensity been for nothing? There is nothing visible to show for their
work and play (Figure 11.1).
Occasionally the children may be directed by the teacher, before the con-
struction is dismantled, to share their stories but that feels like an after-
thought and the telling may prompt a new story. This process could be
compared to a traditional Tibetan Buddhist ritual such as the making of an
elaborate mandala which is later swept up: it is the making itself that is of
significance not the preserving of a final product to be displayed.
Even without wooden blocks or the formal designated space of a school,
young children can transform materials to map a narrative. On one occa-
sion, I was part of a workshop for teachers on language and while we were
busy with paper and paint, the children of the participants quite indepen-
dently and spontaneously were engaged with landscaping a story in the sand
with a few bricks and stones to create an alternative reality or in Tolkien’s
terms, “a Secondary World” (Tolkien, 1975, p. 51).
As children grow older the dramatic element becomes more sophis-
ticated and the roles of narrator, actor, stage and script creators and
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059-15
Growing into Literacy 237
Figure 11.1 Story making with wooden blocks. Source: Photograph by Saumyananda Sahi.
director become more consciously delineated. On one occasion a mixed

age group of children even organised lighting within a darkened storeroom.
In another memorable presentation the audience of teachers and children
were required to crawl through an elaborately constructed tunnel of desks,
boxes and saris to reach a secret chamber where a doll’s house had been
set up as a surprise.
The roots of writing

What, if anything, has all this to do with literacy? Is it fanciful to see here
the traces of drama, dance, literature, sculpture or poetry? Lev Vygotsky’s
seminal essay entitled, “The Prehistory of Written Language” suggests a
much longer, deeper and wider frame in which to view literacy (Vygotsky,
1978). From this theoretical perspective, learning to write includes not
only mastering the mechanics of learning to form letters and to encode
what is spoken, but also grasping that written language is akin to, though
distinct from, other forms of symbolisation – most significantly speech
itself, but also gesture, drawing and imaginative play. The young child
actively makes meaning through speaking with, and listening to, others
but also, as has been well documented, in monologues or private speech
whereby experience is reviewed and possibilities considered. This capacity
to engage with the spoken word in multiple ways, including playfully and
imaginatively, is clearly one of the prerequisites for learning to read and
write.
238 Jane Sahi
These different modes of symbolisation freely and creatively interplay

with each other; thus gestures, which Vygotsky describes as “writing in the
air”, contribute to the ability to fix markings or drawings on a surface; and
drawings become a form of “graphic speech” (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 107).
Vygotsky explores the idea that gesture, make-believe play, the spoken
word, image-making and writing are all part of a continuum or unified pro-
cess of learning different modes of symbolic representation. Both the non-
verbal forms of symbolic representation and speech itself enrich a child’s
repertoire of modes of internalising, expressing and sharing experience, thus
enabling a child to negotiate a range of complex symbolic systems. This pro-
cess is a preparation for literacy because the child begins to understand that
the spoken word can be written down as visual signs. Vygotsky describes
written language not as the writing of letters but “a new and complex form
of speech” (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 118). It is important to note that he under-
stands speech not only as what is outwardly spoken but “internal speech”
which channels and orders thought.
This is not to say that there is a linear development from one mode of
symbolic representation to the other, but rather that each mode comple-
ments and extends our power of expression. Gesture and make-believe play
become the basis for dance and drama; a child’s first visual markings and
explorations into line, texture, shape and colour can become the foundation
for the arts of drawing, painting and sculpture. The rhythm and intonation
of the spoken word is linked to music and song. This is not a process limited
to early childhood. It is a lifelong journey of discovery and growth.
Gesture, image-making and make-believe play

Even before a child is born there is a strong impulse to explore the limits
of stretching, kicking and turning. After birth the young child gradually
becomes more adept at rolling, turning and grasping as a means of reaching
out to the surroundings.
After a few weeks, this motor activity becomes more controlled and
focused and the manipulation of things, gestures and facial expressions
become increasingly a means to explore relationships with the physical and
social world.
While growing increasingly conscious of directed movement, the child is
simultaneously developing an attention to sound. The baby’s cry at birth is
usually the first sound that a child makes; but between four to ten months
the young child typically “babbles” and experiments with sound, intona-
tion, tone and rhythm. This is a critical step towards song, speech and
conversation.
The first markings or scribbles a child makes are more frequently made
not with the conventional materials of paper and crayon but with fingers and
hands on any malleable, impressionable material that is to hand – whether
food or earth. Often the child’s first named drawings are not only conveying
things but also movement and sound.
Below are three drawings by a three-year-old boy: about to sneeze,
the moment trying to stop the sneezing and then the action of sneezing
(Figure 11.2a-b).
Significant people and objects or special moments and happenings such
as sneezing or falling or mosquito bites may become the subjects of a young
child’s drawing. These first scattered representations evolve as they are
woven into a composition that tells a narrative. Picture and word often
combine to tell a story as seen in the picture below (Figure 11.3).
The link between drawing and writing becomes more evident as children
develop. In time, the child begins to blend different symbol systems to con-
vey meaning. There is an element of serious play as children sort, sift and
shift their pictures and patterns into conventional forms. Initially, markings,
letters, pictures, numbers and patterns may all be included in a child’s com-
position in a seemingly random, playful way (Figure 11.4).
Young children may also imitate how they have seen writing being used.
In the picture below of “Letter from the Moon” a three-year-old boy for
some time had the habit of delivering such “letters” every day – especially
when his parents were engrossed in their work! (Figure 11.5)
Story also arises out of make-believe play or as Myra Barrs (1995) terms
it – “imagination in action”. This kind of play is a developmental step ahead
of just a physical response to objects as a motor-sensory activity such as
biting, pulling, shaking, dropping, etc. Vygotsky (1978) understood that
make-believe play is a way of symbolically re-presenting objects, events and
people’s roles so that in the mind the object comes to mean something quite
different from its original purpose. Through movement and sound the child
makes objects “alive” in another form.
As an example, the picture below shows two young children sitting in
a makeshift bus and one acts as a driver. To affirm his newfound role, he
holds in his hand a plastic plate which is transformed in his imagination into
Figure 11.2 Different stages of sneezing. Source: Photograph by Saumyananda Sahi.

240 Jane Sahi
Figure 11.3 “Bed going for a walk” – drawing with explanation by a three-year-old. Source:
Photograph by Saumyananda Sahi.
a steering wheel. He makes the sound of the horn and screeching brakes and
steers dramatically to avoid obstacles and near collisions (Figure 11.6).
Both bodily enactment in drama or role play and acting out happenings
with physical objects as in make-believe play can give an entry point to try-
ing out, risking and discovering infinite possibilities of storying. A box of
dressing up clothes would often be enough to stimulate children to explore
imaginary characters or enact familiar people within their experience.
Similarly, the telling of a story or the browsing or reading aloud of a book
gives the experience that is playing between the inner world of the imagina-
tion and the outer world of everyday experience.
It is also the beginning of using metaphorical language where one thing
stands for another. Margaret Meek Spencer draws attention to how meta-
phorical language is at the heart of children’s learning. She writes, “They
explain things to themselves in terms of sameness and difference. When this
happens in language, they are not only extending their vocabularies, they
are also working out meanings” (Spencer, 2003).
Figure 11.4 Here a three-year-old was looking at a newspaper and making his own version
on a piece of paper that was provided, entitled BEAR NEWS. Note the blending
of letters, numerals and markings. Source: Photograph by Saumyananda Sahi.
Language and stories

The creation of stories is a way of making sense of varied and sometimes
confusing and unpredictable experiences. This kind of meaning-making
requires the capacity of reading intentions of reading the other’s mind –
which as Michael Tomasello has said, is a prerequisite for engaging in social
interaction. This is evident in the behaviour of certain animals but becomes
more elaborated and complex with humans as they use verbal language
(Tomasello, 2003, 2005).
Listening to stories, whether told orally or read aloud, supports children
to conjure up their own stories. The act of telling a story often succeeds in
making connections between a child’s different worlds: the social worlds
that make up the outer experiences of home, school and community and the
connections to a fictionalised world of what is read, listened to and seen in
all kinds of media.
The short story that follows was told by a three-and-a-half year old in
the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The story illustrates how several
242 Jane Sahi
Figure 11.5 “The dots are the moon’s writing, but you can’t read it – it’s a secret”. Source:
Photograph by Saumyananda Sahi.
Figure 11.6 A make-believe bus journey. Source: Photograph by Saumyananda Sahi.
dimensions of experience come together to process an assortment of news,

gossip, story and personal encounters.
There was a house with lots of people, then a dragon came, and all the
people ran away. But the dragon was only sneezing. The postman came and
gave him food.
From a surprisingly young age it seems that children have an instinctive

sense of the patterns of narrative and grasp the rudiments of sequence and
plot that are the basic ingredients of the story form. Further, the young child
increasingly understands what disrupts and disturbs the canonical and our
normal expectations of how things and people work and how the surprise
of the non-canonical is a vital element of the narrative form.
Children also have a capacity to play with language and present the world
in unexpected, non-literal ways so that characters, places and events are
re-assembled imaginatively to process and open new possibilities. Jerome
Bruner writes that telling stories is “the most natural and the earliest way
in which we organize our experience and our knowledge” (Bruner, 1996,
p. 121).
Bruner suggests that the impetus for refining and elaborating speech is
the effort to articulate a story, which is often motivated by the urge to tell a
particular side of the event (Bruner, 1990). It is not enough to have a voice
but it is crucial that the voice should be heard and understood.
“Reading” and “Writing” the world

Paulo Freire and Macedo (1987) sees the interconnectedness between read-
ing and writing. They use the term “writing the world” figuratively as well
as literally to include the many ways in which expression is articulated, such
as drawing, creating stories or enactment.
Reading begins with the curiosity to read the world. Freire and Macedo
evocatively describes his own adventures in “reading the world” as a young
child growing up in Recife in Brazil. This first “reading” is through the
senses of seeing, hearing, taste and touch.
The texts, words, letters of that context were incarnated in the song of
the birds – tanager, flycatcher, thrush – in the dance of the boughs blown
by the strong winds announcing storms; in the thunder and lightning, in the
rainwater’s playing with geography, creating lakes, islands, rivers, streams
… (Freire & Macedo, 1987, p. 30).
The outer world of perceived reality is one realm but there is also an inner
world of the imagination that considers what might happen and sees in our
mind’s eye things that we have never experienced. It allows us to wish, hope,
feel and think of other possibilities. Imagination can also release a sense of
fear of the unknown and uncontrollable.
Freire continues his reflections and recalls his terror of ghosts long before
he could read. He comments, “As I became familiar with my world, how-
ever, as I perceived and understood it better by reading it, my terrors dimin-
ished” (Freire & Macedo, 1987, p. 32).
This ability to read signs and name them takes us – child or adult – out of
an undifferentiated world and into a new sense of awareness.
244 Jane Sahi
This is a lifetime’s dynamic process of internalising and expressing what

we want to say.
Language is constantly evolving and “naming the un-named”, seeing
things in new ways juxtaposed together is most often found in the realm of
poetry. W.H. Auden defined poetry itself as “homage by naming”.
Freire’s close attention to animal life and human behaviour, even the suc-
culent taste of the mangoes in his garden, along with his lived experience of
an imaginary world of the supernatural, have all become “the stuff” of his
language.
“Awakening to literacy”
Vygotsky, Freire and the proponents of the Emergent Literacy perspective
each, with a very different emphasis, see the path to literacy as beginning
long before children are expected to make sense of print and as one part of
a much larger individual and cultural process that is lifelong.
William Teale and Elizabeth Sulzby coined the term “emergent literacy”
in 1986 from Marie Clay’s dissertation titled, Emergent Reading Behavior
(1966). It has come to displace the earlier concept of “reading readiness”
which was more concerned with the individual’s physical and cognitive
abilities to learn the skills needed for reading. In contrast, ideas and prac-
tices related to emergent literacy do share a Vygotskian perspective in rec-
ognising the sociocultural dimensions of literacy as central. The theory of
emergent literacy also acknowledges that a gradual development towards
literacy begins long before children are formally taught the forms of reading
and writing.
In French, emergent literacy has been translated as Éveil au Monde de
l’Écrit or “awakening to the world of writing”. In Marathi, it is termed
ankuri saksharta (“sprouting literacy”). Both these terms suggest an organic
process of becoming an integral part of a culture where literacy plays a
major role in communication and ways of thinking. “Emergent” describes a
process of maturation. In the case of a fruit, growth depends on the innate
power of the plant, but external factors such as rain, sunlight, frost or
warmth can impact growth or decay. Similarly, a child’s innate capacity
to learn to be literate is affected by his or her experiences. A sensitive adult
or peer can actively support growth into a culture of literacy by sharing a
delight in rhyme and rhythm, storytelling and responding to the child’s own
creation of stories in different media, providing access to books and pictures
and extending a child’s curiosity about the relationship of letters to sounds
and letters to words and words to sentences.
Becoming proficient in language has been compared to an apprenticeship
(Rogoff, 1990) and in its fullest sense apprenticeship leads to an empower-
ing, full-fledged participation within a community. “Language comes alive
between people” (Matthews, 1994).
Learning in the early years in non-formal

and formal settings
A generation or two ago young children would have played in the streets
and vacant spaces nearby, and would have been cared for by older siblings
or grandparents. In addition, there was a general acknowledgement that not
exclusively the parents within a nuclear family, but the whole community
was responsible for the welfare of the children. There was not the pressure
of time, the isolation from the rest of the community or sense of confine-
ment that characterises the child’s typical experience of the present nursery
school. The children had some opportunity to explore their surroundings
and participated peripherally in their siblings’ play and work. Even very
young children would have seen and heard the comings and goings in the
street and would have been in touch with the life of the whole community.
This may not have always been safe or hygienic, but it had its own balance
and mostly children thrived. It was an effective apprenticeship into a cul-
tural community of that time. With changing economic circumstances and
increasing numbers of women working outside the home and with the shift
to smaller family units there is a felt need for supervision of children in the
absence of caregivers within the family and hence the rising enrolment in
pre-primary schools, including the anganwadi.
In the National Education Policy of 2020 (GoI, 2020) there are recom-
mendations that pre-primary education should be made compulsory and
come under the purview of the Board of Education and not the Social
Welfare Board as it is at present. The need to make children’s first experi-
ence of schooling energising and formative in positive and creative ways not
a “boring, and even unpleasant and bitter experience” was elaborated in the
National Advisory Report chaired by Professor Yash Pal (GoI, 1993, p. 4).
The languages of home and school

The natural development of growing consciousness and articulation in the
pre-school going child is often sidelined in the school where the teaching
of reading and writing is presented in such a mechanical way that it does
not relate to children’s lives or their needs. When children start school they
bring a wealth of knowledge about language, relationships and the environ-
ment but so often these young “knowers” are treated as empty vessels wait-
ing to be filled or alternatively full vessels that need to be emptied.
Aspects of home, community and school can creatively converge to sup-
port children’s growth into literacy; school cannot be considered to be
the only domain for children to learn literacy. Each and every home is
characterised by its stories, memories, languages and distinctive cultural
resources and these can enrich a child’s literacy learning at school. How
can schools bridge the transition from home to school so that children
246 Jane Sahi
can be supported to build on what they know and so extend their world?
Could children, for example, generate and share their own texts to grow in
literacy and could teachers draw on resources in the community to expand
the limited view of literacy that is confined to a single textbook? Few chil-
dren are growing up without an exposure to digitalised media. How can
these multiple literacies become an integral part of sharing information
and stories?
For some children there is a comfortable alignment between the culture
and language of home and that of the school, but for many children step-
ping into school is an alienating experience. Ways of using language may
be unfamiliar, the forms and pronunciation of language used at home may
not be acceptable in the school setting, and increasingly the language itself
may be barely known, as more children are enrolled in English medium
schools.
The languages children use in the anganwadi should be the familiar lan-
guages that are used at home and the transition to a more standardised lan-
guage can be introduced in a natural, unobtrusive way so that the children
do not become inhibited in their expression (Berntsen, 2015).
The fact that most Indian languages are diglossic poses another challenge.
Even in nursery school choices have to be made between the use of spoken
language and written language – for example in the selection of books that
are used to read aloud to children. There have been studies to show how
publishers, teachers and researchers can collaborate to create more relevant
texts (Geetha, 2012).
Standard languages may be one level of alienation for some children, but
if the language of instruction is English then it becomes more frustrating.
Dhir Jhingran, while recognising the legitimate demand for learning English
as a language of power, outlines what is “non-negotiable” in language
usage in schools for young learners. He insists that young children’s needs
be accommodated and that what is required is “language teaching methods
that focuses on oral work, conversation and meaning and flexible use of
language” (Jhingran, 2009). He advocates a multi-lingual approach that
includes home languages and argues that any transition to English must be
gradual and begin with oral language. The burden of learning in an unfamil-
iar language is aggravated when children are expected to write in a language
that they cannot understand or speak (Gupta, 2012).
“Learning without Burden” in the

context of pre-primary education
As noted above, Jhingran outlines how children’s use of language in the
home and the community can be built on and extended. Thus, the discon-
nect between ways of using language at home and school and the discomfort
and disruption that this causes can be minimised.
The language medium itself is one challenge and the other is the content
of the curriculum. The Yash Pal Committee report addresses the issue of
how the burden of learning becomes crushing when instruction is imposed
and pre-defined outputs are demanded regardless of the child’s understand-
ing and engagement. The report poses the broad question that seems appli-
cable at all stages, “Must we, in the name of so-called ‘proper education’ go
on committing the murder of their (children’s) innate desire to discover to
learn on their own?” (GoI, 1993, p. 18). The report is not suggesting here
that children learn in a vacuum, but rather that they learn most readily in a
stimulating environment with teachers who are sensitive and knowledgeable
enough to cultivate their pupils’ curiosity and to honour different children’s
own creative resources.
How can curiosity, imagination and exploratory talk become more part
of a pre-primary school culture? Much has been written on this topic since
the publication of the Yash Pal Committee report nearly 30 years ago but it
has largely not been put into practice, whether in government schools or in
many of the private schools.
The Yash Pal Committee report is concerned that even from the earliest
stages there is a tendency to divorce language from experience. In Karnataka,
for example, even anganwadi teachers are given a syllabus to follow and are
allotted topics week by week, which they are meant “to cover”. Included
in this programme are lists of words in different categories such as colours,
numbers, shapes, domestic animals, wild animals and transport. Charts are
provided to illustrate the new vocabulary but these are often displayed at
a height where children can neither see nor touch them. This is part of a
system that is reinforced throughout schooling where everything is taught
verbally from a prescribed text, whether a book or a readymade chart. If it is
not related to experience, the act of naming can become just a mindless task.
Children find it burdensome to be compelled to learn words that they have
no affinity to.1 Children are put in the position of memorising the names of
unfamiliar and exotic animals such as the zebra or hippo instead of directly
observing the rich fauna in their immediate surroundings. This could be
described in the words of the Yash Pal Committee report as “a heavy dose
of over-education” that begins even at the pre-school stages (GoI, 1993, p.
21). This ambition to “teach everything”, too quickly detracts from a child’s
natural pace and style of learning. It lends itself to a kind of meaningless
labelling where words become disassociated from experience and results in
“distancing knowledge from life” (GoI, 1993, p. 13). In contrast to seeing
curriculum in terms of imparting discrete parcels of information or training
in skills, there has been a growing interest in developing “a curriculum of
open possibilities” for pre-primary children. In such a learning environment
assessment looks closely at children’s levels of involvement, motivation and
well-being rather than the measurement of specific predetermined outcomes
in terms of performance and products (Laevers, 2000).
248 Jane Sahi
Vygotsky insists that writing should be taught naturally and that writing
should be “cultivated”, not imposed (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 118). The Yash Pal
Committee report echoes Vygotsky’s perspective when it states, “Intrinsic
motivation and the child’s natural abilities are being smothered at a scale
so vast that it cannot be correctly estimated. Our national commitment to
the development of human resources is daily challenged in our nurseries
and primary schools” (GoI, 1993, p. 11). The report reminds us to trust in
children’s natural proclivity to make meaning and that the sensitive teacher
can gauge when to intervene constructively.
A critical look at the meaning of

“foundational language and literacy”
In the recent document titled NIPUN Bharat 2021,2 which serves as an elabo-
ration of the National Education Policy 2020, many of the issues mentioned
above are outlined in the section “Understanding Foundational Language
and Literacy”. These include the role of multilingualism in the classroom,
the validation of emergent literacy theory, the interlinkages between home,
school and community, and the multimodal nature of literacy which inte-
grates spoken language, invented writing and image-making as part of a
whole understanding of literacy. There is a clear recognition that literacy
means much more than decoding and is about meaningful participation
within a sociocultural setting. The document presents the view propounded
by Mason and Sinha in 1993, notably the same year as the Yash Pal report
was published.
It is to be acknowledged that when children enter school, they have good
control over at least one spoken language, are aware of environmental
print and have experimented with written forms of communication through
scribbling on walls, mud, paper, books, etc. These experiences of children
reflect the fact that reading and writing develop at the same time and are
interrelated. The goal in all reading situations should be “to understand”. It
is imperative that the message that is conveyed in the printed text be under-
stood. Literacy is not viewed merely as decoding but rather the whole act of
reading, including comprehension.
To become more than a theoretical backdrop and a policy statement, the
document needs to radically revise recommendations for methods of teach-
ing including resources used, expectations of outcomes and ways of assess-
ment to make this vision of literacy actually part of children’s experience
on a daily basis in the classroom. The frequently used term “foundational
literacy” in the NEP 2020 document (GoI, 2020) seems to fall back on
achievement of minimal levels of literacy and not the foundation of a fuller
and more expansive understanding of literacy for life.
Conclusion
To sum up what has been said so far, by the age of three or four, children
have become adept apprentices in a number of ways of representing their
own experiences and interpreting others. Young children soon learn how to
make meaning from sensory experience and “read” faces, pictures, moods
and patterns in nature. They need to integrate these multimodal forms –
spoken words, images, gestures and make-believe play – as they learn how
to express themselves through the written word in an organic way. The
elements of play, curiosity, close observation and imagination, as discussed
above, could be described as the natural building blocks of literacy.
In this first part of our article, we have looked at the way children make
meaning in the context of their everyday experience. The term “Meaning
Making” tends to evoke ideas of a grasp of content of whole language or
making sense of one’s own and others’ experience. There is another level of
making meaning that grapples with forms and patterns from a spectator’s
view of how written language works. Written language makes its own par-
ticular demands on a child’s curiosity and investigative powers and mostly
needs more than just exposure to print in use. The complexities of how dif-
ferent scripts have adopted different conventions to communicate effectively
– whether in terms of orientation or the blending of sounds or styles of writ-
ing that are different from speech – are the subject of the second part of this
chapter. In this discussion on “the building blocks of literacy”, there has been
a focus on the universal raw materials needed to grow into literacy; but for
the building to develop further, mortar is needed to make the house stand.
Notes
1 In the Yash Pal Committee report there is a warning about the “pernicious argu-
ment” of using textbooks even in the pre-school context as a way of preparing
children for the demands of academics in the higher standards (GoI, 1993, p. 11).
2 National Initiative in Proficiency for Reading with Understanding and Numeracy
(NIPUN), Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education,
References
Barrs, M. (1995). Imagination in action: A study of the “prehistory of writing” in
children’s early symbolising, based on a rereading of Vygotsky. Thesis submitted
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London Institute of Education.
Berntsen, M. (2015). Threading texts within contexts. Goa: Bookworm.
Bruner, J. (1990). Acts of meaning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Bruner, J. (1996). The culture of education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
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Freire, P. & Macedo, D. (1987). Literacy: Reading the word and the world. London:
Routledge.
Geetha, V. (2012). Literacy and reading: A Tamil experiment. Contemporary
Education Dialogue, 9(1), 63–84.
GoI. (1993). Learning without Burden. Report of the National Advisory Committee,
appointed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. New Delhi:
Resource Development, Government of India (GoI).
Gupta, R. (2012). Children acquiring literacy in an unfamiliar language. Procedia-
Social and Behavioral Sciences, 47, 1838-1842.
Jhingran, D. (2009). Hundreds of home languages in the country and many in most
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Learning. Retrieved from www.languageandlearning.in/pdfs/contents/Coping
-with-Diversity-in-Primary-Education-in-India.pdf
Laevers, F. (2000). Forward to basics! Deep-level-learning and the experiential
approach. Early Years: An International Research Journal, 20(2), 20–29. https://
doi.org/10.1080/0957514000200203
Mason, J.M. & Sinha, S. (1993). Emerging literacy in the early childhood years:
Applying a Vygotskian model of learning and development. In B. Spodek (Ed.),
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York: Macmillan.
Mathews, J. (1994). Deep structures in children’s art: Development and culture.
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Rogoff, B. (1990). Apprenticeship in thinking: Cognitive development in social
context.New York: Oxford University Press.
Spencer, M.M. (2003). What more needs saying about imagination? The Reading
Teacher, 57(1), 105–111.
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1975). ‘On fairy stories’. In J. R.R. Tolkien (Ed.). Tree and leaf.
London: Unwin Books.
Tomasello, M. (2003). Constructing a language: A usage-based theory of language
acquisition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Tomasello, M., Carpenter, M., Call, J., Behne, T. & Moll, H. (2005). Understanding
and sharing intentions: The origins of cultural cognition. Behavioral and Brain
Sciences, 28(5), 675–691.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). The pre-history of written language. In M. Cole, V. John-
Steiner, S. Scribner & E. Souberman (Eds.), Mind in society: The development
of higher psychological processes (pp. 105–119). Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Chapter 12
Growing into Literacy

Part 2: The Devanagari and Telugu scripts: Tools
to Lighten the Burden of Learning Literacy
Maxine Berntsen
Teaching the written language

Jane Sahi begins her essay (Part 1) with a vivid description of children build-
ing a grand structure of wooden blocks, accompanying their work with a
running narrative. She goes on to say:
What, if anything, has all this to do with literacy? Is it fanciful to

see here the traces of drama, dance, literature, sculpture or poetry?
Lev Vygotsky’s seminal essay entitled, “The Prehistory of Written
Language” suggests a much longer, deeper and wider frame in which
to view literacy. From this theoretical perspective, learning to write
includes not only mastering the mechanics of learning to form letters
and to encode what is spoken, but also grasping that written language is
akin to, though distinct from, other forms of symbolization – most sig-
nificantly speech itself, but also gesture, drawing and imaginative play.
Vygotsky (1978) concludes his essay with the words, “… children should be
taught written language, not just the writing of letters”. This is an assertion
that Jane and I have struggled to understand for well over a decade. Her
comment has helped me understand something that I hadn’t quite grasped
before. The key point is that “written language is akin to, though distinct
from, other forms of symbolisation”.
The description of children learning spoken language by interweaving
different modes of symbolism, undoubtedly reflects, by and large, the expe-
rience of most children everywhere. In regard to learning literacy, on the
other hand, there is much greater diversity of experience. Written language
is a new layer – if you will, a new storey (floor) – added onto the edifice of
spoken language. But the nature and structure of this new storey can vary
tremendously, depending on the writing system, the language and the script,
as well as any number of other factors. Moreover, a child’s own personal,
social, cultural and school experience will fundamentally affect how well he
or she fares in the process of learning to become literate.
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059-16
252 Maxine Berntsen
What is it that is learned in learning how to read?

Charles Perfetti is Director and Senior Scientist at the Learning Research and
Development Center, University of Pittsburgh. In his essay, “The Universal
Grammar of Reading”, he addresses the issues of learning literacy from a
double lens similar to the one I am trying to use in this chapter. On the one
hand, Perfetti deals with the general principles applicable to writing systems
of any time and place (I hesitate to use the word “universal”!). On the other,
he talks about differences in learning to read that depend on the writing sys-
tem being used. In his abstract he sums up the main thrust of his argument:
Reading has universal properties that can be seen across the world’s
writing systems. The most important one is the universal language con-
straint: All writing systems represent spoken languages, a universal with
consequences for reading processes. These consequences are seen most
clearly at the broad principle level: the principle that reading universally
requires the reader to make links to the language at the phonological
and morphemic levels. At the same time the nature of the writing system
and the various orthographies that instantiate it do make a difference
for important details of the reading process.
(Perfetti, 2003, p. 5)
Writing systems, Perfetti says, basically rely on one or more of three basic
approaches (citing Gelb, 1952): Alphabetic, Syllabic and Logographic
(Perfetti, 2003). “Alphabetic” refers to the representation of the basic sound
units of the language in question; this operates within a word. “Syllabic” refers
to the use of the graphic symbol to represent the sound of a syllable, while
“Logographic” refers to the representation of an entire word or morpheme. In
the case of Chinese, which uses a logographic script, a character usually com-
bines a reference to a meaningful word, along with a hint of its pronunciation.
Then Perfetti asks the crucial question: “What is it that is learned in learn-
ing how to read?”. This is equivalent to asking, as we did above, “What does
Vygotsky mean by saying…children should be taught written language, not
just the writing of letters?” Perfetti answers his own question:
What a child learns is how his or her writing system works – both its
basic principles and the details of its orthographic implementation.
…
For an alphabetic reader, this means being able to read unfamiliar
words, and even nonwords, as well as familiar words. For a Chinese
reader, this means identifying familiar characters, being able to make
informed guesses about the pronunciation or meaning of unfamiliar
characters, using their compositional principles.
(Perfetti, 2003, p. 16)
Writing and language systems for Marathi and Telugu

Now let us turn to Marathi and Telugu, the focus of this chapter. Marathi
and Telugu are both major Indian languages. Marathi is the language of
the state of Maharashtra. Since the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of
Andhra Pradesh in 2014, Telugu is now the official language of two states:
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Marathi and Telugu belong to two different language families: Marathi to
Indo-Aryan, and Telugu to Dravidian, but they share some syntactic struc-
tures, and a great deal of vocabulary – learned vocabulary from Sanskrit,
and everyday vocabulary from Dravidian (Telugu and Kannada).
In terms of writing systems, Marathi and Telugu both employ what is
variously known as the alphasyllabic system, the abugida system – or more
familiarly to Indians, at least – the akshara system (Salomon, 2000, p. 102).
Marathi uses the Devanagari script, which is also used for Sanskrit and
Hindi. Telugu has its own script, which is similar to that of Kannada and
some other less widely known Dravidian languages. The two scripts are
completely different, though they are presumed to have a common ancestor
in the Brahmi script.
The term alphasyllabic (or abugida) has only recently come into common
usage. I myself have always considered the Devanagari and Telugu writing
systems as alphabetic. I have now accepted the term alphasyllabic, but do
have some questions about the way it is sometimes discussed. In an earlier
paper, I commented on the comparison and contrast between alphasyllabic
and alphabetic writing systems:
Despite the differences between them, alphasyllabic scripts and alpha-

betic scripts share a common goal of representing in graphic form the
phonetic structure of the language. In an alphabetic system, using a
limited number of letters we can write any word in the language. How
is this possible? Each language has a relatively small number of sound
units. All the words in the language are formed by various permuta-
tions and combinations of these basic units, which we call phonemes. If
we map one visual symbol (letter) on each phoneme, we can write any
word in the language.
This is a stroke of human genius! Only the fact of daily familiarity
makes us oblivious to the beauty and elegance of the alphabetic system.
Of course, English, which theoretically uses an alphabet, has a great
deal of irregularity, for historical and other reasons. A language like
Spanish is perhaps a better example of a good fit between the language
and the script.
If the development of the alphabetic system was a stroke of genius,
the work of the Sanskrit grammarians was truly awesome. Their aim
was to represent the spoken language with minute accuracy in order
254 Maxine Berntsen
to preserve what they saw as the pure language required for ritual pur-
poses. As Salomon observes (p. 100), these grammarians ‘felt the need
to develop a system which represented the sacred language as exactly as
possible. They were intensely aware of and interested in phonetics and
grammar’.
(Berntsen, 2019, p. 102)
The phonetic description developed by the Sanskrit grammarians is exem-

plary even today. The grammarians clearly described the difference between
vowels and consonants. They recognised that vowels are sounds produced
as air passes through the vocal tract with only minimal obstruction; varia-
tions in vowel sounds are dependent primarily on the position of the tongue
and contrast in length. Each vowel is an independent entity; that is, its artic-
ulation is not dependent on any other sound.
Consonants, on the other hand, are produced by obstruction of the air
flowing into the vocal tract, the nature of the sound being determined by
the manner and location of the obstruction. A consonant, however, unlike a
vowel, cannot stand alone; it is incomplete until it is supported by a vowel,
either following or preceding it.
The Devanagari script

The sound system underlying the Devanagari script is generally presented
in a format called the varnamala or mulakshare.1 This is a table of basic
sound units – in modern parlance, a list of phonemes of the language.2 The
varnamala contains a set of vowels (svar in Marathi) and a set of consonants
(vyanjana).
Figure. 12.1 shows the Devanagari script as used for Marathi. It consists
of 13 vowel signs, two additional signs (anusvar and visarga – together
referred to as svaradi – indicating nasalisation and breathiness, respec-
tively), and 36 consonant signs, a total of 51 characters (aksharas) in all.
Use of abbreviated vowel signs

As I mentioned above, a consonant cannot stand on its own. Without the
support of a vowel, it cannot be pronounced. In fact, this is the etymology
of the word “consonant”: “sounding along with”. The Devanagari script
clearly represents the relationship of each consonant with each possible sup-
porting vowel. The script indicates the binding of the vowel to the conso-
nant by attaching an abbreviated vowel sign (svarachinha, matra) to the
consonant. These abbreviated vowel signs – technically known as vowel
diacritics – are a distinguishing feature of both the Devanagari and Telugu
orthography.
Figure 12.1 The Devanagari script

256 Maxine Berntsen
The default vowel

Along with the use of the abbreviated vowel signs, the concept of the default
vowel is another defining characteristic of the Devanagari script. A conso-
nant, as we have seen, has to have a supporting vowel.
In the sound system described by the Sanskrit grammarians, the most com-
mon vowel is the neutral central vowel /ə/. If all other vowels are indicated,
it is not necessary to use a sign for /ə/. By default, the absence of a vowel sign
after a consonant means the vowel sound is /ə/. As I have noted before,
[This] is a commonsense notion, contributing simplicity and economy to

the overall system. However, it requires a strategy for dealing with situa-
tions where the default vowel should not be pronounced. The simplest case
is a word-final consonant. In this case, for Hindi and Marathi it is taken for
granted that the default vowel is not pronounced. राम is pronounced/ raam/.
(Berntsen, Akhilesh, Choudhury & Anuradha, 2019, p. 103)
If, in technical linguistic discourse, it is necessary to represent the pure con-

sonant without the default vowel, an oblique line is added to the foot of the
consonant on the right side, e.g., र्. This is referred to as pay modne (“break-
ing the leg of the consonant”).
The Barakhadi
The table of all consonants with the supporting svarchinhas is known in
Marathi as the barakhadi (See Figure 12.2).3
Double consonants and consonant clusters

As we have seen, according to the logic of the script, a consonant with no
following vowel indicated is assumed to have the default vowel /ə/. However,
there are words in which consonants are doubled, and words in which two or
more consonants are clustered/blended together. (The latter are termed samy-
ukt vyanjana). These cases require an indication that the default vowel should
not be pronounced. Grammarians have created special forms for these clusters
so that they function as whole units without the intervening default vowel.
There is nothing arcane about all this. In the limits of this chapter we
cannot go into detail. But even a few examples indicate that some forms are
completely transparent, while others (as the sign for /र्/) are completely dif-
ferent from the graphic shape of the full akshara.4
k+k धक्का push

p+p अप्पा respectful appellation for elderly man
p+r प्रकाश light
jh + y माझ्या my
k+y वाक्य sentence
Figure 12.2 Barakhadi. Source: Author
The Telugu script

Now let us look briefly at the Telugu script (refer to Figure 12.3). On the
face of it, it looks completely different from the Devanagari script. While
Devanagari uses mostly curves and straight lines (vertical, horizontal, slant-
ing), the Telugu script has few straight lines. Practically all aksharas are
rounded.
On a deeper level, however, there are basic things in common. First of
all, the Telugu script is also based on the alphasyllabic writing system.
Moreover, the varnamala is set up in the same way as it is in Devanagari,
with the vowel aksharas on top, followed by the table of consonants classi-
fied by place and manner of articulation.
However, the Telugu language does come from a different family, and
has some differences in the sound system. Unlike Marathi, Telugu has a
contrast between short and long /e/, and short and long /o/. The default
vowel is not /ə/, but /a/. A number of aksharas present in the script are rarely
used – especially some voiced aspirates. In preparing our Telugu primer we
concluded that altogether, of the total of 49 aksharas in the varnamala, 32
are sufficient for basic literacy.
258 Maxine Berntsen
Figure 12.3 Telugu script. Source: Author
High frequency of double consonants

Perhaps the most striking difference between Marathi and Telugu phonol-
ogy is the high frequency of double consonants in everyday vocabulary –
words like the following.
అమ్మ amma mother

నాన్న nānna father
అక్క akka elder sister
ఇల్లు illu house
As we see in the list above, some of the abbreviated forms are transparent
(as in ఇల్లు, but many of the most frequently used signs indicating dou-
bling have no obvious graphic resemblance to the consonant involved, and
must be learned separately.
Minute difference in graphic shapes

One aspect of the Telugu script that causes confusion is that sometimes two
aksharas are distinguished from each other only by a small difference, such
as the presence or absence of a small gap. The aksharas ప and వ, or న and స
immediately come to mind.
Teaching and learning the written

language in a sociocultural context
So these are the basics of the Devanagari and Telugu scripts. Now the ques-
tion is: how do children learn one of these two scripts, and use it to read and
write with meaning? Traditionally, children entering a Marathi or Telugu
school learned the varnamala and barakhadi straight off, chanting, recit-
ing, identifying and writing the forms until they got to the point where
they could read and write meaningful words and sentences. Over the years,
thousands of persons have learned to read in this way, and many people will
still swear by it.
The only drawback was that this method required a good deal of time
before the child could read and write anything meaningful. It worked well
in a family where at least some members were literate; and in the Indian
context that usually meant a high-caste family. After independence the chal-
lenge for the new nation was to devise a method of teaching reading that did
not require the support of an educated family.
In 1968, six years after the state of Maharashtra came into being, the
Textbook Bureau was established in Pune, with a vision of producing text-
books with a broad-based appeal. Shortly afterward, the first edition of
Balbharati, the Class One textbook, came out. It was an inspired book. As
I have commented elsewhere:
the most remarkable aspect of the book was the writers’ imagination,
sensitivity, and pedagogical acumen. Each lesson started with one or
two sentences, in the fashion of the American basal readers of the time.
The words and the aksharas used were given at the bottom of the page.
In the first three lessons only the mulaksharas were used. But in the
fourth lesson the abbreviated vowel sign (svarachinha) for /ā/was intro-
duced, and in the subsequent lessons the remaining abbreviated vowel
signs were gradually introduced. In other words, the authors did not
wait to introduce the svarachinhas until all the mulaksharas had been
260 Maxine Berntsen
covered... This meant that the children’s reading vocabulary increased

very rapidly.
(Berntsen, 2019, pp. 96–97)
The passage for this lesson was a tender lullaby (p. 97). This lovely book
was in print for ten years, until it was replaced by a new edition, which I can
only describe as an Indian avatar of Dick and Jane.
आई घर बघ. Mother, look at the house.

शरद घर बघ. Sharad, look at the house.
अभय नळ बघ. Abhay, look at the tap.
जगन अंगण बघ. Jagan, look at the yard.
शरद चटई आण. Sharad, bring the mat.
Throughout the years there have been changes in the pedagogic strategy of
the Class One Balbharati, but the recurring refrain in Maharashtra, and in
most parts of India, is that a majority of children are not learning to read
and write in their mother tongue, even when it is the medium of instruction.
Education departments are flailing around, making ad hoc decisions about
textbook construction, because they have no clear conception of an overall
strategy for the teaching of reading.
In the higher echelons of government and in academia there are debates
about the teaching of reading, and sometimes there are mixed messages
coming from the same people. Researchers cite evidence that knowledge of
the script is the key factor determining a child’s ability to read, while also
saying that the Indian scripts are hard to learn as they have too many syl-
lables, and are visually too complicated (Das, 2019).
I wish to argue that at least Devanagari and Telugu, the two Indian scripts
I am familiar with, are superb tools for teaching reading and writing with
meaning. If properly taught, with sensitivity, imagination and common
sense, these scripts can enable children to read and comprehend fluently,
and to express themselves with clarity, grace and power. We need a way
of teaching early literacy in Indian languages that will help our children to
learn to read and write in the least possible time.
In the remainder of this chapter, I would like to present a brief over-
view of one such blueprint. The core, called the PSS Approach, describes
the literacy strategy we developed in the Pragat Shikshan Sanstha (PSS),
Phaltan, Maharashtra over a period of three decades, as well as more
recent work done by my new colleagues and myself in Hyderabad. In
this chapter, I have attempted to set the approach in a social cognitive
framework.
Some basic principles

There are at least three basic principles that we must keep in mind.
1. Curriculum planners, textbook writers and teachers must have some

idea of the children who are their audience: their sociocultural back-
ground, what they know and what they need to learn.
2. The teacher must have conceptual clarity about the akshara scripts as a
tripartite system, combining sound, graphic form and meaning.
3. The approach must be a balanced one – combining a central core of
systematic introduction of the script, complemented by a variety of
opportunities for reading and writing.
The children: what they know, what they need to learn

How can we characterise the children who will be using our material?
Within the cohort of children entering Class One, there are vast differences
in terms of their family background, caste, class and educational level. It is
my experience that up until the age of 13, the so-called disadvantaged chil-
dren have an edge over their middle-class peers. They have amazing energy
and vitality, and a range of local knowledge and experience far beyond their
middle-class peers. (I have heard them dismiss middle-class children from an
elite metropolitan school, “They don’t know anything about life”.)
But the main thing to remember is this: no matter what the child’s back-
ground is, his or her mind is not a tabula rasa. These children have a model of
the world in their heads, and a vocabulary of at least several thousand words.
They have mastered the syntax of everyday sentences. They know games, sto-
ries, songs and dances.
So, what do they need to learn? In one chapter of her deeply insight-
ful book, Children’s Minds, Margaret Donaldson addresses the question of
why children find school learning difficult. She says:
the normal child comes to school with well-established skills as a

thinker. But his thinking is directed outwards on to the real, meaning-
ful, shifting, distracting world… His conceptual system must expand in
the direction of increasing ability to represent itself. He must become
capable of manipulating symbols...
(Donaldson, 1978, pp. 88–89)
Now the principal symbolic system to which the preschool child has
access is oral language. So, the first step is in conceptualising language
– becoming aware of it as a separate structure, freeing it from its embed-
dedness in events.
What Donaldson is saying is that children entering school have to learn
to focus their gaze inward, to think about their speech and thinking. What
is a word? What is the meaning of this word? What is the first sound?
What is the last sound? What is a rhyme? These are all aspects of phono-
logical awareness and metacognition that children have to master.
262 Maxine Berntsen
In these matters, children from educated families probably have an advan-

tage. They have been told stories and been read to, parents have played lan-
guage games with them. The families have gone on trips, and have talked
about their experiences and current events. The parents may have started
teaching the children some aksharas.
Conceptual clarity about the nature of the writing system

The second principle I mentioned above is that the teacher must have
conceptual clarity about akshara scripts as a tripartite system, combining
sound, graphic form and meaning. The sound is basic, but, oddly enough,
teachers tend to focus on the visual – showing, for instance, a card with a
picture of a mango (āmbā in Marathi), with the word written below. This
is treating Devanagari as if it were a logographic script. The challenge to
the teacher is to help the child master all parts of the package: the con-
sciousness of the sounds, the identification of the aksharas, and the mean-
ing of the totality. For some children, this is a cognitive challenge, and it
takes some time for them to make the linkages. When the task is to read
a sentence – if only two or three words – it takes some children a while to
keep all the elements in mind.
A balanced approach
More and more reading experts (both for English and Indian languages)
now concur that teaching beginning reading and writing requires what they
term a “balanced approach”. This means using a number of complemen-
tary strategies, including explicit teaching of sound–letter relationships,
along with ample opportunities to listen to stories – both oral and written,
to read on their own, to write in a variety of genres, to write and enact
plays. The PSS approach, which we developed in Phaltan and later refined
in Hyderabad, is one such attempt.
The PSS approach to reading
The Telugu primer

The aim of the PSS approach is to teach the written language systematically,
and in a meaningful context, so that children can learn to read and write
with a minimal amount of delay. The centrepiece of this approach is the
primer, a carefully controlled text, which provides a solid, rigorous core
around which the teacher can organise her language instruction.
The Telugu primer Pada Chaduvukundam (“Let’s Read”; Berntsen et al.,
2019), which we recently completed as part of the Early Literacy Initiative
in TISS, Hyderabad, is a much more elaborate book than Apan Vacu Ya, the
Marathi pamphlet we used for years. The Telugu book has yet to be tested
properly, but it gives a clearer picture of our vision, so I will describe it in
detail.
The book was designed specifically for children in Telugu medium gov-
ernment schools in Hyderabad. The children are largely from families who
have migrated from villages in Telangana, but continue to have close ties to
the village.
Structure of the book

The book has seven lessons. In addition, there are appendices presenting
the Telugu script, the guṇintālu (barakhadi), and a classified vocabulary of
commonly used words.
The lessons are based on the themes of family, friends and names, the
experience of moving between village and city, and household work.
The aim of the book is to enable children to learn to identify and write
all the aksharas needed for everyday discourse, and to use them for reading
comprehension and written expression. Out of the 49 mulaksharas in the
Telugu script, we chose 32 which we considered essential.
Each lesson introduces a set of four or five mulaksharas. The aksharas
chosen are those required for words that are emotionally charged for the
child (Ashton-Warner, 1986)5. Along with the mulaksharas, the svarachin-
has required for these words are also introduced – usually one or two for
each lesson. Altogether, 11 svarachinhas and the anusvar are presented. This
strategy vastly increases the number of words a child should be able to read.
The text is carefully controlled. The general rule is that no akshara that
has not been introduced up to that point should be used. If a word is required
that does not meet this criterion, it can be presented as a sight word.
As the available vocabulary opens up, there are many words that the child
should be able to read, but are not related to the theme of the lesson. The
later chapters of the book include classified lists of such words.
Each chapter contains a variety of activities – some centred on the
aksharas, some on the theme of the chapter. The level of difficulty increases
fairly rapidly. Whether it becomes too difficult remains to be seen.
Bringing in the social reality

As we were working on the primer, we became acutely aware that many of
the children in our schools live in families quite different from the normative
one we have depicted. Many children are without one parent, if not both.
Anuradha, one of our team members, wrote two sketches of such children,
one where a child’s sister has been adopted by a childless aunt, and one
where the child’s father has abandoned the family. We are recommending
that the teacher read these passages and discuss them with the class.
264 Maxine Berntsen
The role of the teacher

This, then, is the primer. The role of the teacher is not simply to go methodi-
cally through the book. She must be constantly aware of whether or not
children are understanding. Some children will find it difficult to match an
akshara with a given sound. Some will struggle in trying to distinguish two
aksharas that have only a minute difference in graphic shape. Some will
have difficulty in holding the packages of sound-shape-meaning in their
heads. All this demands a great deal of sensitivity and understanding on the
part of the teacher. If she can meet this demand, and also empower her stu-
dents to use reading and writing for their own purposes, she will have given
them a tool that will change their lives.
A note of caution
One thing should be clearly understood. The primer described above was
written for a specific group of children in a specific situation. We are not rec-
ommending that it be used as the one and only textbook, even in Telangana.
In fact, the New National Education Policy explicitly supports offering a
choice of textbooks wherever possible “so that they may teach in a manner
that is best suited to their own pedagogical styles as well as to their students
and communities’ needs” (GoI, 2020, p. 17).
Another issue the primer does not address is that Telugu is not the home
language of all the children in the Telugu medium schools. That is a huge
question, but one beyond the purview of this chapter.
A final word
To sum up, learning the written language is not a single event in a child’s
cognitive history. It is an ongoing process, extending over years. In her part
of this chapter, Jane Sahi has dealt with what Vygotsky called the “pre-
history” of this process. She describes how children use their capacity of
symbolisation, in conjunction with their own experience, to acquire (or
reconstruct in their own minds) the premier legacy passed on by their fore-
bears: their first spoken language. This process is more or less the same for
all children everywhere. I have tried to show how, over time, some children
learn a new tool for symbolisation: a writing system. The akshara system
is a superbly crafted tool and is available as a legacy to anyone who wishes
to use it.
Making this tool available to all our children will require a major sys-
temic effort on the part of all concerned: academic researchers, government,
teacher trainers, teachers, as well as the public at large. An informed, sensi-
tive and imaginative policy using our scripts in the framework of a child-
centred balanced approach can lighten the burden of learning literacy, and
enable children to use the written language for their own purposes and for
the good of the community.
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to all those who assisted me in writing and producing this
chapter. I am particularly indebted to Dr Anagha Mandavkar, Assistant
Professor of Marathi at D.G. Ruparel College, who went through the manu-
script several times, and raised a number of issues. I am also grateful to Dr
Vasanta Duggirala, Retired Professor of Linguistics, Osmania University,
Hyderabad, who read the manuscript and made several suggestions. I was
unable to comply with all the suggestions made by these two, but I imple-
mented whatever was possible within the context of this chapter.
Discussing and revising a paper on the basis of suggestions made by col-
leagues was a familiar process. However, composing, editing and producing
the charts of the Devanagari and Telugu scripts was a challenge, especially
within the constraints of the lockdown. In normal times, the interaction
between content experts and IT professionals is seamless. Nevertheless, even
with the lockdown, I was fortunate to get help from a group of people who
combined knowledge of linguistic content and IT.
For the Devanagari script, Dr Mandavkar composed the basic chart,
along with the aksharas and Roman transcription. She also composed the
sample Barakhadi chart. For the main chart I wanted to use Anant, the
graceful Devanagari font expressly designed for the computer by Ninad
Mate of Aksharchhaya, Pune. I asked Mate for help. He immediately com-
plied with my request, and turned over the task to his experienced composi-
tor, Rajashree Kulkarni, who promptly did the needful.
For the Telugu script I turned to Dr Vasanta. Despite the pressing demands
of her own work, she composed the chart, making a couple of necessary
corrections. Final fine-tuning of the format was done by my neighbour Asif
Iqbal, IT expert.
Once again, I want to thank all those who generously gave their time and
expertise to support the witing and production of this chapter.
Maxine Berntsen
Use of terminology and transliteration

Regarding the use of terms to discuss the Indian scripts there are strong disa-
greements – both about words within the Indian tradition, and even more,
about the equivalence of Indian and Western terms. On the whole, I have
tried to make decisions that are based on the logic of the etymology, and are
also practical in terms of teaching beginning literacy. At the same time, I am
aware that I have not been able to be completely consistent.
266 Maxine Berntsen
In regard to transliteration, I have followed a mixed policy. For Indian

words that are frequently used in papers written in English – for example,
akshara – I have not used diacritics. I have also freely added /s/ to make plu-
rals – e.g., aksharas. For less familiar words, I have used diacritics.
Notes
1 The terms varnamala and mulakshare are often used as equivalents (and I
myself have used them in this way). Both of them are used to refer to the chart
showing the symbols used in the Devanagari or Telugu script. Etymologically,
varna seems to refer to the sound, while akshara, to the graphic shape. I think
this is a useful distinction.
2 I strongly feel that it makes sense from a pedagogical point of view to call a
varna a phoneme. As time goes by, the spoken language changes, and anoma-
lies creep in. But a few technical anomalies should not obscure the remarkable
accuracy of the phonological analysis underlying the writing system, and the
basic character of the script as a highly transparent representation of the sound
system.
3 Traditionally school children were taught to memorise the table, using each
consonant with 10 vowels, along with the anusvar and visarga – a total of 12
forms for each consonant. (The Marathi word 12 is bārā.) Some textbooks
include the vowel लृ. As it is used only in a few Sanskrit words, I have not
included it here.
4 Sushant Devlekar argues that in earlier versions of the script, the various forms
of /र्/ in conjuncts were clearly related to the full form of the akshara (personal
communication). It should be added that the Government of Maharashtra has
attempted several times to simplify the writing of the conjunct consonants, but
in its order of 6 November 2009, it again supported the original forms, as the
changes had caused confusion (Government of Maharashtra, 2009).
5 This strategy was followed by Sylvia Ashton-Warner, a well-known educator
from New Zealand.
References
Ashton-Warner, S. (1986). Teacher. New York: Touchstone.
Berntsen, M. (2019). Teaching and learning early literacy: The need for conceptual
clarity. (pp. 92-109). In S. Menon, S. Sinha, H.V. Das & A. Pydah (Eds.), Teaching
and learning the script. Early literacy initiative, resource book 4. Hyderabad:
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Azim Premji School of Education.
Berntsen, M., Akhilesh, A., Choudhury, R. & Anuradha, P. (2019). Pada
Chaduvukundam: Chadivi Rayadaniki Modati Adugu (“Let’s read: The first
steps in reading and writing”) Hyderabad: Early Literacy Initiative, Azim Premji
School of Education, Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
Das, H.V. (2019). Teaching and Learning the script: Bringing it all together (pp.
86-90). In S. Menon, S. Sinha, H.V. Das & A. Pydah (Eds.), Teaching and
learning the script. Early literacy initiative, resource book 4. Hyderabad: Tata
Institute of Social Sciences, Azim Premji School of Education.
Donaldson, M. (1978). Why children find school learning difficult (pp. 86-95). In
M. Donaldson (ed.) Children’s minds. London: Harper Perennial.
Gelb, I. J. (1952). A study of writing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Government of Maharashtra. (2009). Order regarding the form of Devanagari script
and Varnamala to be used in government departments.
Perfetti, C. (2003). The universal grammar of reading. Scientific Studies of Reading,
7( 3), pp. 3–24).
Salomon, R. (2000). Typological observations on the Indic script group and its
relation to other syllabaries. Studies in the Linguistic Sciences, 30(1), 87–103.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). The pre-history of written language. In M. Cole, V. John-
Steiner, S. Scribner & E. Souberman (Eds.), Mind in society: The development
of higher psychological processes (pp. 105–119). Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Chapter 13
Understand Language to Acquire It

The Burden Is Incomprehensibility
R. Amritavalli
Introduction
Babies are not born speaking. But a three-year old child speaks the lan-
guage or languages of her community, however diverse they may be. “My
grandson?” said a proud grandmother, in response to my query about the
three-year-old. “He speaks Assamese to his mother, Telugu with us, and
has picked up some English and Hindi at his playschool …” (Amritavalli
& Rameshwar Rao, 2001). Preschool children don’t “learn” but pick up or
“acquire” language(s). Children acquire languages when they are “incom-
petent at most other activities” (Pinker, 1994, p. 276). Why then is the
teaching of language, and of three languages, at school a burden on the
child?
Part of the answer is simply the challenge of transacting the learning
goals of education through a large, universal system, with its concerns of
standardisation and evaluation in the face of uneven inputs and capacities.
Indeed, the burden Yash Pal spoke of was not limited to the teaching and
learning of languages, but to all teaching and learning at school; and it is
now widely recognised that schooling here has transmuted the development
of the mind through education into a burden on the learners’ backs.
Howe 1999 [1984] reminds us that any learning is a mental event
that is not always directly observable in behaviour; it is the outcome of
mental activity in the individual learner. Learning is a kind of mental
“growth” which, like physical growth, can be nurtured, but not directly
ensured (i.e., mandated). Much of this mental growth needs to be stimu-
lated by mental activity, just as physical growth needs to be stimulated by
physical activity (hence, schooling). The purpose of the activity, whether
physical or mental, is the building up of physical or mental muscle in
the individual learner; the activity (e.g., of teaching and testing) may be
social, but is not an end in itself. Education and teacher-education in
India needs to be informed by these post-behaviorist, cognitive psycho-
logical (including Piagetian) approaches to learning, if it is not to be a
burden.
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059-17
Understand Language to Acquire It 269
Language teaching, learner autonomy

and comprehensibility of input
Language has been recognised as a biological inheritance of human infants
for over 60 years, and it is almost 40 years since Krashen (1985) postu-
lated comprehensible input as a pre-condition for second language acquisi-
tion as well. In the cognitive approach to learning detailed above, language
teaching is designed to promote one kind of mental growth: namely, the
growth of language in the individual mind. Just as physical growth is not
a burden on the child, but a spontaneous and rightful occurrence given
the right conditions, the human mind, especially in infancy and childhood,
is spontaneously geared to inquiry (“curiosity”) and learning (“mental
growth”). Misguided educational or adult ideas about learning, knowledge
and success can, however, burden the child’s mind with the effort to live
up to unnatural expectations, and as effectively prevent learning (“mental
growth”) as the art of bonsai can limit tree growth, or foot-binding can
hobble women.
Language teaching and learning is currently perceived as tied in with
“learner autonomy”, “comprehensible input” and “authenticity of texts”.
The research discussed in this chapter situates itself broadly in these sub-
fields of language pedagogy, but with one crucial difference in its per-
spective on learner autonomy, elaborated on below. The primary research
is more fully reported and discussed in Amritavalli (2007); see Templer
(2013) for a review. For some idea of its relevance to other sub-fields
of education, see Nag (2013), Mathew (2016), Kuchah (2018), Smith,
Kuchah, and Lamb (2018), Mathur and Nag (2019), Vagh and Nag
(2019) and Milton Keynes (n.d.). For a state-of-the-art overview of the
subfield of learner autonomy, cf. Chik, Aoki, and Smith (2018), reviewed
in Amritavalli (2020).
Learner autonomy has been broadly defined as vesting control over the
learning process in the learner. The difference in how learner autonomy is
envisaged in my work stems from my understanding of the nature of lan-
guage and language learning, which I describe below. Unlike the sciences,
and scholastic subjects in the humanities such as history, language is uni-
versal in the human race, and considerably predates the other school sub-
jects (if the cave-painters had language, as is sometimes surmised, it dates
to at least 360 or more centuries ago; if it is coeval with homo sapiens, it
evolved between 50,000 and 150,000 years ago). Unlike the sciences and
other scholastic subjects (again), which have developed through conscious
adult effort and rational human thought over some centuries, and whose
learning involves skills of conscious thinking such as observation, deduc-
tion and inferencing taught through schooling, language is acquired (as
we have said) by the preschool child who is not subjected to conscious
teaching, and arguably has little conscious or “explicit” memory, but has
270 R. Amritavalli
a fund of unconscious or “implicit” memory. This argues that language

is not consciously learnt but acquired unconsciously; and that it is a qual-
itatively different kind of knowledge in the mind than other scholastic
subjects. The preschool child “learns” to walk, and “learns” to talk, but
what we call “learning” is here the unfolding of a bioprogram. Language
acquisition is an internally driven, unconscious instinct that develops in a
supportive environment. In the field of language in particular, therefore,
an informed view of the nature of language and its learning is central to
any pedagogy.
The challenge in language pedagogy (to put it very simply) is to recreate,
in some measure, the conditions and activities that promote language acqui-
sition in the individual learner. Thus, learner autonomy is a central premise
of the argument that learning and language learning are individual acts of
mental cognition. The act of teaching is most appropriately imagined as
one that provides opportunities for learning (Prabhu, 1999). The autonomy
of the learner, in the view adopted here, is not just a strategic device for
classroom management by the teacher, or for success in a language course
by a student. The conception here of learner autonomy goes beyond the
strategic concern that learners “share responsibility” for their learning with
the teacher (Scharle & Szabo, 2000, p. 4). The concern is (rather) to restore
to learners an autonomy essential for learning to occur, that may have been
usurped perhaps unwittingly, and to some extent inevitably, by a system of
curriculum, textbook and teaching.
Language is a creative system

Language is a rule-governed creative system. The outcome of language
acquisition is a creative language system that is able to understand and pro-
duce unrehearsed language in “real time”. We speak, and understand, a
language we know at a rate of over three words a second. We find words for
our ideas from a mental lexicon, and put them together in the right order, in
a “grammatical” way, using the “little words”: such as a/an/the, tense and
agreement, in a fraction of a second: starting from less than 1/10 of a sec-
ond. Any successful language learning must yield such a creative language
system. Second language learners, too, need to be able to use the second
language to receive and express meaning “in real time” in a variety of new
situations. To do so they must go beyond what is taught and examined,
and be able to “conform automatically to grammatical norms”: i.e., they
must develop “internal, self-regulating processes” from an “internal, self-
regulating system” of the second language (Prabhu, 1987, p. 2, 15).
How does an automated system for language develop? Starting from
birth to three years (or rather, as recent research suggests, starting from
the time the sense of hearing develops in the fetus), the “language teacher”
is anyone speaking any language(s) around the child. The child’s effort to
understand or make sense of language (out of curiosity, interest, aspiration

for inclusion in a group …) is crucial to its acquisition. The “syllabus”
for language acquisition is “made up” by the child who “picks up” the
language, from the everyday language addressed to her and around her,
as also the rhymes and stories that interest her. The language itself is the
text: a “dynamic text” (Amritavalli, 1999b). Let us pause for a moment to
think of the nature of the raga in our classical music, whether Hindustani
or Karnatak. The raga is instantiated or embodied in instances or partial
re-creations of it, in fixed texts such as musical compositions, or in dynamic
texts resulting from efforts at improvisation (e.g., alapana). But the raga
is not limited to, or exhausted by, these instantiations of it. To recognise
a raga, thus, is to recognise and identify ever “new” instances of it, which
have a sense of freshness (they are not repetitions of fixed texts) but also
conform to the overarching “grammar” of the raga. In a similar sense, a
language is itself a dynamic text for learning it. Reducing its teaching to a
dozen complex texts is to reduce language learning to rote memory or to
content learning.
How can we go beyond what is taught in the classroom? Let us first
understand that language “teaching” in school may in fact interfere with
language acquisition. This was recognised as early as 1966 by Leonard
Newmark, in an essay with the humorous title “How not to interfere with
language learning” (Newmark, 1966), written in an era when behaviourist
theories of cognition deemed the learner’s first language(s) to “interfere”
in the learning of new languages. Seven years later, in the same vein, John
Macnamara (1973) published a comparison of the opportunities and moti-
vations provided by “nurseries, streets and classrooms” for language learn-
ing. In school, languages are “taught” as if they have “conceptual content”
like geography, history or mathematics. A “text” from a book in a “syl-
labus” is explained, and then examined. Learners pass examinations but
cannot understand or “speak English” in real time, or read on their own in
English.
How does a rule-governed creative system arise in the mind? A creative
language system results when learners attend to the meaning conveyed by
language forms, not the forms themselves (Krashen, 1985; Prabhu, 1987).
Human beings seem to be endowed with a “language faculty” that specifies
a (yet very ill-understood) set of formal properties for language, i.e., any
human language, past, present or future. Learners acquire language uncon-
sciously, when they make the “effort to understand” it (Prabhu, 1987).
When do learners make the effort to understand language? One impor-
tant answer is: when language input is relevant to their needs and abili-
ties (“authentic”). This explains why children spontaneously learn “teacher
talk” from the classroom (instructions and admonitions), and why young
sports buffs would spout cricket commentary in English when that was the
sole language of “running commentaries” on the radio.
272 R. Amritavalli
Meaning-focused, authentic language

input: three narratives
The question to ask, therefore, is: what is authentic for the classroom
learner, such that s/he makes an effort to understand a new language? For
an answer, I offer three narratives of meaning-focused, authentic language
activity in the classroom, not as a “solution” to the question of how to teach
English, but as suggestive of research of the kind that each teacher in each
situation might need to undertake. What I shall present are the problems
and solutions as I saw them in my attempts to “teach English in deprived
circumstances” (Amritavalli, 2007).
The first narrative

The work reported here had its inception in a 3-week, 28 hour “bridge
course” I was asked to give two school leavers who, after passing Class XII,
had secured admission to polytechnics, but were insecure about coping with
the “English medium” education they were now to face. Not knowing these
learners (or their abilities) at all, I decided on an eclectic approach, including
some reading, writing and speaking, and sentence construction and gram-
mar. I started on the first day with what I imagined was a simple task (in
the spirit of a “communicative, task-based approach”) for learners at their
level. I therefore took to my first meeting with these two learners a notice of
an event in my institution, which had the following information structure,
on which to base a communicative task:
Name, description, will do something at (place) at (time) on (day)
This notice, to my discomfiture, proved to be a mountain of a hurdle. It

actually consisted of a single sentence, rather long, including the descrip-
tion of the activity at the event. The learners were unable to look at this
unfamiliar text as sense groups in a sentence, i.e., to “parse” the sentence in
order to extract its meaning. They were looking at each individual, isolated
word. I tried to unveil its information structure (shown above) by drawing
their attention to the prepositions that introduced the adverbial clauses of
time and place, for example. I then asked them to make up similar notices
of their own, which they eventually did, successfully. Yet in retrospect it was
obvious that the language exposure and meaningful activity generated by
this task were painfully small in proportion to the time and energy invested
in it by the teacher and the learners.
This led to a shift of emphasis to reading with comprehension: i.e., on
parsing language as meaningful chunks of words, as a prelude to reading
with understanding. I took to the class “authentic” material (newspaper
supplements such as The Hindu’s “Young World,” articles in the Readers’
Digest, advertisements and household hints). After some reading sessions

under my lead, I tried to ascertain what the learners could read and under-
stand on their own, with a dictionary. This activity uncovered fresh prob-
lems, this time with learners’ dictionaries (Amritavalli, 1999a).
Learner-chosen texts, and their characteristics

The central issue that emerged from this experience, the issue that became
of urgent relevance and interest, was the learners’ ability to select their own
texts for reading, and the characteristics of these texts. A little later in this
chapter, I shall discuss some characteristics of learner-chosen texts, illustrat-
ing my points with samples. Here I note that if language learning happens
in its own time and at its own pace in each learner, as the language acqui-
sition approach premises, each learner must take charge of her learning,
which happens at her convenience rather than strictly during class or tuition
time. The idea that language learning is an exploratory activity needs to
be inculcated in learners. Learners must proactively find potential language
resources to further their learning.
The ability to find relevant language input is a major driver of language
learning. This is especially so if English is being learnt for further education,
or for acquiring skills for an occupation: i.e., for knowledge gain or use,
more than for socialisation. The relevant input is likely to be available in
print, on paper or on the internet. Yet at no time does the language curricu-
lum expect the learner to take charge of input: i.e., to find anything to read
and understand, to write or to listen to. Learning is restricted to reacting to
prescribed material (“covering the syllabus”, and knowing the answers to a
predictable set of questions). Things look more orderly and manageable in
the classroom, and are more systemically convenient this way.
The second narrative

To proceed to the second narrative on this theme, the students were from
the same cohort as the first two learners, but younger. They were first-gen-
eration learners studying between 2 and 5 p.m. at a school for the marginal-
ised. They were housemaids, 14–16 years of age. The principal intended that
they should take the state board’s Class VII public examination as private
students, and thereafter be mainstreamed in some appropriate manner. The
principal was a very competent and committed teacher, now retired from a
prestigious institution in Mumbai, who had clear and sophisticated views
on teaching for learning with understanding; but she expressed the need for
some help with English. For this, she was able to spare but one hour a week,
given that hers was necessarily a part-time school.
I began in March–April with a mix of teacher-led and learner-led activi-
ties plus reading. The reading level of the group ranged from the ability
274 R. Amritavalli
to read isolated words to reading phrases, but did not extend to meaning-
ful sentences. Keeping in mind some well-known ELT “strategies”, I again
took to the class some “authentic” texts (newspapers, magazines, notices,
packaging), besides the Class VII textbook. A lesson in this textbook (for
example) was on Fingerprints; this was “taught”, and followed up with
activities from a children’s science kit on fingerprints. Then there was a
summer break.
In a class test after the break, there was a sense of urgency (the examina-
tion was at the end of that academic year); and it was agreed that the focus
should be on the textbook. We managed to “cover” (with me reading aloud,
and the students trying to understand, with my help) two more textbook
lessons (“Hovercraft”, “Vikram Sarabhai”) in a couple of months (about
eight teaching hours). Then came a school test, before the Dasara break.
The results were disappointing, though familiar.
It was clear that the students had been attentive and diligent, and they had
mastered the content of the lessons. Whether they had learnt the language
that went with it was less clear from their written answers. Had their read-
ing improved? Was there a better “effort to understand” language, on their
part? Teaching the textbook, however sincerely and competently, did not
appear to have addressed such questions at all.
Consequently, when, after the exams I took up the next textbook lesson
(“Crocodiles”), I “taught” two to three paragraphs, and then asked the
students to either read the same paragraphs out loud, or to read on further
on their own, whether silently or aloud. The learners “could not” do so.
They became sullen and rebellious. Their manner showed that they felt that
I had abdicated my responsibilities towards teaching, even as I cajoled and
coaxed; and they now seemed to embody the cliché of the uninterested,
unteachable disadvantaged learner. We “covered” one paragraph in the rest
of that hour!
I was in a quandary. My mandate was to prepare the students for the
Class VII English examination. I conceded the principal’s unexpressed fear
that the desultory reading of newspapers or stories was not the optimal use
of our limited teaching time (one hour a week). On the other hand, teach-
ing the textbook appeared to be equally a waste of time as far as fostering
genuine reading, or language acquisition, went. How was I to resolve this
gap between my convictions, and a “semi-formal” non-formal situation of
deprivation, coupled with expectations of mainstreaming?
Learner-chosen texts again

The problem, and in retrospect, the question to address, was: what would
the learners themselves perceive as “learning English” – what was authentic
for them? When I next went to class, on an impulse, I asked: “can you find
something in this textbook that you want to read?” The children started
leafing through the textbook. The results were dramatic. In half-an-hour of

self-chosen reading, three times more print was read than before.
After this, our classes divided their time equally between expository teach-
ing and self-selected reading. As we repeated this latter, profitable activity,
week after week, what emerged was a children’s book, which was a “text-
book within the textbook”. In it were not the dozen “lessons” (“texts”)
that I taught (and which would be examined): extended texts on topics such
as Fingerprints, Hovercraft, Vikram Sarabhai or Crocodiles, meant to be
taught over a week, or even a month, in the classroom; but short and crisp
“exercises”, and, surprisingly, poems! Significantly, every text had a picture
to go with it.
My questions: what would the learners themselves perceive as “learning
English” – what was authentic for them? had been answered. Authenticity
for these learners lay not in aimless reading “for pleasure”, but in reading
from their prescribed textbook what they could understand or find relevant.
The very act of finding an understandable text to read (or read out)
invokes the effort to understand in every individual learner, be it Telugu,
or English, or any language in school. I recall our own child being set the
summer vacation homework of bringing something in Telugu to present to
the class. For this task, neglected children’s books in Telugu were leafed
through (invoking the reading sub-skill of “scanning”), and a set of possible
texts identified by “skimming” through them (another sub-skill of reading),
before the final choice was made.
Characteristics of learner-chosen texts

The accumulation of self-selected reading texts now allowed me to arrive
at some typical characteristics of such texts. First, there was the intriguing
preference for poems (or rhymes) over prose. As a language teacher, I had
not chosen to “teach” the poems, which had “poetic” (and therefore “non-
standard”) language (for example, “Up in the air so blue”). Yet when the
children read this line, they were able to intuit its meaning; and a welcome
development was that they now asked for confirmation checks for “bigger”
meanings than those of single words. Again, their reading aloud became
more rhythmic. Interestingly, research shows that in the first language as
well, weaker children choose to read poetry (Hall & Coles, 1999).
A third advantage that poems and rhymes offer to the beginning reader
(apart from their rhythmic structure, and the primacy of global, largely
emotional, meaning) is compactness. The preferred poems were short texts,
with short lines. Overall, whether prose or poetry, the self-selected texts
were all short (in this group, between 60–83 words, or 6–13 sentences),
with short sentences (mean word length 4–10).
What the beginning reader wishes to read is an “encompassable” text that
yields up a meaning reward in a single effort. In the classroom, short texts
276 R. Amritavalli
also allow for a variety of texts to be negotiated in a single class, maximising

language input and exposure.
Comprehension and comprehensibility

Let me now present a sample text chosen by the first group of learners
described earlier, the Class XII school leavers who were to enter polytech-
nics, to make a point about meaning-focused activity.
“Every day was Mother’s Day” (from Ripley’s “Believe it or not”)
Richard Burton, Lord Haldane (1836–1928), British War Secretary and

Lord High Chancellor, wrote a letter to his mother every day for 48 years.
Beginning with the year 1877 when his father died and continuing until
May 1925 when his mother passed on, at the age of 106 years and 6 weeks,
Lord Haldane never missed writing to her – a single day.
Interestingly, this was only the first of two paragraphs in that entry. The
second part of the entry, which the learner had ignored, ran as follows:
This statesman and philosopher is the only British Cabinet member who
was simultaneously a member of the German Cabinet for one day. The
appointment was made by Kaiser Wilhelm II to enable Haldane to take
part in one meeting of the German Cabinet of ministers.
I was struck by the learner’s ability to ignore what he could not comprehend
and was not relevant to his interest to the text. The learner was a serious
young man in a culture that stresses one’s duty to one’s parents, and the
dutifulness of a British Lord had struck a responsive chord in him. Political
trivia in a European context about that person’s career was of little use to
him. This learner had shown a remarkable ability to leave open or uncom-
prehended what did not make sense to him, what he judged to be not rel-
evant to his immediate purposes. To my knowledge, it is only N.S. Prabhu
who has noticed and commented on this aspect of comprehension:
The same sample of language can be comprehensible to the same learner

at one level and for one purpose, and incomprehensible at another.
Teaching is, therefore, primarily a matter of regulating the level of com-
prehension needed …
(Prabhu, 1987: 66, n.14)
Comprehensibility, says Prabhu, is therefore a function of the learner, the

text, and a “criterion of adequacy”.
We may say that in the case of teacher- and education board-chosen texts,
the comprehension required or expected is usually set to a level of adequacy
chosen by them, i.e., the figures of authority. This encourages a view of

comprehension as meeting the (somewhat incomprehensible) requirements
of an external agency, and results in an abdication of the learner’s respon-
sibility to make the effort to understand; and thus, to a surrender of learner
autonomy. It is a common experience even among teacher-trainers, for
example, that a class of trainee teachers will wait to find out from the trainer
how they should understand, for example, a poem; for fear that their own
responses may be “irrelevant” or “incorrect”.
How is one to strike a balance between the desirability of individual
response, and the need for a consensual understanding of a text? I suggest
that in the classroom, we first find out what the learner can and does com-
prehend. We can first allow learners to share and co-create comprehension
at various levels. On this platform we could, if necessary, build, proceeding
over a period of time to arrive at a minimal, standard level of comprehen-
sion for a given text.
The third narrative

Our first two narratives of how learners can choose their own texts, and of
the consequences of this for their learning, have concerned first-generation
learners in India: wage earners at the Class VII or Class XII (school leav-
ing) stages. I now proceed to describe the impact of this activity on adult,
non-Indian learners. These were a group of international professionals in
an English training programme for adult learners, who had specialisations
in law, mathematics, computers, language, culture and tourism, from vari-
ous countries: Cuba, Guyana, the Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan, Laos, Oman,
Panama, Syria, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. They were enrolled in a 12-week
course purporting to be on “access to information”.
A well-known problem with teaching a new language to adults is a “gap”
between their cognitive age and their “linguistic age” in the language con-
cerned. The problem is obvious: to find intellectually stimulating, if not
challenging, material in language simple enough for them to understand. I
was charmed, therefore, when a lady lawyer from Latin America excitedly
shared with the class the poem below, that she had found in an issue of the
Readers’ Digest that I had taken to class:
Accomplishments
When Aristotle wrote his books,
When Milton searched for rhyme,
Did they have toddlers at the knee
Requesting dinner time?
When Dante contemplated hell,
Or Shakespeare penned a sonnet,
278 R. Amritavalli
Did Junior interrupt to say

His cake had ketchup on it?
Given this lady’s educational background, she was familiar with the figures
of Aristotle, Milton, Dante and Shakespeare; and the feminist message that
caught her sympathy was expressed in the simple images and direct lan-
guage in this rhyme.
We are now able to discern commonalities in the learner choices of texts
among three quite different groups: adult international professionals, and
Indian first-generation learners at the Plus Two and Class VII stages. All
three groups chose:
• Short anecdotes (e.g., real-life skits from the Reader’s Digest).

• Text pages with accompanying pictures.
The adult group’s cognitive maturity was reflected in their choice of car-
toons with pithy captions:
• One penguin to another, looking up at a helicopter: “If God had meant

us to fly he’d have given us propellers.”
• A Zebra with horizontal stripes to a panther with regular stripes: “It
gives the illusion of great speed.”
Conclusion: broader issues in language

and teaching language
This essay was written especially to honour Professor Yash Pal’s injunction
to ensure learning without burden, and to participate in the debates and
discussion around this idea. However, a need has been expressed by the
publishers to link its ideas more precisely and overtly to the deliberations of
that committee, and perhaps to the newly-articulated educational policy as
well. In what follows, I attempt to highlight the relevance of the ideas here
to current and past political particularities and recommendations, with a
crucial caveat. The attempt here has been to theoretically and conceptually
inquire into the question: wherein lies the burden of language learning, and
how can we escape it?
A theoretical understanding of the world and ourselves that endures is
necessarily outside the particularities of situations and politics. (Thus, if
one inquires: “If Galileo were alive today, would he still say ‘But still it
(the earth) turns,’ although it was whispered by him some centuries ago?”
The answer is: of course! Because the central fact that the earth turns is still
true!)
There are several matters for thought and debate about “learning without
burden” that emerge from the three narratives presented here. The first is
the point that we began with, that teaching can at best provide opportuni-
ties for learning (Prabhu, 1999). Any learning is a mental event, the result
of a learner’s mental activity. Since language learning (especially) is an indi-
vidual act of mental cognition, learner autonomy is central to it; the curricu-
lum, textbook and teaching are only props, subordinate to the individual’s
effort to understand language.
Second, there is currently a widespread recognition, indeed a trend, to
prefer authentic texts in teaching. But our experience highlights the cen-
trality of a distinction made by Widdowson (1979) between “genuine” or
“real” and “authentic”. Authenticity, says Widdowson, is “not a quality
residing in instances of language but … a quality which is bestowed on
them, created by the response of the receiver”. Learner-chosen instruc-
tional materials are authentic in this sense; for such materials result from a
“response from the receiver” right from the beginning, in the very act of the
choice of material.
Third, there is a “Learning Zone” we all have for the acquisition of
systems of knowledge; and this zone consists of what we may call “the
Next Step” from where we stand. Vygotsky’s (1978) idea of ZPD (Zone
of Proximal Development) was based on the discovery that an individu-
al’s thought process for developing problem solving and scientific think-
ing can be helped by social thinking in the classroom if it is taken into the
“next step” forward. Krashen’s formulation of the “i+1” stage of input for
language acquisition posits that if a learner’s grammar is at stage i, it can
be driven to the next stage, i+1, by comprehensible input. To activate the
Learning Zone, then, we must begin with the learner’s current knowledge.
Now this might be different for every learner; and how do we find the time,
energy and resources to ascertain what the current stage i might be for every
learner? The good news is that “we” do not have to do this. Who knows
best what s/he knows? The learner. Therefore, who knows best what the
learner’s i+1 is? The learner! This is a simple, powerful and fundamental
argument for maximising learner autonomy and learner-chosen texts.
If the gap between what the learner knows and what is required to be
learnt is too large, there is play-acting at language learning (rote-learning/
guides): a pretence of learning, alienation and lack of interest on the part of
the learners.
Fourth, to “learn” language is to develop an automated system for under-
standing and producing language. To do so in a second language, there are
a number of small co-constructive learning activities that every classroom
explores and chooses from. For example:
• The use of “predictable texts”, which have recurrent but not repetitive
language (a crucial distinction made by Prabhu, 1987). The dynamic
text is predictable and recurrent, but not repetitive. E.g., The Three
Bears story has a recurrent theme: “Who has eaten/drunk/slept in my
280 R. Amritavalli
porridge/milk/bed?” Here, even as the learner is engaged in meaning,

the recurring phrases enter a memory bank of involuntary memory.
For adults, news broadcasts or newspapers can serve as dynamic, predict-

able texts, because they have a recurrent pattern of structuring of informa-
tion, and a continuity of content based on news stories.
• Re-creation from memory of a sentence (or text) from the textbook, or

TV news headlines. This can begin with the class as a whole recreat-
ing text on the blackboard. Simpler still, “taking dictation” can be a
whole-class activity, rather than an individual one; the attempt will cre-
ate a game-like situation (like playing “Chinese whispers/Telephone”),
because individuals will differ in their recall.
• Summarising, note-making, agreeing on main point(s) of a text; creating
word-nets for meaning for a text, in order to understand it.
• Cooperative co-creation of a text from imperfectly expressed ideas,
with the help of the first language, to aid in composition of texts in the
second language.
• Drama, debate, elocution, role-play, etc.: here, rehearsed language is
used for an authentic activity of which rehearsal is a natural part.
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Chapter 14
The Unfinished Agenda of

Mathematics Curriculum Reform
K. Subramaniam
The current education policy context

After a gap of 34 years, in 2020, the Government of India has announced
an ambitious National Education Policy (Government of India [GoI], 2020;
henceforth “NEP 2020”) that recommends significant changes in the school
curriculum. The NEP 2020 was in the making for some years, through two
different committees and three Human Resource Development ministers.
The draft policy of the first committee was abandoned for reasons that are
not known. The policy drafted by the successor committee, chaired by the
space scientist/technologist Kasturirangan, has now been officially adopted
in a condensed form – about a third in length as the more detailed draft
policy released for feedback from the public in 2019.
In post-independent India there have been, prior to this policy, three edu-
cation commissions and two national education policy statements.1 Among
these documents, which articulate independent India’s education policy as
it evolved over the decades, one must also count the Yash Pal Committee
report for its importance and impact. There have also been four national
curriculum frameworks on school education,2 with a new curriculum frame-
work projected to be issued soon. Although the curriculum frameworks are
expected to guide the translation of the policy into a curriculum, occasion-
ally, and especially in the case of the National Curriculum Framework of
2005, they have had an impact comparable to the policy documents in shap-
ing education. To this series of policy interventions, we must also add the
Right to Education Act of 2010 enacted by parliament, which was a far-
reaching step towards implementing the long pending promise of universali-
sation of good quality elementary education.
One of the striking features of the string of education policy documents
referred to above is the extent to which the goals and priorities articulated
are common. For example, nearly every policy document has prioritised
enhancing teacher status and autonomy, raising public expenditure on edu-
cation to 6% of GDP (mentioned first by the Kothari Commission in 1966),
ensuring quality in education, abandoning rote learning, syllabus reduction,
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059-18
Mathematics Curriculum Reform 283
reducing the impact of examinations, and so on. But even though, decades
after these policies were declared, a large proportion of teachers are con-
tract employees, public expenditure remains far below 6% of GDP, private
educational institutions have expanded more rapidly than public ones at
every level of education, rote learning has taken an even firmer hold, and
private coaching and examinations have become the overwhelmingly domi-
nant feature of education in the country. This raises a question about the
extent to which policy documents are actually effective in achieving the lofty
goals that they articulate. Will the latest policy too only remain on paper?
That the NEP 2020 does not record which of the goals aimed at by previ-
ous education policies have been achieved and which have not, strengthens
this disquiet. Perhaps policy documents are not good guides to what actu-
ally happens on the ground since they are not backed by a strong will to
implement the less tractable goals of policy. The actual course of evolution
of the education system is a combination of what is articulated as policy
and other forces. It is important therefore, even as a new policy is adopted,
to retrospect and take stock of earlier policies. A retrospective analysis of
the impact of the Yash Pal Committee report, which stands out among pol-
icy documents in being both brief and sharply focused, may help to better
understand the complex relationship between an articulated policy and the
changes that ensue on the ground. I argue in this chapter, that the report led
to a major change by nucleating a child-centred education discourse, accom-
panied by changes in the curriculum and embedded pedagogy, at least at the
level of national school textbooks. I trace the changes seeded by the report,
which found expression in the National Curriculum Framework of 2005,
leading to a reform in the syllabus and textbooks in school mathematics at
the national level. I describe some of the background work necessary for
curricular changes to take root and point out the limitations in translating
curricular intent into curriculum materials and classroom teaching. Finally,
I briefly discuss what challenges remain to be addressed as well as what new
changes and challenges the NEP 2020 might bring, and highlight the need to
consolidate and develop the gains already made by previous reform efforts.
The impulse for curricular reform

The Yash Pal Committee report titled “Learning without Burden” (GoI,
1993; henceforth “LwB report”) stands roughly midway between the
Education Commission Report of 1966, better known as the Kothari
Commission report and the present. The Kothari Commission report (GoI,
1966), issued over half-a-century ago, was one of the most comprehensive
policy documents in post-independent India and is an important point of
reference for subsequent developments in educational discourse. In contrast
to this voluminous tome, LWB is a mere 25 pages. It is sharp and focused,
and carries a clear message. The LWB report identifies the main problem
284 K. Subramaniam
as one of the curricular “load of non-comprehension” and its recommen-

dations suggest a way of addressing the problem. The impact of the LWB
report is disproportionate to its length – it is one of the main inspirations for
the development of the National Curriculum Framework of 2005 (National
Council of Educational Research and Training [NCERT], 2005; henceforth
“NCF 2005”), a massive exercise that brought together, literally, hundreds
of leading educationists in the country. Chronologically, the NCF 2005 is
itself roughly half-way between LWB and the present. Thus, the present
time seems appropriate to take stock of how far we have come in terms of
the paths laid out by these major policy documents. In this article, my focus
will mainly be on the impact of LWB, via the NCF 2005, on the improve-
ment of school mathematics teaching and learning in the country.
What prompted the Government of India to set up the Yash Pal Committee
was a raging debate at the time over the weight of the school bag carried
by young children, an issue that was eloquently placed before the public
through a series of cartoons by R.K. Laxman. The LWB report framed the
problem in the context of the larger issues plaguing education in the coun-
try. The real load on the child, LWB explained, was not due to gravity,
but due to the ponderous and incomprehensible curriculum. This problem
was compounded by other ills of Indian education, captured in the sub-
headings of LWB: “Joyless learning”; “Examination System”; “Textbook as
the Truth”; “Language [of the] Textbooks”; “Observation Discouraged”;
“Starting Early”; “Teaching Everything”. A few quotes indicate the per-
spective of the authors of LWB:
Right from early childhood, many children... are made to slog through
home work, tuitions and coaching classes .... Leisure has become a
highly scarce commodity in the… child’s life. The child’s innate nature
and capacities have no opportunity to find expression in a daily routine
which permits no time to play, to enjoy simple pleasures, and to explore
the world .... Both the teacher and the child have lost the sense of joy in
being involved in an educational process. (p. 3)
Both the teacher and the parents constantly reinforce the fear of
examination and the need to prepare for it in the only manner that
seems practical, namely, by memorising a whole lot of information
from the textbooks and guidebooks. (p. 5)
In mathematics and the natural sciences, the packing of details makes
any kind of learning with understanding, leave alone enjoyment, virtu-
ally impossible. (p. 10)
The quotes convey the central message of LWB, which is that learning
must be joyful and not a burden. They express a faith in the child’s innate
capacities and curiosity as engines of effective learning. (The LWB report
exhorts science textbooks to use “these golden years of childhood to arouse
curiosity about things and ideas,” p. 7.) It notes the importance of learn-
ing mathematics and science with understanding and that the cramming of
details is inimical to this goal.
Of the 12 recommendations of LWB to solve the problem of the burden
of learning without understanding, four are directly related to the curricu-
lum and textbook and address issues of content, pedagogy and the process
of curriculum and textbook development. A fifth recommendation relates
to assessment – replacing existing questions with concept-based questions
in board examinations. Two other recommendations are indirectly related
to the curriculum – on the importance of co- and extra-curricular activities
and the need to reduce homework. Thus, half the recommendations of LWB
are related directly or indirectly to the curriculum.
It is important to locate the impulses conveyed by LWB in the stream
of attempts at reforming school education since independence, to under-
stand both its continuity with earlier policies and the fresh perspective that
it enabled. Immediately after independence, the policy documents on educa-
tion emphasised the role of science and mathematics in creating a modern
industrial nation (Khan, 2015). They also intended to correct the imbalance
created by a colonial education system that under-emphasised science. As
the Secondary Education Commission (GoI, 1956) noted in the first decade
after independence, “in the new High Schools the standard of achievement
in literary subjects was from the very beginning high but little or no progress
was made in training the pupils in the practical side of science”. The primacy
accorded to science and mathematics was reiterated by subsequent docu-
ments and may have contributed over time to the emergence of a content-
heavy curriculum in these subjects, especially in mathematics (Khan, 2015).
Many of the criticisms of school education in LWB, also echoed in
the NCF 2005, are not new. They find a mention even in the Secondary
Education Commission report (GoI, 1956). Examples are the criticisms that
school learning is disconnected from life, that education is bookish and not
aimed at all-round development of the child, that the pedagogy does not
engage and that rigid examinations foster a culture of rote learning and kill
creativity. The Kothari Commission, in a similar vein says,
the curriculum places a premium on bookish knowledge and rote learn-

ing, makes inadequate provision for practical activities and experiences,
and is dominated by examinations, external and internal .… the cur-
riculum becomes not only out of step with modern knowledge, but also
out of tune with the life of the people.
(GoI, 1966, Section 8.02)
As we have seen, a concern about the lack of focus on practical knowl-

edge had already been expressed in the Secondary Education Commission’s
report in 1956.
286 K. Subramaniam
In relation to this background, LWB reiterates many educational principles

expressed in the earlier policy documents. What is new in LWB is the empha-
sis on the child, not only in terms of the humanistic aim of fostering individual
creativity and development, but also in the belief that the child’s active and
joyful participation is the primary driver of the process of learning itself. This
might be described as the coming together of a humanistic philosophy aligned
to Tagore’s vision of education and contemporary insights in constructivist
developmental psychology. One also finds an expression of such a child-cen-
tred approach to education in the National Education Policy of 1986 (but not
in earlier policies, according to Sriprakash, 2012), but it is LWB that gives it a
sharp focus, an extensive elaboration and establishes it as a priority, creating
the conditions for this perspective to take firm root in education discourse.
Indeed, the constructivist perspective on learning, which is derived from the
focus on the child, is one of the cornerstones of NCF 2005.
It is instructive to recall Yash Pal’s own personal involvement in the
major educational initiatives in the intervening period between the Kothari
Commission and the Yash Pal Committee. Anil Sadgopal recounts a meet-
ing in TIFR in 1969 where Yash Pal introduced him to B.G. Pitre and V.G.
Kulkarni, who were planning an intervention in science teaching in Bombay
municipal schools (Sadgopal, 2019). Pitre and his associates had developed
innovations in science teaching based on a discovery–learning approach.
These were the green shoots of major innovative programmes in science
teaching stemming from the 1970s that included the Hoshangabad Science
Teaching Programme, and the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education.
Yash Pal was a nucleus for many of these efforts. In his numerous talks
with students, teachers and scientists, he reminded them, always with vivid
illustrations and examples, of how creative children could be if their curi-
osity and imagination was unfettered. Other members of the committee
too shared this sensitivity to children’s ways of thinking. T.S. Saraswathi,
a renowned developmental psychologist, had worked on the contributions
of culture to children’s development. V.G. Kulkarni brought his rich experi-
ence of several decades of interaction with a range of urban and rural school-
teachers and students. Krishna Kumar was already a well-known scholar in
education. Although I am not aware of the background and expertise of
other members of the committee, one may safely say that sensitivity to,
and awareness of, children’s ways of thinking was amply represented in
the committee. The roots of the core pedagogical vision of constructivism
articulated in the NCF 2005, therefore, go back to LWB. The continuity
between the two is also reflected in the key role played by Krishna Kumar
in spearheading the NCF, and in Yash Pal’s own role as Chairman of the
National Steering Committee overseeing the formulation of NCF 2005.
The references in LWB to the mathematics curriculum are few, as may be
expected in a brief report. Citing examples of the concepts of measurement
and of proportional reasoning, the LWB report notes that the mathematics
curriculum progresses too swiftly through concepts, without giving enough

time for children to absorb them. Drawing on findings from Piagetian devel-
opmental psychology on the development of the mental structure of conser-
vation of quantities, the report critiques the curriculum for “the tendency to
follow the logic of the discipline of mathematics rather than psychology of
learning” (p. 11). Due to this, mathematics “acquires the image of an esoteric
discipline which has little application in the real life of the child” (p. 11). We
find again the child being placed at the centre of concerns. The tendency to
pile the textbooks with information takes the form, in mathematics text-
books, of presenting procedural rules without any accompanying reasoning.
The example cited is the rule for dividing a decimal number by a multiple of
a power of ten without any accompanying reasoning or explanation.
The LWB report recommended that the
mathematics curriculum for primary classes in all parts of the country

be reviewed with a view to slowing down the pace at which children
are required to learn basic mathematical concepts, and broadening the
scope of primary mathematics to include areas other than number work
(e.g., space and shape-related concepts and problem solving). The ten-
dency embedded in the syllabi and textbooks of primary mathematics to
accelerate children’s mathematical skills by teaching them mechanical
rules at the expense of understanding and intelligent application ought
to be discouraged in future syllabi and texts.
In summary, LWB gave a significant impetus to a child-centred perspective

in educational discourse. It pointed to the misplaced emphasis on infor-
mation and overloading of the curriculum. Learning is understanding and
making connections among the bits of information that one gathers; it is
about acquiring concepts and making meaning. When it is done right, learn-
ing is joyful, and spurs the child to further learning. Keeping these at the
forefront, LWB also made recommendations concerning educational struc-
tures and processes – decentralisation of textbook production, the need to
improve textbook writing by involving those who had close contact with
children, freeing the teacher from the bounds imposed by textbooks, sup-
port for NGOs to make pedagogical innovations, etc. In the next section,
I discuss the perspective on the mathematics curriculum taken by the NCF
2005, which was influenced by LWB.
Mathematisation of thought as the

goal of mathematics teaching
The NCF 2005 adopted a comprehensive approach to curriculum reform,
operationalised through the setting up of 21 focus groups devoted to
various aspects of school education. Each focus group, including one on
288 K. Subramaniam
mathematics teaching, produced a position paper, which formed an input

for the curriculum framework document. Since all the position papers are
publicly available, they are convenient documents to consult for elaboration
on the guidelines presented in the framework document. Before discussing
the approach to the mathematics curriculum in NCF 2005, let us under-
stand the continuity between LWB and NCF 2005.
The Ministry of HRD initiated the formulation of the NCF by requesting
a revision of the National Curriculum Framework of 2000 in the light of
the Yash Pal Committee report – LWB (National Council of Educational
Research and Training, 2005). Thus LWB was an explicit reference point in
formulating the NCF 2005. As mentioned, constructivist pedagogy, which
is one of the core elements of the NCF 2005, finds its roots in LWB. Four of
the five principles enunciated by the NCF, which were the only principles in
the initial draft, find a direct echo in the central message of the LWB report.
These four principles are, connecting knowledge to life outside the school,
ensuring that learning shifts away from rote methods, enriching the cur-
riculum so that it goes beyond textbooks and making examinations more
flexible and integrating them with classroom life. We also noted earlier that
the formulation of the NCF 2005 was led by individuals who were closely
involved in authoring the LWB report.
The intervening period between LWB and the NCF 2005 saw other devel-
opments that had an impact on curriculum reform in mathematics. First, in
the wake of liberalisation of the Indian economy beginning in the early 1990s,
foreign donor agencies, under the umbrella of the DPEP (District Primary
Education Programme), supported several programmes aimed at improving
the quality of the curriculum and textbooks. Multiple primary mathemat-
ics textbooks appeared with fun-filled activities, attractive illustrations and
layout. While this was a welcome development, many of these books lacked
a coherent mathematical or pedagogical basis. Second, at around the same
time, large scale adult literacy campaigns were undertaken across the coun-
try. As educators interacted with adult learners, they attempted to connect
the literacy curriculum with the daily struggles of such learners. An outcome
of this engagement was the documentation of ethno-mathematical practices
and knowledge in the Indian context (Rampal, Ramanujam & Saraswati,
1998). As mentioned earlier, there was already, beginning in the 1970s,
the work of organisations like Eklavya and the Homi Bhabha Centre for
Science Education in curriculum development. Other developments which
had a significant impact on mathematics curriculum reform included the
School Mathematics Project led by the faculty of Delhi University, which
developed a curriculum for the early grades in collaboration with teach-
ers (Mukherjee & Varma, 2015). These developments were very important
since they formed the background, field level work that supported the cur-
riculum revision, as I will discuss later.
The Position Paper on the Teaching of Mathematics (NCERT, 2006a,

hereafter “PP”) identified four major challenges confronting school math-
ematics education – a sense of fear and failure regarding mathematics
among a majority of children, a curriculum that is disappointing to both
high-performers and “the non-participating majority”, crude assessment
methods that reinforce the view of mathematics as mere computation, and
inadequate teacher preparation and support to teachers. In response to these
challenges, the recommendations of the PP, in brief, were to shift the focus
from narrow to higher aims of mathematics education, “engaging every stu-
dent with a sense of success” while offering conceptual challenges to high-
performers, devising new ways of assessing mathematisation abilities, and
providing rich resources to mathematics teachers.
The approach to the mathematics curriculum in the NCF 2005 made
an interesting departure from previous curriculum frameworks. The NCF
2005 introduced a new vision of mathematics “not solely as abstract disci-
plinary knowledge that can serve the cause of a modern industrialized and
technologically driven economy but as tools of rational and critical think-
ing and enquiry, to serve individual curiosity and a quest for knowledge”
(Khan, 2015, p. 1528). The PP identified the aims of school mathematics
education as two-fold. The first encompassed the practical aim of prepar-
ing children for their roles as productive adults in society, and preparation
for higher studies, which broadly covered the aims mentioned in previ-
ous policy documents. The second, “higher aim” was the “mathematiza-
tion of the child’s thought process”. The word “mathematization” was not
defined in the PP, although some descriptive characteristics were presented.
Nevertheless, it functioned as a powerful signifier, and invited teachers and
educationists to focus on important, hitherto neglected, aspects of math-
ematics as a subject. “Mathematization” was interpreted as the disposition
and ability to apply mathematical and quantitative tools to understand and
solve real world problems. It was associated with identifying, describing
and analysing patterns using mathematical ideas and thought processes.
The PP also emphasised the importance of mathematical processes such as
“formal problem solving, use of heuristics, estimation and approximation,
optimization, use of patterns, visualisation, representation, reasoning and
proof, making connections, [and] mathematical communication”. The PP
took the view that
giving importance to these processes constitutes the difference between

doing mathematics and swallowing mathematics, between mathemati-
sation of thinking and memorising formulas, between trivial mathemat-
ics and important mathematics, between working towards the narrow
aims and addressing the higher aims.
(NCERT, 2006a, p. 8)
290 K. Subramaniam
From the above discussion, it is clear that the PP urged curriculum devel-
opers and teachers not to focus merely on acquiring the practical tools of
mathematics, but to learn its ways of thinking and doing. Along with this, it
emphasised the need to understand mathematics and not merely memorise
its formulas, or “swallow” it. At the heart of this recommendation, how-
ever, there is an ambiguity that is not fully resolved by the PP. This has to do
with two divergent perspectives on mathematics: viewing mathematics as a
branch of knowledge that is complete in and of itself – a more esoteric view
– or alternatively of emphasising its relation to other branches of knowledge
– a more applied view. Some of the sentences in the PP have been interpreted
as leaning towards an esoteric view of mathematics and disparaging of its
application to “practical” situations. A tension between these viewpoints
almost invariably underlies all curriculum formulation in mathematics, as
also in other subjects. Does the PP resolve this tension in favour of the eso-
teric view? Such an interpretation is made by Noronha and Soni, who claim
that “it is obvious that the needs of mathematics as an abstract subject are
privileged over the everyday needs of the growing child to negotiate her
daily life” (Noronha & Soni, 2019, p. 638). They do so in the context of a
study on the importance of understanding and dealing with percentage as a
conceptual tool in unpacking inequality and discrimination. This is indeed
an important application of mathematics to the problems of real life, which
is one of the guiding principles of the NCF 2005. As support for their criti-
cism of the PP, they quote the following sentence from it: “The narrow aim
of school mathematics is to develop ‘useful’ capabilities, particularly those
relating to numeracy – numbers, number operations, measurement, deci-
mals and percentages” (quoted in Noronha & Soni, 2019, p. 638, emphasis
by the authors). Reading this statement together with those on the “higher
aim” of teaching mathematics, they see a contradiction between the NCF
2005 as a whole, which emphasises the connections of the curriculum to the
life of the child, and especially her social environment, and the PP, which
seems to emphasise a more esoteric approach to the subject of mathematics.
As a member of the focus group that authored the PP, my sense is that the
spirit of the recommendations in the PP does not privilege the esoteric view
of mathematics. It is rather to emphasise understanding, meaning and think-
ing over mere mechanical learning. Furthermore, the PP is careful when it
speaks of the need to go beyond the narrow aim; it does not recommend
forsaking it for the higher aim. It is possible, however, that it lends itself
to misinterpretation due to the strong contrasts made between these aims
rather than emphasising their mutually reinforcing relationship. Indeed, one
finds that in the syllabus revision that followed the NCF 2005, some of the
more practically oriented topics, gathered under the rubric of “commercial
mathematics” in previous curricula were omitted or greatly reduced in the
post-NCF textbooks, especially at the middle and high school level. This
represents a missed opportunity since these topics could have been dealt
with from a critical perspective, emphasising how mathematics could be

used as a tool to penetrate the surface and gain deeper insights about social
reality. Such a perspective, for example, is more clearly articulated in the
2012 Mathematics Curriculum document of Maharashtra state (MSCERT,
2012), which adopts the distinction between the higher and lower aims of
the mathematics curriculum, but interprets it slightly differently.
Mathematics is important in a democratic polity, since our ideas of fair-
ness and justice are often operationalised in quantitative terms. For a citizen
to participate in democratic decision making, mathematics is indispensable
– whether to judge the fairness of distribution of public funds, their appro-
priate and effective use, or to assess the impact of larger forces that shape
our lives such as globalisation or environmental change. Thus, mathematics
education must not only aim at making children effective users of math-
ematics for application in practical life or other areas of science, but must
also aim at fostering criticality and precision in thinking that mathemat-
ics embodies. It must aim at building an appreciation of how mathematics
informs decisions that critically affect all of society, and also an apprecia-
tion of how mathematics as a discipline builds and validates knowledge
(Maharashtra State Council for Education Research and Training, 2012,
pp. 2–3, translation mine).
Such an emphasis opens up the connection of mathematics to understand-
ing social reality, and aligns it with the broad aim of education to foster
critical thinking in aid of democratic citizenship, or, as the NCF eloquently
formulates as its fifth guiding principle for curriculum development, the aim
of “nurturing an overriding identity informed by caring concerns within the
democratic polity of the country” (National Council of Education Research
and Training, 2005, p. viii).
Reform in the mathematics syllabus and textbooks

The exercise of revising the curriculum framework has, as one may expect,
the most direct impact on the syllabus and textbooks, while its impact on
classroom teaching practice and on assessment practices is more muted.
The syllabus documents in mathematics that were prepared following NCF
2005, reflect the recommendations of the framework and the PP. Guidelines
such as building the curriculum around the experiences of students, empha-
sising reasoning, developing definitions by observing patterns rather than
being given ready-made definitions, experiencing mathematics as something
to be explored and discovered rather than absorbed as a finished product,
etc., are repeated in the general guidelines for textbook writers that preface
the detailed syllabi for various stages (NCERT, 2006b). The syllabus guide-
lines for the secondary level recommend the inclusion of chapters on proof
and mathematical modelling. These topics entered the curriculum for the
first time. However, presumably due to pressure from the general public,
292 K. Subramaniam
they eventually appeared in the textbooks from Class 9 to Class 12 only as

appendices, which were not included for examinations.
The imprint of a child-centric approach can be seen in the post-NCF 2005
syllabi, which contain more carefully designed learning progressions that
take into account studies on the learning of mathematics and experiences
in curriculum development at the field level. Learning progressions for pri-
mary classes show greater coherence and the careful building up of concepts
across nearly all topics. In the syllabus for the middle school, attempts to
redesign progressions may be seen in certain topics such as number sys-
tems, fractions, integers and algebra. However, these attempts are largely
restricted to the introduction to these topics, after which the traditional
sequence of sub-topics takes hold. At the secondary level, there is no dis-
cernible change in the topics or in their progression, although how these
topics are treated in the textbooks is different from before.
As an illustration of how the progressions have been redesigned, I will
focus on the topic of division in the primary classes. The division opera-
tion for whole numbers is typically taught between Class 3 and Class 5.
Table 14.1 presents a comparison of the learning progression for this topic
Table 14.1 Comparing learning progressions for the topic of division in primary classes
Progression of outcomes in the MLL document

Concept of division: Demonstrates understanding of the concept of division as repeated
subtraction (Class 3).
Division procedure: Divides a 3-digit number by a single digit number without
borrowing and without remainder in Class 3, with borrowing and remainder in Class
4, increased to 4-digit number by a 2-digit number in Class 5.
Solving problems: Solves one step of daily life problems of division using the division
procedure in Class 3, 1–2 step problems involving division and one other operation in
Class 4, increased to problems involving up to 6-digit numbers in Class 5.
Solving problems mentally: Solves one step of daily life problems mentally with dividend
less than 100 and divisor less than 10; increased to 1–2 step problems including those
involving an additional operation in Class 4 and Class 5.
Application: Uses unitary method to solve simple (proportion) problems in Class 4 and 5;
Understands the meaning of average and finds the average for a set of data in Class 5.
Learning progression in the NCF 2005 syllabus document
Concept of division: Prepares for the concept of division in Class 2 by discussing
situations involving equal sharing and activity of making equal groups; In Class 3,
explains the meaning of division from contexts of equal grouping and sharing and
relates division with multiplication.
Division procedure: Completes division facts by grouping/using multiplication tables in
Class 3; Divides a given number by another in various ways (drawing dots, grouping,
using multiplication facts, repeated subtraction) in Class 4; Uses informal and standard
division algorithms in Class 5.
Solving problems: No separate progression. (The approach taken involves presenting
problems in contexts and situations as far as possible.)
Mental arithmetic: Estimates sums, differences, products and quotients and verifies using
approximation (in Class 5).
Source: Author
in the document called “Minimum Levels of Learning” (NCERT, 1991,

abbreviated as “MLL”) and the syllabus document of the NCF 2005
(NCERT, 2006b). The MLL document, which exerts considerable influence
on curriculum development in India, adopts what is popularly known as the
“outcomes approach”. Although this document only lays down purported
minimum levels of learning, this need not concern us here. It is not the levels
recommended, but the kinds of descriptions of learning that are provided in
the two documents that are of interest.
We see that in the MLL document, the emphasis is on formal definition of
the division operation (as repeated subtraction), while division is introduced
through contextual meanings in the NCF 2005 syllabus. The standard algo-
rithm for the division operation is taught beginning in Class 3 as per the
MLL document, with borrowing and remainder and bigger numbers taught
in Classes 4 and 5. In contrast, in the NCF 2005 syllabus, the approach
taken is one of encouraging students to use multiple ways of solving con-
textual problems of equal grouping and sharing. I will discuss the approach
to the division operation in the post-NCF 2005 textbooks in greater detail
later. Two of the recommendations of the NCF 2005 are evident in the syl-
labus: the centrality of the connection to situations and contexts, i.e., to life
outside school and using students’ prior understanding and intuition as a
starting point for teaching even abstract concepts and procedures.
Observers have noted that there were significant improvements in the
presentation and kinds of exercises and tasks, and the organisation and
sequencing of topics, especially at the primary level in the textbooks pro-
duced following the NCF 2005 (Tripathi, 2007). The primary textbooks
were not only made more attractive and interesting, but also contained a
few thematically organised chapters, which provided contrast and occa-
sional relief from a sequentially ordered presentation of concepts. The text-
books tried to incorporate mathematical elements from everyday life and
shared heritage and culture, and attempted to introduce critical pedagogi-
cal perspectives (Rampal & Subramanian, 2012). Informal discussions with
many teachers suggest that this has led to children becoming more interested
in mathematics, and losing their fear of the subject. Although there is no
systematic study to support this claim, there are indications that the first
challenge – fear and a sense of failure – has been addressed to some extent
in the critical and formative early years of schooling.
At the middle school level, the textbooks attempted to present material
in a more lucid manner and adopted a friendly tone while addressing the
student. There was also an attempt to reorganise the content and to empha-
sise meaningfulness of ideas and concepts. An analysis of the algebra strand
of the middle school curriculum revealed that despite these changes, the
approach remains focused on procedures and fails to foreground algebraic
thinking (Banerjee, 2015). This is consistent with the progressions described
in the syllabus document mentioned above.
294 K. Subramaniam
Although these remarks pertain to the NCERT textbooks, these books

have had an influence on the rewriting of textbooks by state governments
and the changes have been along the lines seen in the NCERT textbooks.
Thus, while the changes in the textbook and curriculum are in the right
direction, there is a need to further refine the approaches based on what is
known about students’ learning and thinking in many topic domains, and
the changes that are underway in school curricula around the world. Deeper
change in the curriculum and textbooks, that are more aligned to the vision
of mathematics education articulated in the PP of 2005, is possible only
when there is change in the processes leading up to the production of text-
books and learning material.
Let us take a closer look at the nature of inputs and preparatory work
needed for effective syllabus and textbook reform. I have already mentioned
the curriculum development efforts of various groups that preceded the NCF
2005 exercise. One such effort was the development of the “Prashika” curric-
ulum by Eklavya at the primary level, which adopted an integrated approach
to science, mathematics and language (Agnihotri, Khanna, Shukla, Batra &
Sarangapani, 1994). The School Mathematics Project of Delhi University
developed, in collaboration with teachers, worksheets for teaching math-
ematics for Classes 1 to 3 (Mukherjee & Varma, 2015). The Homi Bhabha
Centre for Science Education developed text-cum-workbooks and teacher
books for primary school mathematics (see for example, Subramaniam,
2001). All these efforts involved actual trials in schools and classrooms over
extended periods of time and fine tuning the materials on the basis of feed-
back. Not only did the materials developed in these initiatives feed into the
post-NCF 2005 textbooks, but also the wealth of experience gained through
these interventions, since many members from these groups contributed to
the curriculum and textbook development exercise of the NCF 2005.
Such field level experiments are essential for the production of sound
and viable curricular materials. Curriculum change, therefore, needs to
be backed up by prior didactic work. By “didactic work” I mean shaping
curricular content into appropriate ways of presentation, along with sup-
porting pedagogical devices, so as to make teaching and learning effective.
(Following the usage in many European languages other than English, I
prefer the word “didactic” over the word “pedagogical” because the former
connotes a combination of content and teaching methods, while the lat-
ter is more commonly associated exclusively with teaching technique.) It is
noteworthy, and somewhat unfortunate, that the bulk of didactical work
in India in school mathematics has only been at the primary level. There is
a great need to undertake such work at the middle and secondary school
levels. The rarity of such work is reflected in the fall back to the traditional
sequence of topics even in the post-NCF 2005 textbooks at these levels.
I will illustrate what is meant by didactical work with the help of an
example from the Math-magic textbooks, i.e., the NCERT textbooks in
primary mathematics produced post the NCF 2005. It is well recognised

that one of the most difficult topics for primary school students is the divi-
sion operation and associated “vertical division” algorithm. The algorithm
is more complicated than those for the operations of addition, subtraction
and multiplication. However, the division algorithm is useful to learn, not
only because it is an efficient and general algorithm for division of whole
numbers, but also because it can easily be extended to decimal fraction divi-
sion. It is a convenient way of finding decimal equivalents/approximations
of fractions. Thereby, it is a powerful tool to understand and deal with
decimal numbers, which are used widely in practical contexts. Hence it is an
important part of the elementary mathematics curriculum.
Traditionally, the algorithm is taught in a purely procedural manner, typi-
cally with an emphasis on difficult terminology: divisor, dividend, quotient,
remainder. In fact, the NCERT primary textbooks prior to NCF 2005 take
such an approach. (For details, see Takker & Subramaniam, 2018). This is
alienating to students, who are easily confused by the abstraction and termi-
nology. The Math-magic textbooks adopt a different approach, which we
have called the “chunking approach” (Takker & Subramaniam, 2018), and
which has also been described as the “partial quotients” approach (Khemani
& Subramanian, 2012). In this approach, the division operation is typically
introduced through an equal sharing context. (It is also possible to frame this
in an equal grouping context. For the difference between the equal sharing
and the equal grouping meanings of division, see Subramaniam, 2016.) A
problem is posed as follows: suppose you have Rs 90 to be divided equally
among 5 friends, how much would each get? As students come up with solu-
tions, they are also asked to record how they divided the money. One way of
carrying out this division is shown in Figure 14.1. Here the money is distrib-
uted in four steps. In the first step, Rs 10 is handed out to each friend; in the
second step Rs 5 is distributed; in the third and fourth steps Rs 2 and Rs 1 are
distributed, respectively. It turns out that this manner of distributing, as well
as the tableau used to record the process, are close to students’ intuitions.
Moreover, it is close enough to the standard place-value based algorithm
to allow the possibility of students making a relatively smooth transition
to adopting the standard algorithm. These features, among others, make it
greatly accessible to students from different contexts and backgrounds.
This is an example of a successful pedagogical, or rather didactic, innova-
tion that finds a place in the post-NCF 2005 textbooks. (The backing for
this claim will emerge in the next section.) Not all didactical innovations
introduced through curriculum revisions are successful in terms of facili-
tating students’ access and learning. For such innovations to be success-
ful, they must be tried out by teachers with students in multiple settings
and sites. This allows for variations to be explored and fine tuning of the
approach used. Remarkably, for the particular example of the “chunking
approach” to division, not only has this been tried out in multiple sites,
296 K. Subramaniam
Figure 14.1 The Chunking Method. Source: Author
but a documentation of these efforts also exists. The earliest reported trial
in an Indian context appears to be by the teachers involved in the School
Mathematics Project of Delhi University in the 1990s (Mukherjee & Varma,
2015). They report that after trying out various approaches to teaching
the division algorithm, the teachers arrived at the “chunking approach”.
Khemani and Subramanian (2012) report a study conducted by Eklavya
of the efficacy of the approach with students. The report includes details
of student responses showing that they are able to use the approach to
understand and meaningfully solve division problems. I also discuss in the
next section, a teaching episode from a collaboration between a researcher
and a teacher focused on the chunking approach. The study also highlights
the challenges faced by a teacher in making a transition from a traditional
approach to teaching the standard division algorithm to adopting the new
approach based on the Math-magic textbooks. This has implications for
what is needed to close the gap between a textbook reform and its actual
implementation in classrooms.
Developing teachers’ capacities for reform in teaching

Inadequate levels of preparation of teachers in India, including mathematics
teachers, is a recurring theme in education policies and related studies. The
PP on the teaching of mathematics (NCERT, 2006a) identified inadequate
teacher preparation as an important challenge to be addressed and recom-

mended the provisioning of resources to help teachers. The inadequacy in
teacher preparation is further exacerbated by the demands made by a new
curriculum that embodies a significant change in perspective. I will try and
indicate the kind of demands made on teachers who are at the forefront of
actually implementing the new curriculum in classrooms.
The NCF 2005 was criticised for being silent on how teachers are sup-
posed to bring about the change in their classroom and for not address-
ing the much-needed teacher development to support curriculum renewal
(Batra, 2005). Following the NCF and textbook revision exercise, efforts
were launched to disseminate the new vision to teachers through training
programmes. Some school systems issued regular circulars on what was
expected of teachers. However, these were not very effective in ensuring
that changes occurred in classroom teaching. The focus on changing text-
books and issuing directives to schools and teachers, sidesteps the issue of
developing adequate knowledge and enabling beliefs among teachers, which
is needed to realise the vision conveyed in the new curriculum framework.
Teacher development of the kind needed takes place through long term
continuous teacher development initiatives. It cannot occur without the
agency of the teachers, and without teachers themselves being at the centre
of teacher development programmes.
There are a few studies that are available on the resources and capacities
that teachers need to successfully implement a reform curriculum. These
studies suggest that teachers are increasingly aware of, and appreciate the
need for, change of the kind envisioned by NCF 2005. Teachers are now
more open to the idea that their teaching approach needs to undergo funda-
mental change. However, there is very little clarity about what this change
really amounts to in terms of classroom teaching and learning, and schools
and teachers look for help as they try to interpret the message of the new
curriculum framework (Banerjee, 2015; Kumar, Dewan & Subramaniam,
2012). Some of the beliefs that teachers hold are not compatible with the
change envisaged in the new vision of education. For example, with regard
to mathematics, many teachers believe that mathematics is a body of knowl-
edge consisting of known solutions to a well-defined set of problems, and
that the goal of teaching is to transmit this knowledge to students (Kumar
& Subramaniam, 2013). This is consistent with a strongly held belief that
students cannot find solutions to problems on their own; if they do so in
the classroom it is because they have already been taught the solution, pos-
sibly in a tuition class. Many teachers believe that students failing to cor-
rectly solve problems is due to their “forgetting” what they have learnt.
Thus, they devise strategies to fix what students remember and recall, which
includes practising a large number of problems of a similar kind. They seek
to avoid causing “confusion” among students by telling mathematical pro-
cedures clearly and breaking them down into steps. The idea that confusion
298 K. Subramaniam
is productive for learning, that when students try to deal with their confu-
sions it can lead to deep learning is held by very few teachers. Given these
widely prevalent beliefs, teachers’ practice tends to focus on “telling”, and
giving students plenty of repetitious practice sums. Procedures, solutions
and even proofs are memorised, and likely forgotten soon after the purpose
of answering an exam is served. A study by Dewan (2009) indicates that
such beliefs, which stand in contrast to the ones envisioned in the NCF
2005, are held not only by teachers but even administrators, faculty mem-
bers and directors of teacher education institutions, thereby indicating the
extent of the challenge in implementing the NCF 2005. This points to the
need to create spaces where teachers articulate and reflect on the beliefs that
they hold while respecting the identity of the teacher. Teachers need to not
only experience alternative ways of doing mathematics, but also to build an
awareness of, and sensitivity to, students’ mathematical thinking.
What specific capacities are needed to teach mathematics in a manner
that responds to students’ thinking? Such teaching is aligned with the con-
structivist approach, where teachers support students in the construction
of mathematical knowledge. Responsive teaching places special knowledge
demands on the teacher that go beyond understanding of the content. In the
1980s, Lee Shulman introduced the notion of pedagogical content knowl-
edge – an amalgam of pedagogical and subject matter knowledge that is
critical to effective teaching (Shulman, 1986). Since that time there have
been a large number of studies on teachers’ specialised knowledge needed
for teaching mathematics. Some studies have also been conducted in the
Indian context on the knowledge demands placed on responsive teaching in
topics such as decimal numbers (Takker & Subramaniam, 2018) and inte-
gers (Kumar, Subramaniam & Naik, 2017).
To illustrate what is involved in the actual implementation of a reform
textbook in the classroom, I will return to the example of the division algo-
rithm discussed earlier. The illustration is taken from a study by Shikha
Takker, who collaborated with a teacher to teach division using the chunk-
ing approach (Takker & Subramaniam, 2018). The teacher, who was very
experienced and had been teaching primary mathematics for 25 years,
was not happy with the approach taken by the Math-magic textbooks.
Specifically, about the topic of division, her complaint was that the text-
book recommends that students use many different approaches to solve
problems. As we saw earlier, the textbook encourages students to use their
own informal strategies to solve division problems and discusses some
examples of such strategies, such as making groups of tokens, using mul-
tiplication, using repeated subtraction, etc. In the teacher’s interpretation,
however, she felt obliged to explicitly teach the children each one of those
strategies. This is connected to a deep-rooted belief, common among teach-
ers and mentioned earlier, that students cannot solve problems unless they
are explicitly taught how to. It did not occur to the teacher that students
may come up with their own ways of solving the problem unaided by any
explicit teaching. Since she believed that each method had to be shown for
students to learn, she was greatly concerned that the students would be
thoroughly confused.
One of the methods discussed in the textbook is the chunking method.
The teacher had tried this method by herself and had found it confusing. So
she had, over the years, skipped teaching this method to her students and
had gone on directly to teaching the standard division algorithm. This by
itself is interesting since not only does it highlight the gap between a change
appearing in the textbook and its being reflected in classroom teaching, it
also highlights the choice and agency exercised by teachers in selecting or
modifying what is given in the textbook. Even though in this particular case,
the teacher chose to ignore the new textbook and reverted to earlier prac-
tice, it was nevertheless a deliberate choice exercised by the teacher. Such
agency should be welcomed in the light of the recommendations of LWB,
since it opens up the possibility of teachers adopting child-friendly methods
on their own initiative if they are convinced that they work.
The teacher in the study requested the collaborating researcher, Shikha
Takker to help her by teaching the “chunking method” to her students.
Shikha agreed and began the lesson by posing the problem of a grandfather
who wanted to distribute 75 rupees equally among his three grandchildren.
The students responded enthusiastically by suggesting multiple ways in
which the money could be distributed equally. Shikha recorded these solu-
tions (refer Figure 14.1 for a slightly different example) and proceeded to
change the numbers in the problem. After a while, the teacher, who was pre-
sent became very enthused herself by the students’ responses and took over
the lesson, posing problems of sharing larger amounts. This was an eye-
opener for the teacher and she realised the power of the chunking approach.
After the lesson, she was effusive about why the approach was better in her
conversation with Shikha. She said,
I think the method is good. They [students] can use different ways to get
it [answer]. Also, it is very clear, this vertical arrangement of numbers....
slowly they can move to choosing bigger numbers. Actually, you know
the number of steps increases if you take small numbers [multiples]. But
it doesn’t matter because they anyway get it.... As a teacher, I can see
how they are liking it.... But you know one more difference is there. In
long division, I have to teach them for each increasing digit like dividing
by one digit, then two [digit number] and three, all are different. But in
this they have to use the same method for big numbers, by themselves
and they can do also.
The remarkable change in the teacher’s attitude towards the chunk-

ing approach was an outcome of her witnessing students thinking and
300 K. Subramaniam
responding in their spontaneous ways when faced with an equal sharing

problem. By observing the variations in students’ responses, she noticed the
potential of the approach to support students in building their understand-
ing starting from their own ways of carrying out division. The episode also
serves to remind us that implementing curriculum reform in the classroom
is critically dependent on the teacher’s agency. The teacher must not only
understand and appreciate the approach, but must be convinced that it rep-
resents an improvement over the previous approach. Platforms and oppor-
tunities that allow such judgements to be exercised by the teacher are scarce.
If reform is to succeed, such opportunities will have to be provided.
Challenges that lie ahead

We have noted that for curriculum change to be effective it must be backed
by didactical work. In the case of the curricular material in mathematics pro-
duced post the NCF 2005, such work was done prior to the NCF 2005, over
many years, through initiatives taken by NGOs, groups of academicians or
institutions like the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education. Although
these initiatives represent significant progress over the decades, they are by
and large ad hoc, limited in space and time and weakly institutionalised.
Thus, they depend on multiple contingent factors coming together – support
of individual bureaucrats, financial support, interest and time contributed
by academicians and teachers, and so on. The absence of institutional spaces
for such work, with rare exceptions like the Homi Bhabha Centre, shows
that the critical importance of background didactic work is yet to be widely
recognised.
At present, the dominant practice of textbook writing still involves put-
ting together ad hoc committees of individuals who meet for the first time
during textbook drafting and return to other pursuits at the end of the text-
book writing project. Such committees are often a mix of university subject
experts and teachers. Since the teachers are typically at a level higher than
that for which the textbooks are being written, neither of these groups usu-
ally has direct expertise in teaching and learning at the required level. Each
committee starts its work afresh, having only examples of previously pub-
lished textbooks to guide this work, and not their own prior experience of
didactic work towards curricular formation. It is worth noting that LWB
had already criticised such practices and had urged a more professional
approach to textbook writing. Only when the need to bring in more profes-
sionalism and cumulative expertise is recognised can one begin to identify
and design institutional spaces where such didactic work can be carried
out. In doing so, one can draw on the lessons learnt from the initiatives
mentioned above.
Didactic work is not only aimed at the production of curricular mate-
rials. An important outcome of such work is teacher learning and the
enhancement of teachers’ capacities. Studies of responsive, student-centred

teaching have revealed the nature of specialised knowledge demands made
while teaching specific topics. Further, they have revealed the importance of
in-situ efforts at innovating teaching practice and reflecting on such practice
in collaborative groups. Such work is no different from the work that goes
into the design of curricular strands and the background work of designing
and trying specific approaches in the classroom. Hence the involvement of
communities of teachers in what I have called didactical work is crucial not
only to produce viable curricular materials, but also to facilitate their imple-
mentation in the classroom.
Looking to the future, the NEP 2020 makes ambitious projections of a
redesigned curriculum that provides for multi-disciplinary learning, cut-
ting across traditional boundaries between science, social science and the
humanities. It speaks of the need to take into cognisance new domains of
knowledge such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science,
while framing the school curriculum (GoI, 2020, p. 3). It reminds us of the
big problems that confront us as we move fully into the twenty-first century:
climate change, depleting natural resources and pollution and is mindful of
the social changes that these will give rise to. All of these ambitious projec-
tions for curricular change need background didactic work, presenting a
higher order of challenge in comparison to less radical curricular agendas.
There is no evidence in the NEP 2020 of recognition of the need for such
work, let alone a plan for institutional arrangements that will bring this
about. Progress on this front is only likely when some of our best universi-
ties take the lead in initiating work towards a reformed school curriculum
and bring together the varied expertise necessary – subject experts, teachers,
education researchers and designers.
Finally, I have not focused in this chapter on the complex challenge
posed by assessment reform. As has been said multiple times, the com-
petitive examinations that determine entry into coveted streams of higher
education cast a long shadow. They determine the shape of testing and
teaching even in primary school. The high stakes invested in such exami-
nations are an inevitable outcome of the scarcity of jobs. Jobs are increas-
ingly of the low pay and low skill variety creating a mismatch between
projections made for education and actual opportunities for employment.
High stakes exams coupled with anxieties about failure or poor perfor-
mance create a vicious cycle of “teaching for the test” and simultaneously
a rigidity in assessment tools. Examination papers are highly resistant to
change and innovation precisely because of the enormous public pressure
on them. Predictable examination questions lead to a culture of rote learn-
ing of pre-formed answers, which in turn leads to higher scores without
any real learning as its basis. It is no surprise to find entire school cohorts
scoring in the high 80s or even 90s. This only creates an “illusion of compe-
tence”, as the education system is hollowed out from within. The challenge
302 K. Subramaniam
of assessment reform cannot possibly be overcome unless there is a change

in the larger contextual factors such as a large expansion in the opportuni-
ties for employment.
Notes
1 These are the University Education Commission (1949), Secondary Education
Commission (1956), Education (Kothari) Commission (1964–1966), National
Policy on Education (1968) and the National Policy on Education (1986). The
two commissions on teachers and teacher education in 1983–1985 and 2012
have not been considered here.
2 The Curriculum for the Ten-year School (1976), National Curriculum for
Elementary and Secondary Education – A Framework (1988), National
Curriculum Framework for School Education (2000) and the National
Curriculum Framework 2005.
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Chapter 15
Strengthening Learning through

Visuospatial Experiences
Initiatives from the Indian Context
Ritesh Khunyakari, Shamin Padalkar, Farhat Ara
and Garima Singh1
Backdrop and a prelude

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 calls for an explicit focus on
curricular and pedagogical issues for enabling learning that is holistic, inte-
grated, enjoyable and engaging (GoI, 2020). The purpose of the education
system, as mentioned in the NEP 2020 (GoI, 2020, pp. 4–5) is “to develop
good human beings capable of rational thought and action, possessing com-
passion and empathy, courage and resilience, scientific temper and creative
imagination, with sound ethical moorings and values”. The realisation of
the larger, imagined purpose of education posits a challenge for a country
that represents immense social, economic, cultural and ideological diversity.
In perhaps one of the sleekest education reports with a total length of only
30 pages, the “Learning without Burden” report (henceforth, LwB report),
symbolically and succinctly captured the attention of educational stakehold-
ers to the notion of “burden” in Indian education (GoI, 1993). In the report
it has been argued that the co-existent parallel systems of examination, syl-
labus and textbooks rob the joy of learning for the child and squeeze the
child’s natural progression.
The studies on visuospatial thinking reported in this chapter afford
opportunities and environments for learning which address some of the
issues raised in the report. The studies harness visuospatial capacities of
learners and demonstrate how pragmatically engaging with ideas is pos-
sible, which otherwise may appear to be lofty and idealised. Much in the
spirit of the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005 (NCERT, 2005),
the NEP 2020 document argues for the need to connect experiences and
learning for developing a comprehensive, integrated approach, which is pri-
marily learner-centric (GoI, 2020). An openness to accommodating innova-
tive pedagogic discourses may pave the way for drawing upon insights and
experiences from researching and teaching to help develop a fresh outlook
towards knowledge, skills and values across different learning levels. Such
an effort is attempted in this chapter.
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059-19
306 Ritesh Khunyakari, Shamin Padalkar, Farhat Ara and Garima Singh
The chapter begins with operationalising visuospatial thinking and dis-

cussing its relevance to science, and design and technology education. We
then draw from the empirical studies which have used visuospatial thinking
as the underlying framework. The sections that follow discuss four empiri-
cal studies in the Indian context where visuospatial reasoning is probed
and developed. These four studies are quite diverse in terms of the aims,
methodology adopted, domains and the educational levels at which they
have been conducted. The first study is a pedagogic intervention, the second
involves analysing textbooks and relating this to appropriate students’ men-
tal models. Both the studies have been done at the school level. The other
two studies involve participants at the higher education level. The studies
pan knowledge domains of astronomy, biology, and design and technology
(D&T) education. The common thread which brings these studies together
is visuospatial thinking. We hope that these diverse studies will help readers
appreciate the vast applications of visuospatial thinking and its pivotal role
in education. The final section concludes with what is learned from these
studies and argues that there is a connection between such experiences and
What is visuospatial thinking?

The word “visuospatial”’ is a combination of two words: visual and spatial.
Two physical properties of colour and brightness, which solely rely on vis-
ual perception exemplify visual properties. Whereas properties that provide
information related to space such as shape, size, distance, trajectory, orienta-
tion can also be perceived using other senses such as the haptic, kinaesthetic
and vestibular, and are referred to as spatial properties. Interestingly, a large
part of our understanding of space comes from visual perception. However,
our body is a primary preceptor of space which is why congenitally blind
people can have a very good spatial sense. Since human cognitive processes
such as perception and thinking are primarily guided by dynamic interac-
tions involving visual and spatial properties, therefore, we collectively refer
to these as visuospatial thinking.
Visualisation and spatial reasoning: a cognitive perspective

Visualisation, as argued by Gilbert (2005), involves internal and external
visualisation. While external visualisation manifests in the visual and spa-
tially accessible forms of concrete models, sketches and gestures; internal
visualisation involves operations in the mind such as mental imagery and
representations, mental rotations, animations and transformations. Internal
visualisation as an everyday mental experience has been known to exist
since ancient times. However, the importance of visualisation in thinking
and reasoning has only recently been acknowledged. Its systematic study
Learning through Visuospatial Experiences 307
got pushed to the early seventies because of the influence of behaviourism

in psychology. Till then, the three well-defined kinds of reasonings, namely
deduction, induction and abduction, were the focus of philosophical and
psychological discussions. “Child’s Conception of Space” by Piaget2 and
Inhelder (1967) can be considered pioneer work in this area. The year 2021
marks the golden jubilee year of two of the foundational works in the area
of visuospatial thinking. In 1971, Shepard3 and Metzler documented the
linear relationship between the angle of rotation between two shapes and
the time taken to determine whether the two images are the same (only rota-
tion) or one image is a mirror image of the other (reflection + rotation). This
study showed that people mentally rotate the images analogous to what
they would have done to a physical object using the hand. This experiment
established “mental images” as basic mental representation,4 provided a
methodology for studying mental imagery, and introduced “spatial cogni-
tion” into cognitive psychology.
Another prominent contribution in 1971 was the dual-coding theory
by Allan Paivio5 (Clark & Paivio, 1991; Thomas, 2014). The theory pro-
posed that information is mentally processed in two ways: analogue code
(mainly constitutes images which are similar to stimulus) and symbolic
code (mainly constitutes words but also includes other kinds of symbols
which are arbitrarily assigned). Paivio’s theory remained influential and was
later integrated with Baddeley’s6 model of working memory which remains
fundamental to our understanding about cognition. Paivio suggested the
use of imagery as a mnemonic which has several significant educational
implications.
In Baddeley’s model, a part of working memory, namely “visuospatial
sketchpad” is responsible for processing visuospatial information and is
independent of the other kind of working memory responsible for process-
ing propositional information (phonological loop). We use a visuospatial
sketchpad for several routine tasks such as solving a jigsaw puzzle or while
driving. It is difficult to simulate more than a certain amount of spatial infor-
mation mentally and arrive at an error-free conclusion. Just mentally rotat-
ing a three-dimensional object has been found to be challenging. However,
external representations, such as diagrams and gestures help offload the
working memory. The externalised representations free the working mem-
ory for processing further information. Thus, external representations are
useful in communication as well as in the process of thinking and drawing
conclusions.
These developments established the importance of mental imagery and
visualisation in memory, reasoning and thinking.7 The area of spatial cog-
nition has since emerged as an important strand in cognitive psychology.
Research in psychology focused on the nature of mental imagery, such as the
links between perception and simple cognitive tasks which were insufficient
in explaining undertakings such as designing a tool or learning sciences,
which involve a combination of multiple cognitive tasks. Consequently, the

extension of these findings to educational research took another 25 years.
Visuospatial thinking found its most prominent applications in Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. Two notable
books, namely, “The Cambridge Handbook of Visuospatial Thinking”(Shah
& Miyake, 2005) and “Visualization in Science Education” (Gilbert, 2005)
were published in 2005. The first book reviews research in visuospatial
thinking from a psychological perspective and the second discusses visuos-
patial thinking from an educational perspective. In the next section, we will
summarise some research at the interface of visuospatial thinking, science
education and D&T education.
Visuospatial thinking in science and design & technology education

In a longitudinal study, Wai, Lubinski and Benbow (2009) tested the
mathematical, verbal and spatial abilities of 400,000 high school students
and tracked them for more than 11 years. They found that spatial abil-
ity assessed during adolescence is a reliable predictor of success in STEM
(Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) courses and the choice
of occupation in the STEM fields. This study highlighted the dependence of
the STEM fields such as geology, chemistry, dentistry, human physiology,
etc. on visuospatial reasoning. In the same year, the International Journal of
Science Education published a special issue in “Visual and Spatial Models of
Learning Science”. In the editorial review, Ramadas (2009) used cognitive
and historical accounts to elucidate the role of transformational reasoning
in creativity and discovery in the sciences. The review also discussed link-
ages between imagery and various processes involved in learning sciences,
such as memory, language-based or propositional thinking and conceptual
change.
Architects, designers and engineers require and the foresight to create new
structures and ideas. The disciplines of design and engineering, therefore,
require advanced levels of expertise in visuospatial thinking as compared
to the school sciences (Uttal & Cohen, 2012). Schön (1983) observed pro-
fessional designers at work and identified design activity as a reflection-in-
action where the designer is constantly engaged in a visual conversation with
the situation on hand and involved sketching, reflecting on those sketches
and revising. Sketches help offload visuospatial working memory, support
reflection on ideas and facilitate communication. It is reasonable to assume
that improving science and design learning entails improving visuospatial
abilities among learners.8 Spatial skills are malleable and respond posi-
tively to training programmes and educational interventions from children
to adults (Uttal et al., 2013). But how does visuospatial thinking manifest
itself in the learning of sciences or engaging in designing and making? Visual
and spatial information plays a crucial role in understanding the properties,
structure and functions of natural or artificial systems. A large set of skills in

science and D&T education such as observation, measurement, construct-
ing mental models, modelling using materials and resources, simulations
encouraging learners to draw inferences and comprehend representations,
all rely on visuospatial thinking. Moreover, because of our ease in using
visual representations, many non-spatial constructs in the sciences such as
light rays, waves or field lines and properties such as time and temperature
are often represented using diagrams (Hegarty & Stull, 2012).
Research in the Indian context

Several empirical studies on visuospatial thinking have been conducted in
the area of science and D&T education. While external visual represen-
tations have been employed to enhance and support learners’ visuospatial
reasoning, diagrams have served to be an impressive tool in diagnosing
students’ alternate conceptions in sciences. Mathai and Ramadas (2009)
found that middle school students explained the structure and functions
of the human body systems better through texts than through diagrams.
Students had difficulty in comprehending diagrams which involved convey-
ing information about cross-sections, microscopic or chemical processes
and structure-function relationships. They recommended “dual-coding” the
information using text and diagrams, facilitating an easy switch from one
to the other and using simple line drawings (instead of realistic images) as
pedagogical tools to teach complex situations.
Subramaniam and Padalkar (2009) used a combination of questionnaires
and interviews with individuals to study how adult participants set-up,
transform and reason with mental models that they establish on the basis
of known facts as they seek to explain a familiar everyday phenomenon,
namely, the phases of the moon. They found that even if most participants
held a structurally correct mental model in terms of shapes and relative
positions and motions of the sun-earth-moon system, six out of eight par-
ticipants incorrectly attributed the explanation of a lunar eclipse (shadow of
the earth falling on the moon) to the phases of the moon. When asked ques-
tions and given hints during the interview, participants spontaneously used
diagrams and gestures as tools for thinking. However, participants struggled
to represent three-dimensional shapes through two-dimensional diagrams,
visualise and simulate spatial information. Only three participants changed
their alternative explanation to arrive at the correct one.
In a micro-genetic study, Srivastava and Ramadas (2013) found that
undergraduate students did not understand that the diagrammatic repre-
sentation of DNA in science textbooks as a two-dimensional representa-
tion of a three-dimensional structure. As a pedagogical intervention, they
integrated multiple representations of DNA along with designed gestures,
analogy, mental simulation and changing viewpoints to enhance students’
mental visualisation of DNA as a 3-D structure. Pande and Chandrashekaran

(2017) recommend the development of “representational competence”
among students, which is the ability to “integrate” and create multiple
external representations, ranging from symbolic to visual, to make coherent
understanding of a scientific concept or a phenomenon.
Some studies have explored the effects of multiple as well as learner dif-
ferential (active or passive) engagement with the external representation,
in enhancing science learning. For example, studies have found that the
interactive visualisations, which allow learners to manipulate virtual objects
on screen (Shaikh, Padalkar, Sutar & Kumar, 2020) boost learners’ sci-
ence concepts than mere watching animation of the same concept (Saha &
Halder, 2015). Sarkar, Halder and Saha (2015) found that learning from
active construction of diagrams by learners vis-à-vis learning from just
observing or reading diagrams and using multiple representational modes
for teaching (Sitalakshmi & Baveja, 2015) to be more effective in learning
science concepts.
Although the role of visuospatial reasoning in the Indian context has been
explored in the established domain of the sciences, visualisation in the emer-
gent area of D&T education has been little explored, especially at the school
level. Some studies bring in interesting insights to the field. Khunyakari,
Mehrotra, Chunawala and Natarajan (2007) studied the cognitive strate-
gies used by urban and rural (tribal) Indian middle school students while
engaged in learning units involving design-and-make. The reliance on visu-
ospatial aspects manifested in students’ design drawings which included
context-specific use of graphical symbols, use of visual and conceptual
analogies, attention to the structure-function relationships, and handling
considerations of assembly through spatial reconfigurations. Apart from the
sketches and drawings, students used gestures to communicate their ideas
spatially. Students in this study, as well as in another study (Shome, Shastri,
Khunyakari & Natarajan, 2011) demonstrated an evolution of their design
ideas from exploratory sketches, through their technical drawings and in
realising their ideas through the models and artefacts produced.
Ara, Chunawala and Natarajan (2013) found that students’ design repre-
sentations provide evidence for making several design decisions such as con-
ceptual, technical, constructional, aesthetics, marketing as well as aspects
of creativity. Students’ design ideas were studied in two different contexts:
“design-with-make” and “design-without-make”. The constraint of model-
ling their designs in the “design-with-make” context considerably affected
students’ design decisions as evident in relatively simpler, less creative solu-
tions in comparison to the “design-without-make” context which generated
relatively complex and more creative design ideas and their representations.
Through different research, it seems that the capability to harness dif-
ferent kinds of representations for enhancing the qualitative engagement
with learning is critical to making learning meaningful. Further, the growing
research in the Indian context from across disciplinary interests point to the
emergence of visuospatial thinking and reasoning as a key area of inter-
est and educational value. The diverse intentions that motivated research
suggest wide-ranging potential for pursuing the field and emergent conver-
gences in the insights gained. The continual pursuit of research in the field
holds promise of expanding our horizons about how the understanding of
cognitive processes can meaningfully inform teaching and learning besides
enriching our understanding of human cognition itself. Ramadas (2009)
observed that the field of visuospatial thinking in India is in its nascent
stages and would need a harmonious co-development of research and prac-
tice to investigate purpose, means and its implications for diverse educa-
tional settings and learning contexts.
Initiatives and experiences from research and practice

A modular approach is adopted to discuss the educational efforts towards
integrating visuospatial thinking in practice. Although carried out at differ-
ent educational levels (middle school to higher education), in diverse disci-
plinary domains (astronomy, biology, design and technology education),
with different learners (adolescents to prospective teachers or teacher edu-
cators), at different times and in different geographic and sociocultural set-
tings, the findings reverberate the centrality of the visuospatial in mediating
To be able to consolidate the distinctiveness of an educational initiative
and seek its value for understanding the role of visualisation is an arduous
task. Through this chapter, we make a collective effort to synergise insights
about how visuospatial reasoning manifested and developed in different
studies through the process of participant engagement. The reporting of
each study follows an organisational plan which details the motivation and
study objectives, followed by details of participants, a brief about the pro-
cess of conducting the study, the findings and implications derived from each
study. The organisation offered us a common sense of direction and purpose
to sharing our experiential accounts. We believe this will also help readers
to move swiftly and meaningfully across the different studies reported.
Elementary astronomy education (SP)

Children and adults alike wonder about heavenly bodies and astronomical
phenomena. However, even at the basic level, astronomy is prone to numer-
ous alternative conceptions. For example, several people think that the vari-
ation in the distance between the earth and sun causes seasons or that the
earth’s shadow falling on the moon causes the phases of the moon (Bailey,
Prather & Slater, 2004; Lelliott & Rollnick, 2009). Furthermore, people
think that Earth’s atmosphere gets polluted due to eclipses (Mohapatra,
1991) and that the position of the planets at the time of our birth influences
our personality and the course of our lives.
Astronomy has been included in most Indian school curricula since grade
5, starting from a mental model of the spherical earth. Gradually it pro-
gresses to the model of the solar system along with some necessary details
such as descriptions of planets, their satellites, asteroid belt, comets, etc. The
content also incorporates explanations of commonplace phenomena such as
occurrence of day-night, seasons, phases of the moon, eclipses. By the end of
grade 8, students complete their syllabus in basic astronomy in Maharashtra
(in some states it is completed by grade 9).
Participants and settings

The study was situated in Maharashtra hence the intervention was designed
for grade 8 students. The study was conducted in three schools: a rural school
located in a village in Western Maharashtra, an Ashram Shala (a residential
school for nomadic and denotified tribal children) located near another vil-
lage in Western Maharashtra and an urban school located in a slum area of
Mumbai. All three schools were co-ed, government-aided and served students
coming from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Several students, particularly
from the Ashram Shala and the rural school, were first generation school-
goers. Although the medium of instruction in all these schools was Marathi
(the official language of the state of Maharashtra), the tribal students had dif-
ferent mother tongues (non-official tribal languages). Even for the rural and
urban children, their spoken language differed from the standard usage of
Marathi found in textbooks. However, rural and tribal students had access
to clear skies, because of their remote location and frequent power cuts.
Theoretical framework
To develop mental models with multiple moving parts and to simulate them
in order to draw inferences generates cognitive load. External representa-
tions such as diagrams can be used to offload the working memory (just as
it is easier to multiply two big numbers with paper and pencil than doing
it mentally) aiding quicker and error-free inferences (Tversky, 2005). Two
external representations, namely, concrete models and diagrams, are known
to be beneficial in pedagogic contexts. Diagrams are easy to generate, and
very useful in generating explanations and predictions using geometric argu-
ments. However, diagrams, being 2-dimensional, static and abstract, may
pose a difficulty for students (Mishra, 1999). Concrete models are 3-dimen-
sional and can be made dynamic (with some of its parts movable) and hence
useful for novice learners.
In a previous study, we found that adults spontaneously used gestures or
their body movements to explain the phases of the moon (Subramaniam &
Padalkar, 2009). Literature in spatial cognition recognises the valued role

of our body as a primary perceptor of space (Tversky, 2005). That is why
even congenitally blind persons seem to have a good sense of spatial proper-
ties such as shape, size and distance, though they do not have experience of
visual properties such as colour and brightness (Iverson & Goldin-Meadow,
1997). People use gestures to communicate and think about spatial informa-
tion (Goldin-Meadow, 2006). Interestingly, gestures possess properties of
both concrete models and diagrams in the sense that they are 3-dimensional
and dynamic as concrete models and are abstract and can be easily gener-
ated as diagrams. The main conjecture underlying this pedagogy, therefore,
was that gestures can be used to bridge the gap between concrete models
and diagrams.9
Pedagogic intervention
To understand students’ prior knowledge a comprehensive assessment was
conducted before the intervention. It revealed that although students knew
the basic facts about celestial objects in the solar system, such as the num-
ber of planets and their names, they suggested alternative shapes for the
earth such as an ellipsoid, a hollow sphere and a disk. Some of the students’
alternative conceptions were due to difficulty in constructing a correct men-
tal model of the earth or sun-earth system of the sun-earth-moon system
(Padalkar & Ramadas, 2008). Moreover, when students drew multiple ele-
ments in a diagram (such as sun, earth, moon, their orbits, axes of rotation,
pole, equator) the relations between different parts were incorrect (e.g.,
objects are not in their orbits as shown in Figure 15.1).
Figure 15.1 Student’s diagram of the sun-earth-moon system – an example of incoherent

diagram (the earth and the moon are not in their orbits and the moon’s orbit
is not around the earth).
Figure 15.2 Student’s diagram for explanation of day-night based on revolution of the

Earth – an example of incorrect explanation using correct mental model.
Source: Shamin Padalkar
Sometimes students had a correct mental model but the reasoning applied
to explain the phenomena was incorrect. For example, students correctly
know that the earth revolves around the sun but some students (~22%)
explained the apparent motion of the sun based on revolution, instead of
rotation (Figure 15.2). Similarly, students knew that the moon revolves
around the earth while the earth revolves around the sun but many of them
(24%) used an incorrect fact, i.e., the earth’s shadow falls on the moon to
explain the occurrence of phases of the moon. Thus, here students have
failed to apply visuospatial reasoning to manipulate the models to draw
correct inferences. Unfortunately, the explanations in their textbook were
mostly textual, which makes it very difficult to understand them. Most of
the diagrams in the textbooks were descriptive, rather than explanatory
(i.e., presenting a geometric argument with rays) [Figure 15.2 (side by side)].
The proposed pedagogic intervention aimed to strengthen students’ men-
tal models (with correct shapes, sizes, distances, motions and interrelations)
and help them to use their mental models to draw correct inferences. The
pedagogy involved a sequence of concrete models, gestures and actions (role
plays), and use of diagrams to help students construct mental models and use
them to explain phenomena in elementary astronomy. While most spatial
tools were designed prior to the study, some evolved during classroom inter-
actions. This chapter discusses the designed gestures, students’ spontaneous
gestures and role play as effective pedagogic tools in astronomy education.
Designed pedagogic gestures

The pedagogic intervention included 40 gestural actions. The analysis reveals
that these served the following three main functions. Space internalisation
gestures pertained to strengthening students’ understanding of measure-

ment and Euclidean space. For example, use of a stretched hand to measure
an angle in the sky (Figure 15.3). Phenomena internalisation gestures were
designed for students to internalise their observations of astronomical phe-
nomena. For example, tracing the path of the sun from their observations
(Figure 15.4a) which was further extended to tracing the path of the sun
from different latitudes and in different seasons as inferred from the diagram
(Figure 15.4b). Model internalisation gestures and role plays were designed
for internalising properties of models. Based on the specific function they
served, these can be categorised as: (a) Internalising spatial properties of the
model: for example, using the right-hand thumb to determine the direction
of rotation of the earth (Figure 15.5). (b) Orientation change: to visualise
how the sky would look from different locations on the earth, one would
Figure 15.3 Gesture for space internalisation – using a stretched hand to estimate an angle,
typically used in amateur astronomy to determine the position of a star above
the horizon. Source: Shamin Padalkar
Figure 15.4 (a) Internalisation of phenomenon through gesture tracing the path of the sun.
(b) Diagram representing the path of the sun at different points of time on the
Tropic of Cancer.
Figure 15.5 Gesture for model internalisation – right-hand thumb gesture to identify

direction of rotation of the Earth. The same gesture can be carried out on a
diagram.
need to change orientation in three dimensions. Even slightly aligning the

body to the person standing at different locations helped students to change
their orientation and imagine observation of the phenomena from differ-
ent parts of the world. (c) Changing frame of reference: role plays helped
change the frame of reference and see the phenomena as observed from
the earth. For example, one student became the earth and another became
the moon and mimicked the motion of the moon with the same periods of
rotation and revolution. This enabled the student who became the earth to
observe that we can see only one face of the moon from the earth.
The number of designed gestures which served each of the above func-
tions in the pedagogy are listed in Table 15.1.10
Students’ spontaneous gestures

After teaching each major concept, students solved fairly advanced prob-
lems based on it in groups of three. Gestures used by two groups of students
in guided collaborative problem-solving spread over five sessions (total 263
minutes for the group of tribal boys and 231 minutes for the group of rural
girls) were recorded and analysed. On an average, each student was found
to have gestured 1.1 times per minute (although this frequency varied from
session to session and from student to student). The gestures were analysed
according to the scheme provided by McNeill (cited in Radford, Edwards
& Arzarello, 2009).
Table 15.1 Number of gestures which served three main functions in visuospatial thinking
Space internalisation Phenomenon Model internalisation Total

internalisation
8 5 27 40
(12: internalising spatial properties of models
+ 4: orientation change
+ 11: change in reference frame)
Source: Shamin Padalkar
After combining the gestures of the two groups and all sessions, it was
found that deictic (pointing) gestures were most common (87%), followed
by metaphoric (referencing an abstraction) gestures (10%). Iconic gestures
were rare (1%) and it was exactly the same as the designed gesture used
while teaching (right-hand thumb rule, refer Figure 15.5). Interestingly, 2%
of gestures were used for imagined change in orientation. These gestures
do not fall under any of the categories mentioned above, but are uniquely
used in an astronomical context. Also, while analysing deictic gestures the
scheme of categories was expanded to incorporate variations: simple deictic
(included pointing once or multiple times), spatial deictic (conveyed spatial
information along with pointing on paper such as line, multiple lines, circle,
simultaneously referring to multiple points or lines using multiple fingers)
and other deictic gestures (included indicating a portion of a diagram using
index finger and thumb and pointing towards an instruction given on paper/
written on board or towards the teacher to refer to what she said or was
saying). Thus, deictic gestures served various functions and a large number
(24% of total gestures) carry spatial information.
In summary, students freely and spontaneously used gestures consistent
with the requirements of the problem situations, confirming the helpful role
of gestures in problem solving. Students seemed reluctant in using gestures
at the beginning of the pedagogic intervention but as they realised the poten-
tials of gestures in learning and problem solving, they began to use designed
as well as spontaneous gestures readily and meaningfully.
Implications for curriculum and practice

The visual-spatial tools are affordable, highly effective and can be easily
accommodated during teaching. The gestures and role plays are free and only
require an open space for which the playground or an empty room can be
used. Concrete models are often just kept as decorative pieces and students
seldom get an opportunity to handle them. Students are often so restrained
in their movement in classrooms that using a body to explore the spatial
concepts remains unthinkable for both students and teachers. The diagrams
in textbooks are always complete and there is nothing for students to fill
in the blanks, add on, and construct their own mental models from them.
They are usually computer drawn and neat which makes them less natural.
Traditional attitudes towards diagrams do not provoke students to express
their own understanding through drawings or to think. The discussed peda-
gogy gives concrete suggestions for using both conventional (concrete models
and diagrams) and unconventional (gestures and role plays) representations
in textbooks and to teachers on how to use them in their classrooms.
Based on this experience, a module to teach elementary astronomy has
been developed under the Connected Learning Initiative (CLIx).11 Through
a synergistic use of interactive pedagogic practices and potentials of tech-
nology, it became possible to teach astronomy in a blended mode using
animations, videos and digital games (Shaikh, Chopde & Padalkar, 2018).
The described pedagogy has potential for teaching astronomy to visually
challenged students. Traditional textbooks often rely on diagrams which
cannot be accessed by visually challenged students but they are well capable
of understanding spatial information through other modalities such as hap-
tic and kinaesthetic senses using concrete models, gestures and role-plays.
Visualising and modelling in school biology (GS)

The quest for knowing about the world and its surroundings begins with
knowing about one’s own self and an awareness of human body func-
tioning. As argued earlier, human bodies are the most concrete, vividly
experienced and provide ease of access to haptic, kinaesthetic and visual
experiences. Unfortunately, school biology, through the textbooks and the
way it is taught, tends to draw little on these capacities. Instead, emphasis is
given to amassing technical phrases, definitions and descriptions and repro-
ducing historically ossified visuals and texts. This disjuncture in experience
and knowledge eclipses the processes of learning leading to roadblocks to
engagement with concepts and ideas.
Food is one of the basic needs of all living beings. The way in which the
food is processed by our body constitutes one of the foundations for human
biology. Among other things, the understanding of component organs, their
locations and relative positioning, and their structure and functioning helps
develop an appreciation for a system that makes digestion possible (Mathai
& Ramadas, 2009; Ramadas & Nair, 1996). The study reported here aimed
to analyse the textual description and visual content in textbooks available
to the learners and compare them with the mental models of the human
digestive system (HDS) elicited through students’ drawings (Singh, 2017).
What do textbooks reveal about the human digestive system?

In India, a dominant “textbook culture” predominates classroom prac-
tice (Kumar, 1988). Teachers rely heavily on textbooks to structure their
classroom discourse, while students and parents use textbooks as the sole
source and means of information (Frey & Fisher, 2007). The textbooks
produced by Telangana State Council of Educational Research and Training
(TSCERT) are prescribed by all state schools in Telangana. Given that the
study was done in Hyderabad, both the national (produced by the National
Council of Educational Research and Training) and Telangana state board
textbooks were analysed. Further, a comparative lens enables identifying
patterns of difference in the treatment of content within those textbooks.
Until its introduction as a separate subject in grade 6, science is taught as
environment studies (EVS) from grades 3 to 5. From grade 8 onwards, sci-
ence is differentiated into physics, chemistry and biology. During the analy-
sis, we discovered that the beginnings of the teaching of the human digestive
system occur in grade 7 in the national board and grade 5 in the state board.
Although the study involved a detailed analysis from grades 3 to 12, for
the purpose of this chapter, we discuss the content of the digestive system
discussed in the relevant grades. As an initiation into knowing the digestive
system, in grade 5, the TSCERT textbook (chapter 5, p. 48) includes an
activity encouraging learners to draw, label and identify functions of differ-
ent parts of the digestive system. The NCERT textbook (chapter 3, p. 27)
has an activity inviting students to draw the food path inside the given body
outline. Although both activities aim to elicit student representations and
mental models, a conceptual difference can be noted in the focus. Asking
to label parts and functions suggests a scheme of chunking or partonomies
(Tversky, 1989) whereas tracing the path suggests a sense of flow through
the connected parts.
The organisation of content in textbooks of both the boards showed an
increasing complexity of concepts and details across grades. The content
was developed around two forms: extrinsic and intrinsic. The “food” as
an extrinsic form serves a prerequisite for discussing the intrinsic form, the
“conceptual model” exhibiting structure-function linkages in the human
digestive system. The discussion beginning with the socioeconomic-cultural
aspects of food, interrelationship of food (habits, kind) and animal body
parts (up to grade 6) leads to descriptions of physiological processes such as
the sensation of hunger, role of enzymes and gastric juices, etc. An interde-
pendence of other body systems is highlighted in higher grades especially in
the state board textbooks. The progression is not gradual but rather punc-
tuated in both textbooks. For instance, the digestive system first occurs in
grade 6, then in grade 10 and resurfaces in grade 12 in TSCERT while it
occurs in grade 7, grade 10 and grade 11 in NCERT. The breaks in con-
tinuity of concepts call for the need of a careful, vertical understanding of
progression within the curricula.
Diagrammatic reasoning mediates conceptual learning in biology.
In fact, in several cases the visuals are translated into concrete, physical
model structures used as resources to support teaching biology. It therefore
becomes significant to understand the nature of visuals used and the kind
of purposes they accomplish within the textbook. With this intent, the text-
book content was analysed to understand the nature of representations
being employed to depict the digestive system, explore the relation between
the visual and the text, and identify any strategic efforts to highlight or
emphasise the “systems’’ aspect of the human digestive system. Table 15.2
provides a comparative glance which bring out a difference in the relative
number of visuals relied on for introducing the human digestive system in
textbooks of different boards. Further analysis showed that a large propor-
tion of visuals in early grades were photographs (>80%) but their number
reduced considerably in later grades. Interestingly, the number of relevant
visuals in grades 11 and 12 were considerably less, demonstrating a reliance
on textual descriptions over visuals in higher grades.
An evident lack of clarity with regard to terms related to typology of
visuals surfaced. For instance, although the caption mentioned “schematic
representation” the corresponding figure contained images and coloured
depictions. The selective usage of terms, particularly in the early phases of
learning, is critical to develop discourses that encourage semantic connec-
tions with linguistic expressions. Moreover, the visuals were seen as add-ons
to the descriptions and were often spatially placed adjoining the text. The
large number of visuals were of the static, depictive kind. There were hardly
any depictions of the processes. The solo example in the TSCERT textbook
of the visual process of a tomato undergoing changes as it passes through
different organs in the digestive system (grade 5, p. 69), was more an excep-
tion than a norm. The use of colours for distinguishing between adjacent
organs in a collective system was the only predominant strategic use of dia-
grammatic technique to draw attention to details (refer Figure 15.6). Many
times, the spread of colours erroneously depicted continuity. Further, the
missing labels for closely situated organs such as the pancreas, liver and gall
bladder predisposes a feeling of exclusion of these organs from the digestive
system. On the other hand, inclusion of other organs such as the respira-
tory organs and their labelling may give rise to an alternative conception
Table 15.2 Comparative analysis of visuals in NCERT and TSCERT textbooks
Aspects analysed Textbooks prescribed by
NCERT TSCERT
Total number of visuals (grades 5 to12 1713 1406

Average visuals per grade (grades 5 to 12) 214 176
Average visuals per chapter 12 15
Visuals on HDS when first introduced 13 (grade 7) 92 (grade 5)
Visuals on HDS in grade 12 14 17
Source: Garima Singh
Figure 15.6 Grade 5 student (schematic) depiction of HDS in textbook and through a

students’ drawing. Source: Garima Singh
of the respiratory organ being a component of the human digestive system.

Imagination or modelling of body systems presumes visualising organ com-
ponents and knowledge of functional interconnectedness. Literature cau-
tions us that inadequately designed content or inappropriate visuals may
result in textbooks becoming sources of alternative conceptions (Carvalho,
Silva, Lima, Coquet & Clement, 2004; Abimbola & Baba 1996).
Are representations and visuals in textbooks powerful and sustained
enough that they come to play a significant role in students’ thinking? Would
deficit representations and opportunities lead to insufficient or inadequate
conceptualisations about the system? Can the limitations of representational
inadequacies be overcome through a rigorous conceptual understanding?
Some of these questions get addressed while exploring the mediational role
of visualisation and cognitive modelling.
Visuospatial thinking to elicit students’ understanding of the digestive system

A cross-sectional study involving 672 students from grades 6 to 8 of a gov-
ernment and a private, urban school in Hyderabad explored students’ visu-
ospatial thinking in conceptualising the human digestive system. While one
tool invited students to depict the path the food takes in the human body
or label its component parts, the other elicited responses on largely multi-
ple-choice items probing the elementary processes of human digestion. The
physiological aspects were deliberately not included in the instruments as
these get introduced above grade 10. Analysis of responses on two instru-
ments revealed interesting insights, which perhaps could not have been
gauged through an oral or exclusively written mode.
Based on the representations, student depictions can be classified as (a)
canonical or realistic (82%), (b) schematic (8%) and (c) mixed (10%) kinds.
The prevalent textbook culture, with emphasis on standard diagrams, ena-
bles us to see this response trend as no surprise. What is more interesting
is that the majority of schematic (80% of the total) visuals were reported
in lower grades (see Figure 15.7b). The study concludes that students seem
comfortable in using schematic (abstracted) diagrams, even in early grades
and a fraction of students (18%) moved beyond canonical drawings, hinting
at a conceptual engagement or an openness to using drawings for represent-
ing content in ways that they might have assimilated. Another insight that
can reliably be inferred concerns the conceptual struggles which students
face in making meaning of digestion. While some struggles seem to have
a developmental bearing, others seem to come from a mechanised scheme
through which the content had been communicated to learners. For instance,
the alimentary canal was depicted either as i) partial, ii) discontinuous or
iii) complete and continuous. The partial representations include both cases
Figure 15.7 Students’ mental models of HDS captured through drawings. (a) Grade 6
(male) student’s model – partial (mouth to torso), (b) Grade 5 (male) student’s
model – complete/end-to-end (mouth to anus). Source: Garima Singh
a) representation up to the (such as 8% of representations depicting the

oesophagus ending at the stomach) and b) a canal as an enclosed system
(23%). The discontinuous representations include cases with missing con-
nectivity between consecutive organs such as stomach and small intestine,
etc. Whereas the continuous includes a complete representation showing
all connectivity among organs (60%) (refer Figure 15.7). The instances of
partial and discontinuous were relatively higher in grades 6 and 7, signify-
ing a developmental perspective at play, which needs to be further investi-
gated. Transformation of food, as it passes through the alimentary canal,
varied from incomplete, partial to complete breakdown correspondingly
represented as solid, semi-solid, liquid, or as differing object forms such as
triangle, trapezium, etc. Interestingly, students in early grades often depicted
intact cake in the stomach. Students often struggled to correctly depict the
location and relative size of organs in 3-D visceral space onto 2-D paper.
Perhaps the limitations in depictive skills could explain this. Interestingly
however, there was an inter-mixing of organs from other human body sys-
tems hinting at more of a conceptual problem than an issue of depictive
skills. The representation of accessory organs was relatively lower (with
a few instances of food going through them) (consistent with Ramadas &
Nair, 1996). Although students had the idea about entry and exit of food
particles, they struggled to conceptualise and represent what happens in
between. Students faced difficulty in seeing the digestive system as an inte-
grated entity with specific structural-functional relationships within body
organs and systems (also reported in Prokop & Fancovicova, 2006; Reiss &
Tunnicliffe, 2001; Teixeira, 2000).
The confusions in students’ mental models evidently surfaced in their
responses to the other instrument that probed their reasoning. A question
probing the impact of a transformative structural change (say, removal
of an organ or change in size and form) on the functioning elicited little
response (consistent with Mathai & Ramadas, 2009). The questions involv-
ing extending knowledge of the human system to other animal systems (say,
cat) elicited responses based on experiences. For instance, when asked if
cats can be given saline, a majority of students answered it in the affirmative
but chose not to provide an explanation. Invariably, students tended to pro-
ject the human body system onto other animal systems for explaining the
relationship between the digestive tract and food. Garcia-Barros, Martínez-
Losada and Garrido (2011) also reported that young learners aged four to
seven years use their own body as a basic model. Further, the scope for using
visuospatial capacities to extend understanding is far more limited. Students
could barely imagine either morphological, anatomical or psychological
change from prolonged fasting of months or years, even though malnutri-
tion is a part of textbook content. This shows that visuospatial capacities
are inadequately utilised, either in dealing with descriptive content, or in
building understanding through a robust pedagogical discourse.

The LwB report problematised the non-distinction between information
and knowledge as critical causation for educational burden. An overem-
phatic salience to volume of content, breadth over depth and recalling facts
pervades textbooks, classroom teaching as well as assessments. In the study
on the human digestive system, the content analysis of textbooks revealed
select mentions of activities and projects encouraging physical modelling,
hypothesis formation, etc., on a few occasions. These activities and projects
seem to serve the function of translating textual information into another
form (material kind). The knowledge-building activity ought to be imag-
ined as a shared responsibility of teachers, textbooks, parents and learners
supported by situating ideas in contexts and making attempts to connect
learning within and outside classrooms. The study revealed that students
variously internalised the structure as well as functioning of the digestive
system as evidenced from the diversity of mental models. The visuals in text-
books are often used as supplementary to the text and do not serve to detail
or elaborate on concepts. The realistic visuals used as finished products
underutilise opportunities for mental modelling and internalising the pro-
cesses or connections within components of the body’s system. Drawings
can carefully be used to encourage externalisation of learners’ visuospatial
thinking as well as for attending to the inconsistencies noted between sci-
entifically salient ideas and students’ internalised ideas. On the other hand,
textbooks can use mental models emergent in students’ drawings as critical
points for enriching learning and discussion.
Visuospatial thinking in bio-inspired design (FA)

Biological knowledge is increasingly being recognised as a great source of
inspiration for design and technological problems. For instance, the super-
hydrophobic nanostructures of lotus leaves have inspired the design of
self-cleaning fabrics, paints and glass. Biologically inspired design is now
considered an important branch of design methodology aiming to achieve
creativity and sustainability. It is diversely referred by terms like bio-inspired
design (BID), biomimicry, biomimetics and bionics. These approaches dif-
fer from other forms of nature-inspired approaches, like biomorphism or
biophilic design which tend to appreciate the aesthetics of the living world.
BID approaches go beyond the apparent forms of biological systems and
attempt to emulate the underlying functions/principles to create sustainable
solutions. Bio-inspired designers rely on analogical reasoning to support the
ideation of their design. Analogical reasoning which is frequently employed
in science teaching, is a cognitive act of mapping knowledge from a famil-
iar source domain (biology) onto an unfamiliar target domain (design)
(Gentner, 1983).
Designed systems attend to functions intended by the designers. In nature,

functions are achieved through various means or strategies adopted by liv-
ing organisms. For instance, while seeking inspiration to design clothing “to
protect from extreme cold” (function), one may look at a range of organ-
isms who have adapted to extreme cold through diverse mechanisms or
strategies (structural or behavioural). Functions, therefore, serve as a link to
identify analogies between design and biology. In the BID process, analogi-
cal reasoning becomes challenging for novices since they are unfamiliar with
both biology and the design problem. Often, designers face considerable
challenges in understanding the relevant biological knowledge which needs
to be abstracted for problem solving. Further, designers face considerable
challenge in mapping and translating biological knowledge into the lan-
guage of design (Cheong & Shu, 2009). A representation of the living world
through functions and strategies have been found to contextualise biology
in a design language, facilitating its access to designers (Chakrabarti, Sarkar,
Leelavathamma & Nataraju, 2005; Goel, Rugaber & Vattam, 2009).

This study describes an initial slice of the pedagogic process aimed at intro-
ducing the tools and process of bio-inspired design to first-year undergradu-
ate students in a design institute in Bangalore. The study was a part of a
five-week (three days per week) unit conducted during January–February
2020 and was not constrained by disciplinary boundaries. It involved mini-
mal lectures, and a more self-initiated, hands-on and collaborative inquiry
into the design contexts. Most students had a non-science background dur-
ing higher secondary school, and none had a prior experience in BID learn-
ing. The pedagogy therefore employed visual medium to facilitate students’
comprehension of biological content. A preliminary analysis of collabora-
tive engagement of student designers in a BID challenge examines the role of
visual and spatial representations in scaffolding the design process. Students’
visualisation provided opportunities to re-examine the effectiveness of the
pedagogic strategies employed to support the creative analogical transfer.
Explore, seek and document adaptations/strategies

To understand a biological system in relation to its function and behaviour,
concepts of adaptations and strategies became the core of exploration and
discussion (asknature.org) (Ask Nature, 2018). An introduction to adap-
tations in organisms was facilitated through brief lectures supported with
videos, animations and open discussions with students. This was followed
by a couple of outdoor visits in the neighbourhood and birding spots in
lakes to notice unique adaptations in local plants and animals. They were
guided to notice and record physical and behavioural adaptations which
Figure 15.8 Glimpse of students’ visual documentations from the field trips. Source: Farhat
Ara
provided them a lens to see processes in nature. Students documented their

observations and reflections in their journals through sketches, drawings,
photographs, videos and texts (Figure 15.8).
Identify and annotate the functions

The adaptations served as strategies for organisms to carry out certain func-
tions in the environment. On their return, students were guided to annotate
each of the strategies that they had observed in the plants and animals and
identify the functions of those adaptations. Students needed support at this
stage since functions were not apparent but were hypothesised and later cor-
roborated through web-based biology articles or videos. Next day, students
were asked to form five voluntary teams of three members each. All teams
participated in a BID challenge that lasted for 60 minutes.
BID challenge:
Consider any adaptation of a bird or a plant that has intrigued you
or raised your curiosity. What do you think are the function/s of the
chosen adaptation/s? How could you mimic the adaptations to design
something new and useful, serving a similar function, in any context
of your choice? In the space below, sketch your design.
Students were required to work in their teams, look for biological inspira-
tions in their journals and class notes, brainstorm the design ideas, identify
the context where the design would be useful, visualise their ideas through
drawings and annotations and finally present their ideas to receive feedback
from other teams. The analysis of students’ collaborative engagement to the
challenge is organised under three broad themes: (a) visual documentation
in facilitating activation of analogies; (b) functional representations of bio-
logical knowledge in creative analogical transfer and (c) role of collabora-
tion and visuospatial reasoning in conceptualisation of design ideas.
(a) Visual documentation in facilitating activation of analogies: Appropriate

visual representations have been shown to scaffold knowledge acquisi-
tion and conceptual change and has been widely used in teaching and
learning (Gilbert, 2005). In this study, images, videos and animations
were carefully selected to supplement lectures and classroom discussions
for facilitating conceptual understanding of biological knowledge. The
sessions primed the students to autonomously access online videos on
biological information. The visual media served as a quick way to access
and process unfamiliar and abstract information regarding key biologi-
cal functions. Apart from being used as scaffolds for comprehension, the
visual documentation and medium served as cues for activation of analo-
gies. Students were encouraged to scan their journals for photographs or
video records from the field on which to base ideation and model ideas.
They also referred to their classroom notes to relate to biological con-
tent about functions and strategies. The visual stimuli helped retrieve key
biological information to initiate analogical mapping in order to meet
their design solutions. Evidence of this can be found in journal record of
a student who sketched a woodpecker and made annotations on it dur-
ing classroom discussion. The sketches and annotations served as cues
to generate design ideas of a helmet (and a boxing glove) and to identify
diverse contexts for its use (Figure 15.8). Her team however, designed
a hand-held Medium Density Fibre (MDF) engraver (Figure 15.9a) and
seemed to draw upon the visual cues from the video presented during the
class discussion, demonstrating the hammering behaviour of a wood-
pecker. Similarly, the team that designed the “automatic canopy” drew
inspiration from the video demonstrating the feeding behaviour of black
heron during classroom discussions (Figure 15.9b).
(b) Functional representations of biological knowledge in creative analogi-
cal transfer: Representing biological systems in terms of functions and
strategies elicited two basic tendencies of emulation in their inspiration:
emulation of behaviours and forms, suggesting how they internalised
their understanding of biology into their designs.
(i) Emulating behaviours of biological systems: Three teams focused
on apparent behaviours of organisms and used them “as it is” in
Figure 15.8 Continued.
their designs. This is akin to what Helms, Vattam and Goel (2009)
described as “off-the-shelf” use of biological strategies/solutions. For
example, the team imitating the hammering action of a woodpecker
to create a hand-held MediumDensity Fibre (MDF) board engraver
(Figure 15.9a). It intends to absorb shock and remain steady while
in use, like the woodpecker’s skull. Another design, the “automatic
canopy/umbrella” (Figure 15.9b) to be used as bed canopy or shades
in restaurants, was inspired by the canopy feeding behaviour of a
black heron. This bird spreads its wings over its head forming a can-
opy which creates a shade thereby attracting a fish, which it can then
strike to eat. Mimicking behaviours of biological systems appears
Figure 15.9a Designs showing tendencies of behaviour emulations: (a) an MDF engraver

inspired from the drumming behaviour of a woodpecker Source: Farhat Ara
to be a quick strategy for generating product ideas, since they are

visually accessible, and one need not consider the underlying mecha-
nisms or the structure that affords the function but uses behaviour
itself to perform the intended design function.
Another team designed a collapsible packaging container based
on the collapsible mechanism of the barrel cactus, which is highly
responsive to water stress (Figure 15.9c). During drought, inter-
tissue transfer of water from the outer flexible and collapsible
parenchyma cells to the inner photosynthetic chlorenchyma cells
ensures continuous supply of water to areas which are critical for
survival of the plant. Here, although the team appeared to devise a
quick way of “utilising the collapsible parenchyma” cells to solve
their storage problem, it did not abstract the underlying mechanism
of collapsible cells by generating ideas on how the collapsible func-
tions would work in their design (Figure 15.9c).
Figure 15.9b A canopy design inspired from the canopy feeding behaviour of a black heron
Source: Farhat Ara
(ii) Emulating forms of biological systems: Two teams used biological

forms as cues to draw their inspirations from. One team designed a
“fog collector” inspired from the form and the material property of
beach spider lily flower (Figure 15.10a). The white scented flower
has long tepals hanging outwardly from a central cup. The team
inverted the cup-shaped form of the flower and applied the hydro-
phobic property (material) of the tepals in their design. They also
attempted to explain the fog collection mechanism in their design
drawings. Another team took inspiration from the sharp teeth struc-
ture of the parrot fish which uses grinding and scraping mechanisms
for feeding, to design a vegetable chopper (Figure 15.10b). The team
made a clear design drawing showing the working mechanism of
the chopper which suggests they emulated the teeth structure with-
out considering the fish’s actual mechanism of feeding.
(c) Role of collaboration and visuospatial reasoning in conceptualisa-
tion of design ideas: The brainstorming of design ideas was a joint
and active phase of the BID process. It involved members sharing
their information and inspiration with their teams, negotiating around

choosing one inspiration, remembering relevant problem contexts
where the identified biological inspiration could be applied. Drawings
and sketches depicted their biological inspiration, helped visualise the
identified function/strategy and represent the function and mechanism
in their design ideas. Teams spontaneously used annotations to supple-
ment their design drawings. Students described and verbally exchanged
ideas with their team members using spontaneous gestures. Verbal
communication and gestures were in fact more dominant than sketch-
ing in most teams during brainstorming. In the BID process, gestures
often preceded drawings and played a role in students’ reasoning about
functions and mechanisms which were abstract in nature. In the exam-
ples discussed above, the team used hand gestures to demonstrate the
woodpecker’s drumming behaviour. The team designing the fog col-
lector, represented the cup-form of the flower through a “bowl-like”
Figure 15.9c Flexible and collapsible packaging/container inspired from the barrel cactus
with the team’s ideation on the working mechanism of the packaging
(bottom). Source: Farhat Ara
Figure 15.10 Designs showing tendencies of form emulations for inspiration: (a) a fog
collector inspired from the beach spider lily flower, (b) a vegetable chopper
inspired from the grinding teeth of a parrot fish. Source: Farhat Ara
gesture, which they kept reorienting in different directions. Gestures

seemed to serve as visual cues for the teams to retrieve specific infor-
mation from their memories and also capture the form/behaviour that
could be potentially applied to the specific problem context. This is
consistent with the significant roles of (spontaneous and designed) ges-
tures in reasoning about abstract phenomenon discussed in the earlier
study concerning astronomy education.

The LwB report laments that the competitive, academic ethos creates an
unhealthy environment, not conducive for supporting learning. Situations of
problem-solving, collaborative work which involve a process of investigat-
ing, questioning and providing feedback in collaborative learning environ-
ments. The social interactions among learners enable them to find relevance
during learning and foster autonomous capabilities. A BID learning envi-

ronment fosters inquiry-based, autonomous learning allowing a shift in the
role of teachers from being the bearers of knowledge to facilitating learning
experiences, providing individualised support and enabling creative expres-
sions. Bio-inspired design (BID) provided opportunities for representing,
and selectively absorbing, the relevant biological knowledge in design and
engineering contexts. Learners do not just “see” the biological content in a
new perspective but also creatively leverage that information in designing
authentic solutions to real-world challenges. BID thinking creates “hooks”
for learning that provide stimulating experiences of exploring, investigating
and observing the natural world.
Visuospatial in design-and-make engagements (RK)

The situations that encourage use of visuospatial capacities in design-and-make
activities invite learners to bring to use their knowledge to solve problems at
hand. At the same time, they aid cognitively informed schemes for operating or
transforming the material resources based on need. The study reports insights
and experiences of engaging student teachers with designing and making activi-
ties as part of a process of teaching, development and research.
Encountering unknown realities, deciphering solutions

One would surely have encountered, perhaps in a another country, a differ-
ent looking artefact which makes you wonder about its purpose. The diffi-
culty becomes intense if the language of the place is not known. The curiosity
to decipher the artefact’s use makes one explore the artefact – handle it, play
with it, turn it to different orientations, try different things – just to place it
within the scheme of things that are familiar! Interestingly, familiar artefacts
with different designs are just as much a site for intrigue and attention. The
baffling diversity in kinds, materials and forms of such a common object as
a nutcracker is a case in point. What happens when we know the definitive
function of an artefact, but are unaware of how to use it? Let us turn to a
personal experience for an appreciation of such a scenario.
During one of my travels, I encountered a different kind of a shower in

a hotel. For a good 15–20 minutes, I struggled to bring my cognitive
capacities and prior experiences to bear, just to decipher how the thing
works! Even after the greatest focus on the task, I could only achieve
partial success. I managed to use the shower but eventually broke the
metallic case that held it in its place. Thankfully, the hotel manage-
ment did not charge me for the breakage! (RK)
Often, discovering the purpose of an unknown artefact involves carefully

tracing the crafted contours, “visualising” the latent structure and its asso-
ciated components. The visuospatial tracing seems to embody the intricate
details and serve as a reliable means of learning about an artefact! What
do we do about the familiar, experienced artefacts that fail to meet our
satisfaction? Do we continue to use them mindlessly or do we transform
them to meet a satisfying purpose? Well, in cases where we cannot modify,
we continue to live with it. But, where we can, we modify! The scenarios
where alternatives can be explored, amended or created constitute the world
of designing. This world is also a world of empathy, hope and learning, if
adequately and suitably presented to learners. Developing adequate oppor-
tunities for learning through designing requires a cadre of teachers and
educators with conviction to harness such experiences for situating learn-
ing. For appreciating a world of experience, what better tool and media-
tion could there be than an experience itself! Carrying this intent in mind,
the design and technology education (D&TE) course included tasks inviting
participants to engage in designing. How these tasks afforded opportunities
for using visuospatial capacities is the focus of this section.

The study involved students who had opted for the Design and Technology
Education (D&TE) course12 as an elective in the Masters of Arts in Education
(M.A.Ed) programme preparing teachers and teacher educators (henceforth
referred to as participants). The participants represented diverse composition
in terms of geographies, sociocultural, linguistic and subject domain back-
grounds. The tasks reported were carried out with participants from two aca-
demic batches of 2017–2019 and 2018–2020. While the tasks helped develop
an appreciation for the conceptual ideas related to designing and technology
education, it also opened avenues for venturing into thinking processes, dis-
cussing insights relevant to curricular and pedagogic contexts of learning. As
part of teaching learning, the design problem scenarios invited participants
to work in groups of three to four individuals each on a few tasks, embedded
within a context along with a certain set of constraints. The tasks encouraged
practically feasible solutions in terms of expected outcomes.
Descriptions of the design problem scenarios

Two tasks developed by the course faculty exemplify aspects of visuospatial
thinking in the practice of design-and-make and, therefore, form the basis
of discussion here. The critical role of tasks in learning about designing
and making have been discussed in Khunyakari (2021). Task 1 involved
designing and reflective evaluation, Task 2 required designing, making and
evaluating. Task 1 invited participants to develop design ideas, visualise and
model their ideas through sketches and drawings, share and explain their
ideas through oral presentations. In addition to this, Task 2 invited partici-
pants to actualise their ideas using materials and resources. Each group then
reflected on their task experience.
Task 1: Two persons are riding a bike. They plan to cover a long-distance
road trip through the day. It is a summer month. While the person driving
the bike has a helmet on, the pillion driver is wearing a hat to protect from
the harsh sun. As they move on the highway, repeated gusts of wind make
the hat fly away. Drawing from this experience, design an artefact that is
stable, protects from the harsh sun and provides suitable ventilation to the
wearer’s head.
Task 2: Diabetes is a common disease in India. People who are diabetic
often suffer from swollen feet. Interestingly, this swelling keeps changing
throughout the day. Diabetic patients are advised walks and small exer-
cises to help maintain their health. They need to take care of their feet by
avoiding walking on hard surfaces or not keeping their feet unaerated for a
long time. Also, they need to avoid injuries as wound healing takes longer.
The persons with diabetes are unable to find appropriate footwear that is
comforting and meets their needs. Design suitable footwear that meets these
requirements.
The process of analysing yielded insights into questions concerning visu-
ospatial thinking.
1. In what ways does visuospatial thinking manifest itself in the two tasks
involving design-without-make and design-with-make?
2. Does designing encourage participants to adapt and renew existing
artefacts or newer forms with novel features?
3. What kind of evidence suggests the use of visuospatial reasoning from
across disciplinary domains?
Visuospatial mediates dynamic interplay of experiencing and knowing

Analysis yielded interesting convergences and divergences across the two
tasks. Both tasks elicited several sketches before participants depicted their
design outcome, suggesting that sketches played an intermediary (perhaps
mediational) role in capturing visual, spatial, material and process aspects of
their design (refer to Figures 15.11a and 15.12a). Both tasks led the partici-
pants to examine knowledge of materials and their properties, measures and
estimates, coaxing them to draw upon knowledge from otherwise disparate
disciplinary domains, also noted in Khunyakari (2015). In both cases, visu-
ospatial thinking mediated a complex, dynamic interplay of experiencing
in-the-moment development and knowing.
The analysis attempts to capture the dynamics shaping visuospatial medi-
ation in design thinking, not merely through descriptions but by drawing
insights and evidence from task engagements. Some noticeable manifesta-

tions of an interplay of experiencing and knowing are discussed.
Experiencing-knowing dialectical
In both tasks, the participants latched onto a seed idea or an insight as the
starting point around which the design evolved. Darke (1984) refers to this
as the primary generator. In Figure 15.11 (T1), the eye shade of the cap
served as a generator around which a constellation of ideas evolved. These
included flexible strap, partial net cloth allowing aeration, or possibility of
accommodating headphones over the cap. Similarly, the idea of a bubble-like
sole in Figure 15.12 (T2) affording a flexible yet stable surface, initiated ideas
of sufficient aeration, structure of the sole and toe-box detail. The primary
generator gets conceptualised and elaborated through abstracted references
to features of familiar artefacts. For instance, caps, hats of different kinds or
bubble-wrap as capturing the imagery of the sole surface. The participants
retrieve an experience, selectively operate on it, and alter it using visuospa-
tial language of space, gesturing, oral exchange and sketching. The process
provides interesting revelations into how internalised representations are
recalled through visuospatial expressions to induce emergent thinking.
Figure 15.11 Design productions of a group depicting the evolving design idea from the
initial (a) exploratory sketches to (b) detailing the designed product. Source:
Ritesh Khunyakari
Figure 15.12 Design-and-make task manifested through (a) exploratory sketches, (b)

problems and potential solutions, and (c) detailing of the designed product.
Source: Ritesh Khunyakari
Translating tacit into concrete

The participants ideated about components, detailing features, assembly
and even intricate nuances of the anticipated product. For instance, they
reflected on the location of “hook-and-loop fasteners” along with the pip-
ing and ankle support for their designed shoe. Sketches enable participants
to externalise and share such ideas, providing insights into visuospatial
dynamics in relating to formative, design ideas.
Nature of tasks: Although there were some close parallels, the tasks also
elicited differences in the use of visuospatial thinking. Since the analysis
presents exemplary cases, comparison across tasks is not intended to draw
generalisations but to highlight qualitative nuances in the character of visu-
ospatial engagements. In both tasks, participants used analogies. While the
design task seemed to have invoked visual parallels with existing artefacts
(visual analogies), the design-and-make task seemed to draw attention to
conceptual analogies that mapped ideas related structure and function. The
number and kind of design sketches also varied in the two tasks. The design
task (T1) elicited a relatively greater number of sketches but were used for
purposes of elaboration and refining ideas (for example, structure of cap
shade). On the other hand, the design-and-make task (T2) elicited fewer
sketches but these attended to capturing implicit ideas from escaping one’s
thought processes (for example, during the shoe design – curvature for the
toe box, maintaining the same level of sole and heel). While the resulting
design in Task 1 seemed to be an outcome of introspection of design ele-
ments in familiar artefacts and assimilation of some newer ideas, sketches in
Task 2 represented a process of responding to internalised need and reflex-
ive transformations to material and resources that enabled the participants
meet the design need.
Task 1 elicited a process of adaptive redesigning of existing artefacts.
The participants effortlessly drew upon the imagery of caps with adjusta-
ble straps over a round hat. A similar trend was noted among other groups
as they adapted desirable features such as a belt to secure the chin, a circu-
lar cloth shade to protect from heat or sunburn and mechanisms to shield
the eyes. The different head sizes of wearers posed a spatial constraint,
which was addressed by either including flexible head gear that could be
tightened to different levels or using a strap that can be leveraged based
on individual needs. Creative combining of scarf and cap was one of the
designs. Such transformative design adaptations of existing artefacts into
different forms are an expression of creative cognition (Finke, Ward &
Smith, 1992). On the other hand, Task 2 involved design-and-make initi-
ated participants to develop novel ideas of structures, assembly and func-
tioning with a foresight of practically realisable solutions. Perhaps attuned
to the need for translating mental modelling to concrete, artefactual real-
isations had a deep-seated impact on visualisation. The problem’s con-
text and participant’s experience mutually interacted to generate imagery
which helped in handling the situation. In Task 2, the strategic decision
of spacing components in a definite sequence of shoe layers, realising the
need for margins and placement decisions concerning shoe straps suggest
cognitive modelling of future artefacts. The subtle changes during mak-
ing tend to concern nuances of assembling rather than a revision of their
cognitive model. A systematic analysis of progression through the various
phases illuminates our understanding of the evolving ideas and transitions
rendered through visual and spatial thought.
Internalised values and knowledge find expression

Contemporary paradigms emphasise the value of schooling and sali-
ence of concepts and knowledge in learning. As a result, schooling is
geared to enrich concepts and prepare students to “extend”, “apply” or
“transfer” knowledge. In such cases, teaching of concepts becomes the
prerequisite for realising extension of knowledge. An inability to estab-

lish relevance or connection with concepts often contributes to aliena-
tion in learning. However, contexts of design-and-make simultaneously
foreground knowing and using, supporting exploration and understand-
ing of concepts.
The imagery generated through brainstorming ideas opened avenues for
further inquiry, to gauge a finer attention to detail into aspects of design prob-
lems. While participants relied on generalised experiences of caps or footwear
to explore their alternative ideas, some salient ideas caught their attention.
These areas opened channels for further inquiry. For instance, the head size
and variance that can be accommodated in a hat or the kind of heel size
or nature of cushioning that can be made to support the medial longitudi-
nal (instep) arch called for examining the feet of diabetic persons. Several
such inquiries were self-initiated, self-directed and involved subject domains
that extended beyond the material and technical know-how of shoe making.
The questions led participants to different means of finding solutions, such
as talking to a diabetologist, interviewing patients suffering from diabetes,
surfing the internet for details of symptoms and so on. The quest for knowing
became situated within the experience of designing. Developing empathy and
relating to knowing in an organic manner, along with a sense of fulfilment
in learning, characterises the educational orientation within the design-and-
make experience. One notices a “knowledge flux” between generalised and
specialised knowledge through the engagement of tasks. The participants ide-
ate using domain-general knowledge (leg swelling, wound healing, etc.) but
as they develop their ideas and work towards realising them, they enter the
realm of domain-specific knowledge (periodic changes in swelling in diabetic
legs, pressure points, etc.). Sometimes this understanding even gets reflected in
relevant shifts in choice of material resources (e.g., memory foam to patterned
rubber sheet). The design tasks thus provide substantive breadth for exercis-
ing diverse knowledge and in differing degrees. Evidently an empathetic need
drives design engagement in both tasks.

Life outside academic milieu is not segregated into disciplinary bounda-
ries. However, the structure of schooling – be it timetable, content dealt
with in subject domains, teachers teaching (as role models), outcomes from
learning – impose a definitive, ontological treatment of knowledge that, in
its very presentation and approach, is isolating and alienating. Drawing
upon everyday ideas, encouraging diverse forms of expression (visuals, ges-
tures, imagery, sketches, etc.) and using contextual challenges from the real
world to situate classroom learning offers opportunities for establishing
sociocultural connect. An ethos of contextual, authentic learning provides
opportunities for engaging with knowledge and fosters collaboration that

seamlessly navigates disciplines.
Historically, there has long been a conceptual tussle about the value of
building a robust relation between learning discourses (world of learning)
and practice (world of work). The vision of Nai Talim was an effort to
forge such a relation. Although design outcomes may not translate to com-
mercially viable solutions, they certainly bring out the relevance of learning.
Building an experiential relation with concepts encourages potentials for
extending knowing to novel contexts of use. Thus, an embedded motivation
towards knowing will systematically build foundations of learning. Harping
the visual and spatial experiences through design-and-make collapses the
gap between the designer and the user, leading to a renewed ownership of
the material world and search for pragmatic solutions that are empatheti-
cally directed, socially relevant and conceptually deliberated.
Consolidating insights from the motley of experiences

Since the contexts, aims and outcomes of the studies are quite different,
a comparison across studies is not possible. However, the different stud-
ies provide illuminating insights about visuospatial thinking and its role in
learning. The various learnings from experiences of research and teaching
suggest some convergences.
Often, the use of visuospatial skills to bear upon thinking are perceived
as specialised expertise of professionals as scientists, designers, architects
and engineers, who are adept at using these to inform knowledge-build-
ing and develop productive outcomes. However, the findings suggest the
non-esoteric nature of visuospatial thinking and its centrality in acquiring,
building and strengthening knowledge across diverse disciplinary domains.
Participants used similar means (drawings, gestures, analogues or models)
to mediate and realise visuospatial thinking. Moreover, the negotiating
function of visuospatial thinking manifests between materials and ideas,
the outside reality and creative imagination, the researcher/pedagogue and
the participants/learners, the familiar, known and the unfamiliar, being
constructed. Such an interplay hints at a process of continual, productive
synthesis that feeds into human actions. Contemporary literature on visuali-
sation in education has argued for a valued, categorical distinction relating
to the role of visualisation in learning as internal and external visualisations
(Gilbert, 2005). However, the findings suggest negotiating and synthetic
functions of visualisations, which seem to capture a dialectic, iterative rela-
tion between internal and external visualisations rather than a categorical
duality. This epistemic shift in framework calls for more contextual, com-
parative research that can bring fresh perspectives and orientations to devel-
oping comprehensive frameworks for appreciating visuospatial thinking in
teaching learning.
All the studies exemplify cases that encouraged use of diagrams, ana-
logues, mental models and design problem solving to render possibilities
for autonomy to pedagogues and learners to steer learning. The wide-rang-
ing representations and actions, emerging and embodied through different
means (diagrams, gestures, analogues or models) involved deep-seated con-
nections with contexts, meanings and concepts. While these representa-
tions and actions sharply convey the outcomes of synthesis, they also serve
as gateways to enhance, refine or even creatively transform well-formed
notions. Beyond serving a pedagogical purpose of effective relay of concepts
and ideas, visuospatial thinking affords for a productive potential, noted in
the interdisciplinary connections made by participants while engaging with
art or design-and-make engagements.
The studies preempt fresh avenues for using visuospatial means in
order to transcend the traditional means of using declarative, proposi-
tional schemes for assessing an individual’s gains in learning. Further,
prospects for investigating and fostering collaborative learning engage-
ments can be fruitfully supported through activities involving visuos-
patial thinking. One of the salient educational prospects comes from a
blurring of the long-held constructs of competence and performance in
learning. Through the mediational strength of visuospatial thinking, it
seems possible to now navigate and access otherwise non-explicit com-
petencies afforded through mental operations, animations and trans-
formations, engage with mental models, beliefs and meta-theories and
relate to extended ideas in uncharted but emergent knowledge domains,
across different contexts, across all ages!
The LwB report observed that, in typical Indian classrooms, the oppor-
tunities for observing, exploring or experimenting are limited and often
compromised in order to “cover” the syllabus. Often “looking” at pictures,
diagrams and illustrations in textbooks, along with prescriptive guidance on
“what” and “how” to observe makes the process redundant, devoid of any
curiosity or self-motivated discovery. The studies on visuospatial thinking
favour an integration of observations and explorations to situate the process
of learning. For instance, in the BID classroom, learning is driven by explor-
ing and discovering patterns in nature, appreciating biological species and
natural systems while meaning, relevance and joy derive from connecting
the natural world with the needs of the community. Even for the scientific
concepts in astronomy and biology, encouraging observations and explora-
tions can help develop and sustain learners’ sense of wonder and curiosity. A
pedagogue can reliably use them for diagnosing conceptual concerns, men-
tal models and later use them as springboards to connect concepts in school
with those in the real world. Besides drawing relevance, these activities in
a design learning environment can serve to build values of empathy, social
justice and critical reflection. We surmise that appropriation of knowledge
through means affording visuospatial thinking strengthens conceptual ideas
through experience and imagination, helps reformulate ideas, and develop

alternatives through informed judgement and reflection. Such an approach
is different from the erstwhile textbook-centred, pedantic approaches
to teaching learning. The prospect of learning, guided by a visuospatial
approach, underscores the salience and pre-requisite of researching aspects,
developing suitable epistemic, curricular, pedagogic orientations, reimagin-
ing the educational value of assessments and social ethos of learning.
Acknowledgements
All authors would like to express their gratitude to the participants in
their respective studies and their academic institutions. The authors thank
Professor Mythili Ramchand for her suggestions and inputs. SP would like
to thank her collaborator, Professor Jayashree Ramadas and Ms Neha Rana
for the illustrations in the section on astronomy education.
Notes
1 The work is an outcome of a collaborative endeavour. The order of names
reflect the relative contribution and does not suggest any kind of hierarchy. In
this chapter, we use author initials (SP, GS, FA and RK) to indicate the specific
insights from each of our studies, which we have brought together.
2 Jean Piaget (1896–1980) was an influential, Swiss developmental psychologist,
who proposed the personal constructivist theory of learning. He preferred to
call himself a “genetic epistemologist”.
3 Roger Shepard (b. 1929) is an American cognitive psychologist. His work in
collaboration with Jacqueline Metzler and his doctoral student Lynn Cooper
is considered a pioneering contribution to spatial cognition (refer Shephard &
Metzler, 1971).
4 According to information processing theory, mental representations are stored
in long term memory (similar to information saved in a hard disk of a com-
puter). Concepts, rules, logic and mental models are all kinds of mental repre-
sentations apart from the mental images (Thagard, 1996). They are processed
in the working memory to draw inferences (similar to running a computer pro-
gram). Working memory also processes the information coming from outside
and converts it into long-term memory.
5 Allan Paivio (1925–2016) was a Canadian psychologist. Interestingly, he was a
former bodybuilder and won the title of Mr Canada in 1948.
6 Alan Baddeley (b. 1934) is a British psychologist. He developed the model of
working memory with Graham Hitch in 1974.
7 Although the influence of behaviorism had diminished by the 1970s, the exist-
ence of mental imagery was challenged due to the influence of computer sci-
ence on psychology. A fierce debate known as the “imagery debate” emerged
which led to empirical and conceptual contributions that significantly inform
our understanding about the nature of mental imagery, in particular, and mental
representations, in general.
8 Uttal and Cohen (2012) found that visuospatial ability was not useful in pre-
dicting success and performance among experts with high domain knowledge.
This means that as domain specific STEM knowledge increases through train-
ing and education, visuospatial reasoning becomes less useful among experts.
However, individuals new to the STEM fields do require support in visuospatial
thinking for future success.
9 Computer simulations are another representation which can overcome the
shortcoming of diagrams being static. Their potential is explored in the exten-
sion of this research which is briefly discussed at the end. However, they cannot
replace gestures and role-plays since these exploit the potential of kinaesthetic
and vestibular sense, rather than only visual perception thus supporting embod-
ied cognition.
10 For detailed analysis of designed and spontaneous gestures, see Padalkar and
Ramadas (2010).
11 CLIx modules are available at https://clixoer.tiss.edu/home/
12 The D&TE course is an elective offered within the Curriculum and Pedagogy
basket of courses in the M.A.Ed. academic programme at TISS Hyderabad.
The course is a novel integration, the first of its kind in India, representing an
effort towards preparing prospective teachers to engage with design thinking,
broadening ideas concerning technology and developing a conceptual orienta-
tion that encourages harmonious synchrony between the work of the hand and
the head. Learning from the course helps student teachers to reflect, deliberate
and develop learning units, especially in the IB schools where it is a school sub-
ject. The course has been developed and taught by RK. The tasks reported are
also developed by him.
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Poster credits:
Learning unbounded by performance to ease mental or psychological burden
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059-20
The formal spaces of education structure learning into time-bound peri-
ods of subject-learning and instil a sense of competitive performance. As a
result, several possibilities for learning that could afford scope for exercis-
ing imaginative thinking, crafting materials and ideas with tools and action,
and an inter-mixing of concepts, skills and values that instil an appreciation
and dignity for work, do not gain recognition. Turning to these unbounded
opportunities of engaged learning has potentials to ease the mental or psy-
chological burden.
Part 3
Looking Back to Look Forward

Chapter 16
Reflections on the Process and Impact

of the Learning without Burden
Report
Key Take-aways from the Interviews of Two
Members of the National Advisory Committee
Mythili Ramchand, Arindam Bose and Ritesh Khunyakari
A series of conversations took place between two members of the National

Advisory Committee and the Volume Editors between November 2020 and
February 2021. These two members are Professor Krishna Kumar and
Professor T.S. Sarawathi. Choice of these two members was incidental
since only they were available from the esteemed committee. Conversations
looked back to trace the processes and considerations in the development
of the Learning without Burden report, how it has unfolded in the past
25 years and what is the likely future of education in India. Here is the com-
plete transcript from the insightful conversations, suggestions from which
have enriched this volume.
Complete transcript of conversations

with Professor Krishna Kumar
Conversation dates: February 5, 8, 12, 15, 19, 23 and 26, 2021
Conversation with Professor Krishna Kumar (KK)
Conversing were Professor Mythili Ramchand (MR), Dr Arindam Bose

(AB) and Dr Ritesh Khunyakari (RK)
Conversation session no. Date Day Duration of the conversation

(hr:min:sec)
T1 5 February 2021 Friday 00:41:51

T2 8 February 2021 Monday 00:48:00
T4 15 February 2021 Monday 00:51:17
T6 23 February 2021 Tuesday 00:49:59
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059-22
354 Arindam Bose, Mythili Ramchand and Ritesh Khunyakari
Session 1
MR: The Learning without Burden report was in a sense a turning point
in the discourse on learning and knowledge. The report identified that
the real burden of learning lies in the conceptualisation of knowledge
as a given, I think that it had wide ranging implications and further
reform efforts notably the NCF 2005. So, 25 years later we thought it
will be good to reflect on where the education sector is. We seek your
opinions and reflections.
KK: One would like to see the Yash Pal report as a turning point but unfor-
tunately, it’s not. It was a potential turning point and it didn’t become
one for quite a few years and even now it seems that the real turning
point in the sense that we use the word, because I think the mainstream
discourse on knowledge and its relation to education or its relation to
teaching in India as a whole, actually did not get much affected by the
analysis which the Yash Pal report presented. And, I would take a step
further. I would say that the Yash Pal report could not become a point
of reference except for NCF 2005 for which the process itself was led
by Yash Pal. I say this is because, if you look at legal cases fought on
this issue of burden on children or the burden of curriculum, etc., that
have been fought in India in different courts since the Yash Pal report
was written, you will notice that initially these cases mentioned the
report, in one or two cases it was used as a reference point. But the
most recent example of a case in the Bombay High Court comes to
mind, and nobody from either side of the educational authorities or
from the side of those who had taken the matter to court mentioned the
Yash Pal report as a living document which could be used to enlighten
either the court or in any manner influence the various arguments that
were given. These arguments referred to the physical burden and in
some arguments I remember, they refer to the quantum, the number
of text books, the quantum of topics, etc., and this is exactly the kind
of discourse which the original Yash Pal report was trying to chal-
lenge in 1993 across the country. So, in that sense one must recognise
even though the thought creates a bit of disappointment but I think
it’s important for us to remain objective and recognise that the report
cannot be said to have actually proved a turning point in terms of a
broader understanding in India and its various institutions, a turning
point in terms of any recognition of the kind of problem that Yash Pal
report was pointing out, of a certain conception of knowledge.
MR: Even last year there has been a case filed in the Punjab High Court and
it goes into very minute details – the kilograms of school bags for each
grade level, you know that kind of detailing…
KK: Yes. That is important – because Judiciary is one institution where doc-
uments, even very old documents, form (the basis for) a reliable system
Reflections on the Impact 355
of arguments. I remember many cases fought on curriculum policies,

etc., documentation in Courts goes back to even British times. So in
that kind of referencing of documents too, the Yash Pal report did not
make the cut. Even though it was an official document and remained so
and became a basis for another official document of the NCERT, etc.
So in that sense it’s important that not only people in the Courts are
using some sort of physical burden as their main object of concern, they
are not searching for documentary awareness, either at the end of the
various lawyers who fight these cases or at the end of the judges who
demand whether there is a policy document or a history of documenta-
tion on this matter and that is particularly irksome for those of us who
work in education that this particular problem didn’t make into the
judicial institutional structure.
MR: There are two related questions that come to mind as you were
responding, Professor. Soon after the Yash Pal Committee report came
about, there was another committee to look into the feasibility of imple-
menting the report. So, we were wondering if that was some conscious
decision to scuttle the process. That is one and two whether the dis-
course around the cognitive overload remained in the academia at an
elite level. I don’t think it percolated to the level of BEd colleges.
KK: I think these are very…sort of confusing issues and we must look at
these a little more clearly. Yes, the Chaturvedi report was meant to
scuttle the Yash Pal report, that much is quite obvious from the manner
in which the Chaturvedi Committee was appointed and the manner in
which I think its content deals with the recommendations. It looks as
if it was an official response to the Yash Pal report, but how much of
that second report namely the Chaturvedi report got circulated, this is
hard to say. In fact, probably it got circulated even less than the Yash
Pal report. The Yash Pal report continued to remain quite I would say
prevalent in at least some part of the BEd system. For instance, I know
that the Yash Pal report came into the syllabus of the BEd in quite a few
institutions and that is why I recall how one of these guidebooks type
of literature was published on it in the mid-90’s already which explains
in sort of typical BEd examination preparation language what are its
significant recommendations, who were the members, how long it took
it and those kind of very physical sort of questions. It’s interesting to see
how ideas circulate in our country, which parts of the country register
these ideas. And in this vein, I must mention that the state in which
an immediate cognisance was taken and certain legislative step was
taken about the Yash Pal report, was the state of Karnataka…where
at that time Mr Moily, I think it needs to be verified, but I think Mr
Moily was the Education Minister in that period and he, for in what-
ever manner he came to know of it, got instantly very interested and
prepared a Bill in which the Karnataka Assembly actually discussed and
if I remember right, passed it. Now, it’s another matter that soon after
this, the government itself fell and I am…now it’s a long time ago, so
I, don’t remember exactly…and then because of change of government
that…which is a fairly regular story of Indian policy making, by the
time the new government comes, older ideas are ready to be phased out.
But this is just one example of some of the things which can happen and
then can sort of die away in a sense.
MR: We would like to know about how the committee interpreted the TOR
(terms of reference) and more crucially you have had wide ranging dis-
cussions. How did you arrive at this idea of cognitive burden and two,
how were you able to coalesce the idea that came from the ground into
this peculiar way in which burden has been problematised in the report?
KK: In fact when you started this point, I suddenly recalled another fact,
which will help us to respond to your query. I think that it makes sense
that Karnataka should take that interest perhaps because of the genesis
of this idea of the Yash Pal Committee. Why was the committee
appointed at all? I am sure that you have found out that it was appointed
by the Minister in response to a very moving and long speech which was
made by R.K. Narayan, who was a nominated member of the Rajya
Sabha at that time and he used to live in Mysore. So that probably
throws some light on why Karnataka got interested, because his speech
which was given in the Rajya Sabha, got very wide coverage in the
Indian media, and I am sure the Kannada media must have also covered
it in Karnataka…because he used to live there and although he remained
in Rajya Sabha for a full term of six years, he simply never spoke a
word, except on this occasion. This was his sort of, maiden’s speech,
and the speech was so long and so powerful that newspapers at that
time reported that Najma Heptullah who was the Deputy Speaker at
that time, had tears in her eyes when he finished…and many people
were very emotionally moved. I hope you have read that speech, it’s still
available on Rajya Sabha’s archives, which I am sure are now digital-
ised. It’s a remarkable speech in the sense that it sort of goes into what
Narayan quite openly called a madness across the country, madness to
make little children so terribly busy and how he sees them going to
school with such huge bags and then in the evening spending time with
their tutors and coaching and all these things, he mentioned in…I mean
he was a great novelist, so he mentions it all in such a remarkable, sort
of everyday narrative…of a child’s life in India...and sort of makes it
look like a kind of a pervasive insanity, that has somehow, hit our coun-
try and culture, for which he feels you know, terribly…sad that this
should be happening to us. He recalls his own childhood and what it
meant to go to school at that time...I could see why Arjun Singh who
was at that time the Minister got so moved by it that he thought of
doing something about it and this is probably the right moment to
mention to you how this idea finally got into an actual announcement
by the Ministry that it’s going to appoint a committee. I think the idea
owes to the fact that Mr Arjun Singh, the Minister, was very close to an
IAS officer, the late Mr Sudeep Banerjee, who much later in 2000 became
the Secretary of Education in the Ministry. But even in the 91–93 period,
he was I think Joint Secretary at that time, serving the Minister. Their
association also is of some historical interest that when the gas tragedy
took place in Bhopal, when Mr Arjun Singh was the Chief Minister
Sudeep Banerjee was the Gas Tragedy Commissioner and did salient
service to the government at that time…So when Arjun Singh became
the Human Resource Development Minister, Sudeep Banerjee was
brought to Delhi and served him. So, it was Sudeep Banerjee’s idea actu-
ally, that we should do something about it, about what R.K. Narayan
has said. It should not simply go away now as an interesting speech and
since he knew me at that time, I remember getting a call from him and
he asked for my suggestions about how we should go about setting up
this committee, etc. So, soon enough the committee was announced and
once it became clear that Yash Pal was going to chair it, Yash Pal agreed
on the condition that we will go around the country, which is typical of
his way of working…that we can’t just write a report sitting in a room
and since it was a Ministry committee, the logistics for it was assigned
to NCERT, and…the worry was NCERT’s own books at that time were
so huge and were getting bigger in terms of the amount of stuff that they
put into the books, that NCERT would itself be part of the problem we
thought…it would be unwise to just sit in an NCERT office and write a
report over there. So Yash Pal got very keen to go around the country,
at least to a few places. Yash Pal decided to have this tour across the
country. The cities where I could accompany him were Calcutta and
Trivandrum. And…the question that you have asked me, I think will
need to be answered by looking at the minutes of these visits. They were
all carefully documented and minuted. And, I am sure somewhere in
NCERT you will find them. Now, if you go into those minutes, you will
find that nearly in every discussion…now those two since I personally
attended, I have some memory – the Calcutta discussion and the
Trivandrum discussion. In both those discussions, the idea that it can’t
simply be the problem of size of textbooks, or the fact of coaching, etc.
examination burden, it can’t simply be all this. The idea came through
the discussions and Yash Pal was very sensitive in these matters that he
picked up the idea from some of the conversations that went on in those
meetings…“Hey, this is something deeper. This has to be something to
do with how we think about knowledge”. And, if you remember, one of
the members of this committee was the late Professor V.G. Kulkarni,
who travelled with us. Now, Kulkarni’s own history is very interesting,
and…I think the idea has to do with his experience, I think he was a
professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research…and was

instrumental in one of the first and the most important projects of its
kind time in the history of education where…D.G. Pitare and V.G.
Kulkarni tried to improve the understanding of curriculum and teaching
in Bombay’s Municipal Schools. This is the prehistory of the Yash Pal
report. And...both of these professors, were...then also involved in what
became the famous Kishore Bharati and now we know it as the Eklavya
experiment. Now, Anil Sadgopal who was instrumental in setting up
Kishore Bharati in Madhya Pradesh in the 1970s had already been
exposed to this Kulkarni–Pitare project in Bombay Municipal Schools.
You might be aware that Anil Sadgopal’s first appointment after he
returned from California, as a scientist, was in TIFR. And that’s where
he came in contact with the work that Pitare and Kulkarni did. Now,
that work in the Bombay Municipal Schools, blossomed later in Kishore
Bharati and continues to, you know be present in some forms in
Eklavya’s work today. That work was based on the idea that teaching
of science in India is so poor, in terms of the impact that it makes on...
scientific attitudes etc. because, it treats scientific knowledge as a body
of knowledge, rather than as a process of knowing. And that’s where I
think Kulkarni and Pitare, hit upon the most important idea which the
Yash Pal report later took up. He introduced this idea everywhere and
asked people to respond to it, and many people did respond to it, for
example in Trivandrum the meeting was very well attended. It was
organised by the KSST and Mr Parashuraman and many other associ-
ates of KSST were present there. And they spoke extensively about how
in Kerala they had tried to make Science related knowledge a matter of
people’s movement, so that people see some sense in Science rather than
learn it merely as you know, something to cram for examinations. And,
that whole discussion in Trivandrum, which went on for several hours,
was exactly about this idea… How did Science get frozen into becoming
a matter of textbook learning and examinations and so on and so forth.
And, if you are able to see the minutes of the Trivandrum meeting, you
will see a wonderful example that Yash Pal offered, and it was immedi-
ately countered by somebody in that meeting. I am sorry to go this long
into this subject, but I hope it sort of helps you to see the organic growth
of this idea of perception of knowledge. Yash Pal in the Trivandrum
meeting picked up the idea of a Jhadu, how it can be used as a learning
device…both the Physics of the Jhadu, its relation to the kind of mate-
rial used for making a Jhadu in different parts of the country, and what
does it have to do with the socioeconomic status of the person who
weaves a Jhadu, and etc. And he said so much can be taught (from what
we) saw around us...what are the resources for learning available to us,
if we want to liberate ourselves from the shackles of the prescribed text-
books and exam. Now when this example was offered, with such
emotion, in that meeting in Trivandrum, I remember somebody said

won’t it be a sort of very negative idea that such a thing as a Jhadu is
being used for teaching something? And Yash Pal said instantly both
angry and happy, “That’s exactly why I am using an example of Jhadu...
Because, you think that it’s a dirty object, whereas to me it’s an object
that, in which a lot of India’s social history and our understanding of
Science and all this is locked up in this Jhadu”. And, he brushed aside
this objection of this gentleman, that a Jhadu is not worth being a peda-
gogic resource in schools and colleges. So these ideas that the report had
tried to conceptualise – how knowledge has got so completely frozen in
our system, that we think of explosion of knowledge purely in terms of
what is invented and found out, in the Western countries…and he tried
to keep up with it and all those ideas which I think form the chapter 3 of
this report. They came up in these meetings and were documented and
were later used for preparation of the first draft of this report.
MR, RK & AB: Thank you very much Professor Krishna Kumar…
KK: Yes, I know, I mean even as this evening has unfolded, I find myself
quite electrified by those memories which I had forgotten actually.
Session 2
KK: On that Jhadu example after our conversation was over, I recalled
something which I must tell you just now if you like.
MR: Please go ahead Professor.
KK: When Yash Pal had finished that Jhadu example, somebody in the audi-
ence said that isn’t this example a bit negative to give about life in India?
(This person asked) why shouldn’t we give vacuum cleaner as an exam-
ple? Yash Pal got quite visibly aroused, a bit irritated. He said, “Why do
you think vacuum cleaner is a matter of some pride and a Jhadu is not?”
So (laughs), that’s how the debate turned that evening.
MR: To me that constitutes the main argument of the report in a sense. The
esoteric and alien conception of knowledge as the real burden for school
children. We are curious to know how did the committee come up with
this specific notion of burden as pedagogical?
KK: I had responded to this partly last week when I said that the idea was
not unknown either to members of the committee or generally to the
Indian educational scene. This idea that learning without experience
is a form of burden, that it stresses children, this idea was quite cen-
trally recognised in the Kishore Bharati Hoshangabad Science Teaching
Project, Madhya Pradesh under the leadership of Anil Sadgopal. And,
that was a very major I should say, resource from where several peo-
ple in the world of science specially, but also in the world of educa-
tion learned what was wrong with our system. And, this learning had
already occurred during the late 70s. In fact, Yash Pal himself got his
first exposure to school education and children in the context of that

Hoshangabad experiment in the late 70s. At that time, he enabled the
UGC to give couple of fellowships for people from the universities to
go to Hoshangabad – to Kishore Bharati campus and work. Narlikar
came and a number of other very senior scientists got involved and as
I have mentioned to you earlier, this idea that Anil had sort of worked
on in a very systematic way in Kishore Bharati had already been kind
of worked on, in the Bombay Municipal schools earlier in the early 70s,
which is the pre-history of the Kishore Bharati experience. Hoshangabad
Experience which ‘brought to light’ this fact that learning without any
direct experience and that too in the child’s own immediate environ-
ment, and in that case it was a rural environment...that kind of learning
becomes a burden on the child’s mind. It’s nothing more than some kind
of memorisable body of knowledge. So this idea was available both to
Yash Pal and to some other members of this committee when the Yash
Pal Committee started deliberating on this problem. And then during
its meetings in Calcutta, Trivandrum, etc., this idea evolved further and
people kind of contributed to it in the manner in which I illustrated to
you, the dialogue in Trivandrum…about the Jhadu, etc. So, that’s my
answer to your first question, how did this way of conceptualising the
burden problem, how did this particular way become accessible to the
committee and how did the committee sort of brought it forward during
its discussions and ultimately made sure that it was the central idea in
its report in the chapter 3 which is called the “Roots of the Problem”.
Because at that time the most popular way of defining the burden prob-
lem was simply in terms of the number of textbooks, size of textbooks
and so on. And knowledge was often in popular minds as well as in
academic circles at that time was seen as something in which India had
to catch up. There was an explosion of knowledge in the West, people
said…that was the kind of dominant discourse. And very early in the
meetings I remember Yash Pal brought it out, “what kind of explosion
is this…and in which field was it taking place?” Now, I am sure that
you are aware that even at that time Yash Pal had become a very high
ranking scientist, he was internationally known, he had contacts eve-
rywhere and he wrote to some friend in Denmark and also wrote to a
friend in U.S. saying, “Tell me at what point in child’s learning do you
teach the concept of, let’s say valency, in Chemistry?” and the reply he
got [laughs] that in Denmark, it was not introduced before the age of
16 and 15 or 16 was also the age that his American friend mentioned.
And in India, it was clear that we were introducing at that time this
concept in grade 7 in Science which is...you know something like age
13 or 12. And, from past experience one knew that earlier it used to be
taught in grade 9, and now it has come down to 7. So, this idea kind of
took shape that we teach Science as a topic, as a series of topics without
worrying about what is understandable at what age; so there is a mis-

match between age and the topics we teach because our whole notion of
teaching is different…has nothing to do with what can be experienced
by the child and understood. So early on the committee realised that
the introduction to various concepts in Science and Mathematics in the
Western world takes place at a much much slower pace than it takes
place in India. And…I remember Yash Pal got very excited about this
idea that in the West, they tighten the screws much later, only when the
child gets to the university. Whereas, we tighten screws or you know
push the child much much earlier in childhood, in kind of primary or
early secondary stages itself. And, so he became acutely aware and our
committee became sensitive to the idea that we burn our children out
very early and... their best potential is already exhausted…because of
the way in which our syllabus is organised and also the way in which
we teach. So, this is the kind of background that…can explain how the
committee came across this idea.
MR: What was your imagination in terms of operationalising these ideas? I
know there are a set of 13 recommendations but...what was your imagi-
nation in terms of how these recommendations will be taken forward,
especially in the light of what followed immediately in the form of…the
Chaturvedi Committee.
KK: Now, as far as our imagination about operationalising is concerned…
as far as I can remember, I don’t think our committee realised that
we were saying something which will be immediately criticised and
resisted…and we had no idea that the Chaturvedi Committee was going
to be appointed after we give our report. That came as quite a surprise
I must say....to this committee. So, as far as the committee under Yash
Pal was concerned, it thought that these recommendations that we were
giving…will initiate some thinking around the country on this matter
and…gradually the idea will spread, and…some schools will pick it up,
because we realised that this idea…has to become a familiar idea at the
school level. It can’t be a ‘top down’ idea, that, you know the govern-
ment enforces. We thought that this idea should be popularised and
again I’d go back to the question of Yash Pal’s own induction into the
world of education. How it took place through Kishore Bharati and
through the case of KSSP experience in which…he was a firm believer
in Popular Science and the People’s Science Movement of the 1970s
and 80s…and it matched his beliefs. His own beliefs, if you go back
to 1950s he was a theatre activist in IPTA and those kinds of move-
ments where, even though he was a scientist,…he…thought that ideas
must spread across society and the more they get spread out, the greater
the chance that one day they will become mainstream ideas. So in the
context of this policy…this Learning without Burden report also…he
wanted to ensure that our report is short. And you can see that it is the
shortest government document ever produced…because he thought that

if it’s a long document nobody will read it and will become, you know,
itself a burden. So let’s keep it as short as possible and let’s give very few
recommendations and let it create some kind of gradual stirring in the
system in different states and slowly its time will come, that was the…
imagination. So the word operationalisation really did not…come into
use in the discussions of the committee itself. We thought, it is people
who operationalise...teachers, principals who operationalise such ideas.
So it must reach them slowly. And once it gets that kind of popular
attention, it’s time will come. And as I told you the state of Karnataka
thought that it will legislate this idea, that didn’t happen now I realise,
because Veerappa Moily’s government itself fell, before the bill could
become an act. What result it might have had, I can’t judge. And as for
the Chaturvedi report, it certainly came like a surprise…er…to us later
that the same Ministry which had appointed the Yash Pal Committee,
afterwards appointed the Chaturvedi Committee. But if I remem-
ber right, I think the Minister, because of a political problem in the
party, changed, and I’ll have to verify that. So, Chaturvedi Committee’s
appointment, its memberships and its…its discussions and…and those
things I think we can take up after I verify this, political history of that
period.
AB: Okay. Yes Sir, actually Arjun Singh, I remember having read some-
where that Arjun Singh was replaced by Madhavrao Scindia as HRD
Minister.
KK: See what happened is…a new minister took over and then this
Chaturvedi Committee, you can see it as a sort of a…within the system
resistance to what the Yash Pal report might have tried to achieve and,
certainly those recommendations were seen as a bit of an odd set of
recommendations, they were perhaps seen as a threat and if you look at
the discourse of the Chaturvedi Committee, it’s a kind of a more resist-
ant kind of discourse to such radical ideas like dropping of Physics and
being replaced by a course in social or political life, and so on, and other
recommendations like quiz contests being stopped and so on. They were
pretty sharp recommendations even though they were so few and ana-
lysing all the textbooks and so on. I mean those 13 recommendations,
if you read them carefully…some of them tread upon the media, some
of them tread upon other ministries, so they were pretty sharp and radi-
cal and certainly they required agencies like NCERT to acknowledge
that they were part of the problem…and not part of the solution. And
that itself led to a lot of criticism of the Yash Pal recommendations in
the system perhaps. So, the appointment of the Chaturvedi Committee
under a new minister had to be seen in that sort of larger context.
RK: Sir, you spoke about burden, how historically it was being discussed
and also how does this committee actually view this idea of burden. I
often wonder if this metaphor of burden also presumes that there is a

possibility of an external agency which can offload the burden. That
there is a load, mechanical or physical load which can be offloaded
if there is some kind of a critical imagination, reimagination of this
system actually…whereas the report categorically mentioned that the
problem of non-comprehension…or the cognitive kind of an engage-
ment with knowledge, is a critical aspect of the academic burden. Now
as I read it, there seems to be a shift from you know, the kind of TOR
that came through the ministry which was looking for some kind of
a mechanical offloading to the committee conceptualising as a prob-
lem of non-comprehension critical to academic burden. So, was there
a kind of a tension that pervaded the discussion or immediately after
the publishing of this report? The ToR did mention that the committee
may examine all aspects related to curricula, entrance criteria and exit
attainment, at various levels. And, it also mentioned about impact of
examination, admission to higher education institutions including pro-
fessional course. So there was an implied understanding of a truncation
of the information or the knowledge as perceived by the ministry...was
it in sync with the suggestions made by the report?
KK: See, at the time that we are looking at…the notion of stress on children,
the notion of this burden that they were carrying which R.K. Narayan
had so emotionally described in his intervention in Rajya Sabha, which
led to all these efforts…at that time these ideas were conceptualised,
the way in which the TOR mentioned it. So that children are running
around literally from this to that all day and they have no time to play
or no time to do anything else. So the TOR really is a reflection of
how the problem was seen, at that time. And the committee shifted that
focus...by recognising that the problem actually is deeper than simply
the manner in which the system deals with entrance, exams and so on
and so forth. These are products of a malaise which is much deeper. So
you can say that the committee did a kind of diagnostic…archaeology
of the problem (slight pause), and found that it’s not so much these
operations like entrance tests and others, where of course the problem
manifests but the problem actually has its roots at a much deeper level.
Thus, in the, if you see the opening section of the report, all this is
acknowledged. And, in his letter to the minister, Yash Pal also kind of
acknowledges that there is a problem, but the committee under him saw
its work really as that of providing the “shortest possible expression” of
what it had diagnosed to be the real problem…rather than go after these
manifestations of the problem in the shape of entrance tests and exams
etc. etc. and the burden they obviously cause in a child’s life.
RK: So there is a mandate and there has been a reconception…or reim-
agination of the notion of burden. But, does it pose within the present
circumstances of understanding a certain kind of a challenge in terms
of looking or understanding at burden itself. I am coming in from the

perspective of whether we can offload the burden. We, I mean educa-
tionists and educators with systematic intervention offload the burden
of learning or is it more kind of dynamic in nature, which comes from
the engagement of learners and learning. So, I just wanted your observa-
tions on these particular things, in terms of a metaphorical category, the
notion of academic burden.
KK: I think the systemic answer was given, or an attempt was made to give
a systemic answer to this problem by NCF 2005. And, the material that
got produced in the shape of textbooks and other things that happened
later in NCERT. That was a systemic response and…to the problem of
load or burden and yes it kind of assumes that there can be some systemic
offloading if only the system would allow…education to be defined dif-
ferently, learning to be defined differently right from Grade 1. Then per-
haps offloading can begin to occur. And that attempt, NCF does make in
its various position papers; there were 21 of them, those national focus
groups… And in the main report itself and the first chapter of NCF. It
lays out the problem in those 5 principles. And, for NCF it was a man-
date, because the letter which came from the ministry to the NCERT, in
2004 in the month of September I think, to start the process of prepara-
tion of a new National Curriculum Framework, it referred specifically to
Learning without Burden report…and that letter had been reproduced
in the NCF – in its last pages, as an appendix. If you read that letter it
referred to Learning without Burden whereas in the popular imagination
in 2004 September, the NCF was being quote unquote “revised to over-
come the problem of saffronisation” which was attributed to at the time
to the new government…was attributed to the NCFSE of 2000…after
which only four years had passed. So it was expected that, it was kind
of widely assumed that the new NCF was being ordered by the ministry
to undo saffronisation whereas the ministry avoided that entire mat-
ter in its letter to the NCERT. The letter simply said the new National
Curriculum Framework should be prepared in the light of Learning
without Burden and with reference to Constitutional values. If you read
that letter, so there is also a shift there and the assumption is that now
the system should do something about this burden…and it can do some-
thing about offloading it and – and so yes, in answer to your question,
even though the idea of burden is seriously redefined in the original Yash
Pal report…as a problem that emerges out of a lopsided or…a misjudged
kind of engagement with knowledge, it is still seen as a systemic prob-
lem; the way in which curriculum is conceptualised, in which syllabus
is prepared, in which textbooks are then prepared and in which exams
are taken and so on, to that extent even though it’s an issue of engage-
ment and the metaphor of burden is redefined, even then answers…it is
assumed can be found if the system readjusts itself to the needs of the
child…and this whole idea of child-centredness which is also mentioned

in the ministry’s letter to NCERT in 2004. That idea is also something
that has a history of its own in Indian education…and the time it took to
become a real idea is a very, very long time and probably it’s still…you
can say, very distant idea. But, the experiment that I was referring to,
namely the Hoshangabad experiment was also functioning within the
larger orbit of…child-centredness, which itself was you know ultimately
a metaphorical idea which had its history in Astronomy [laughs]…Does
the earth go around the sun or the sun goes around the earth and that
kind of thing. So, I mean Tagore used it more than a hundred years ago.
“Why should we force children to walk with us? We should walk with
the child”. In one of the essays, he talks about that in a sense inaugurat-
ing the Indian sort of discourse on child-centredness. So all of that has
to be remembered in Yash Pal’s attempt to conceptualise this issue in
a radically new manner by shifting the TORs and…by still seeing the
hope, or cultivating the hope that the system can do something about
this problem of burden which is what a government or a ministry can,
you know…can consider its duty in response to the response to some-
thing that has been raised in the Rajya Sabha. So that kind of history of
how things happened...will help perhaps, to put everything in this kind
of long perspective. (pause)
RK: Okay, Thank you, Sir. Mythilli?
MR: So we would like to now hear from you about NCF itself and the pro-
cesses that went into it. For example, the letter itself. So, in some sense
in the 2000, there was this pressure on governments…among global
South countries to adapt a certain kind of reformed educational system
in the context of UEE. So given that political context and the fact that
there was an essentially unreformed school education system, opera-
tional in the country, again how did NCF attempt to…operationalise
these ideas from extending from the idea of burden.
KK: We will discuss it next time. Right now, I should say that this hiberna-
tion period is important. That the idea of…the Yash Pal report’s idea
of looking at burden in this way… went into hibernation for almost
12 years. After the Karnataka attempt, I don’t think that there was any
major attempt in any of the states to…either make sense of this idea,
or discuss it in the system itself, nor did the NCERT take it up. In fact,
after the Chaturvedi report came, no need was left to take this idea
forward. And so, the idea kind of you can say, came to a …long sort of
rest or sleep kind of period and I think that period overlapped with the
initiation of DPEP programme which had very different priorities…and
those priorities I don’t think had any room for these subtle aspects of
curriculum related issues and tensions... and the political history of that
period also is like that, that the DPEP became a central focus during the
Narsimha Rao years of liberalisation, that is an early period and...what
happened to teachers, teaching etc. etc. is a different story altogether,

but curriculum related concerns sort of just went into a deep freeze and
that…I think was disrupted when ultimately the central government
changed and…the NDA came to power and...it decided to bring back
the issues of curriculum into focus, from its own ideological perspec-
tive though. And that is the background of the NCFSE 2000…and for
them reference point was not either the notion of the child’s experience
of knowledge or the problems of burden, but rather it was to make
knowledge more…in tune with India’s aspirations as a nation in the
twenty-first century and so on…and, those discourses were of course
there around us. I mean they were there, right from the 80s onwards,
but that’s where the NCFSE if you look at that document…it brings
into focus this notion of being Indian and what does it mean…in terms
of becoming aware of the…history of knowledge in India, or Indian
knowledge and so on. So curriculum did come back into the focus of
systemic reformed discourse, but from a different root altogether, and
that will in the next discussion…bring us into the climate of 2004 after
the parliamentary election of May, and what happened thereafter. And
that was a very messy and very critical period and for the birth of NCF,
which permitted the long hibernation of (laughs) Learning without
Burden to end.
And I think the last point I would like to mention in that context,
that the same person, Sudeep Banerjee who had appointed this com-
mittee in 1991, the Yash Pal Committee…came back to the ministry
this time as Secretary of secondary and higher education and that is a
very important point because it was under his Secretaryship his Joint
Secretaryship that the committee was appointed. And now he was in
a position to, kind of bring that discourse back. And I must end this
evening by saying that Sudeep Bannerjee was a poet of some repute
in Hindi; he was very philosophically kind of minded; he had close,
personal contact with the world of Social Sciences and on top of it he
was very closely connected with Mr Arjun Singh who was the now the
new HRD minister chosen by the UPA government in 2004. So all that
political history has to be (laughs) kind of brought back to this matter
of how NCF rediscovered Learning without Burden and then made it
sort of, an operationisable idea.
MR: Yeah. Thank you very much.
T3: 12 February 2021 (Friday)

KK: Shall we have our next session?
MR: Today, shall we move into NCF, Professor Krishna Kumar?
KK: Certainly, we can, but I hope that our conversations over the last two
meetings have kind of made it clear that this matter, or for that matter,
any other matter in education, cannot be fully sort of grasped without

keeping in mind the political changes and circumstances. And especially
this matter why it went to sleep for such a long time. And has again,
gone to sleep for a long time reminds us that...even very early sort of
academic reforms in education require a positive sort of political cli-
mate and considerable support from higher levels of policymaking in
politics. This...is not something that can be expected to work in conti-
nuity in our system of, that’s almost in any system, prone to the effects
of political change. That’s the main idea that one can pick up from our
discussions so far.
MR: So our first question relates to the fact that…one had gone into hiber-
nation, the ideas that LwB report had put forth and two, it was not just
the circumstances and the country had changed very much in terms of
academia or the school education system itself. So that being the case,
what contributed to evolving a more broad-based agreement among
academia for NCF 2005. It’ll also be quite insightful to learn from you
how those 21 themes were identified for the focus groups.
KK: I think behind all of these questions, and decisions taken, etc., I would
remind your group…the importance of Yash Pal…people who have no
direct experience of Yash Pal might think that he was essentially a scien-
tist. …And therefore, he was invited to take part in educational policy-
making. Now that will be a very incomplete kind of impression. In Yash
Pal, we had a very unusual figure of a person who was aware of and
directly involved in what you would call the social groundwork that
any educational change requires in society. And this is something that
goes back to the 1950s when he was part of this popular Theatre move-
ment. And later on, he initiated popularisation of science. And…then
he became a very major participant in the use of television for reaching
out…to the larger society. And ultimately, he became an anchor for
a very popular program for children, which brought him in contact
with literally 1000s of children. And children sent him questions...he
answered them on television. And those questions, if you study those
questions, they tell us something very deep about his pedagogic theory.
Now we have one volume of those questions…have been published by
NCERT itself, under the title “Discovered questions”. And then you
have National Book trust, which has published another volume, I think,
two volumes now it’s called “Random curiosities”. So, if you study
these questions and his answers to them, you get half the story of…
what under his leadership, the NCF 2005 tried to do. And we can’t
really get into the bottom of these matters unless we place Yash Pal in
a very distinct category of educationist that our country has had. So
having said that, your question about these focus groups and about
these…various other committees that were set up to make the work
of NCF 2005 possible? The answer really lies in working on a kind of
administrative wavelength, which would permit NCERT to widen the

scope of discussions, which was really the main concern at that time.
Because the country was kind of stuck in this history textbook’s contro-
versy, and the transition from NDA to UPA was seen primarily in terms
of that controversy, both by the media and generally by public intellec-
tuals at that time. So the main challenge before the NCERT, as I saw it,
was the challenge to widen the scope of the discussion and involve every
specific sector of education in this wider discussion. And so it seems
that it won’t be sufficient to just have a committee to work out a new
curriculum that it should be backed up by…a very wide ranging set of
committees, which will look at every nook and cranny of…knowledge,
pedagogy, concerns for the system as a whole, etc. So that’s how the
idea of these 21 focus groups emerged, which will help the steering
committee…and that itself was a huge sort of management exercise,
you might say, and the person… Professor Khader, M.A. Khader, who
was at that time, the Regional Institute Bhubaneshwar’s principal, was
brought to Delhi to coordinate all this…from a little group called cur-
riculum group, which was in NCERT Delhi. So it’s a big story of admin-
istrative management really, how these groups functioned, how they
served the main committee, and how there were six other committees,
which are not much discussed, they also serve this main steering com-
mittee, and attempted to bring in a vast number of people, hundreds of
people literally in different parts of the country into this debate about
how a new national curriculum should be…formulated, which will be
above (slight stress) politics, which will be…professionally, up to date
with educational theory. And which will set some kind of a standard
for what it means to develop a curriculum framework for a country
as diverse and as big as India. This is a very, you can say, overall brief
answer. So…I hope that your questions will now go into more details of
this and how it relates to your main theme.
MR: The primary theme, of course, that we are looking to, is this aspect
of burden as it was conceptualised in the Learning without Burden
report. And, more specifically, how did the steering committee of NCF
2005 hope to operationalise these? And two, based on these position,
papers, how did you arrive at the consensus in terms of the curriculum
framework itself?
KK: That question really, as I said to you is a question of administrative
management of ideas of people’s ideas, suggestions of the public. And
it was a mammoth exercise, in which 1000s of emails, suggestions
coming through the internet were merged with ideas that were coming
from the States, plus the various focus groups and their contributions,
I…you will have to look at a very vast amount of archival material,
which is still available…the minutes taking process of the sharing of
minutes with various focus groups. And then, after a few meetings of
the steering committee in Delhi, we met in Hyderabad, where the chair-

persons of all the national focus groups were called to interact with the
steering committee. So that can tell you how...huge gathering it was,
you know, 60 people, more than that chairpersons and member sec-
retaries of the various national Focus groups, talking to the steering
committee. And on the basis of that, then ultimately different individu-
als agreed to create short…portions, which would reflect their areas
which will together form a kind of an early draft of the framework.
A smaller drafting group was set up in Delhi from within this…bigger
sort of participation. And they sifted that material, and then created a
draft which…which gave to the steering, which was given to the steer-
ing committee. And then ultimately, of course, the Central Advisory
Board of Education, which met in the summer of 2005. To look at this
early draft of both the steering committee’s work and the draft of the
various focus group reports. I mean, that itself was a historic meeting,
which looked at all these drafts and then the states started to give us
feedback, which were very competently analysed by the members of the
curriculum group in NCERT, leading to the final draft, which was pre-
sented to a second meeting of CABE in September 2005, at which this...
drafting was done, I mean this approval was done for the final draft
presented in the meanwhile, if you are aware, this is the first document
in the country, which was translated into all the languages of the eighth
schedule of the Indian Constitution at the remarkable speed between
the months of summer and September, because the minister said in the
June meeting, that it would be a pity we don’t have this document avail-
able in all Indian languages, so that people...who are not, you know,
good in English can understand it and respond. So, that translation
was done with the help of the Central Institute of languages in Mysore
and some other institutions and ultimately, that’s why it got such a
huge response from the state on the basis of which the draft prepared
earlier was further revised, to make sure that every state feels comfort-
able with what the NCF would eventually say. So this is really a bigger
story of you can say, the NCERTs capacity to manage so many levels
of dialogue which were taking place, and I have not even mentioned
the regional Institute’s role. At that time, they were four, they went into
top gear to arrange regional seminars, at their levels in Bhubaneshwar
Ajmer, Mysore and Bhopal. And those regional seminars also gave their
inputs to these emerging drafts during that year.
And as I’ve said to you, there were 1000s of other emails. So, we
are looking at an exercise which literally brought into play a few
1000 people from across India and many suggestions from Indians
based abroad to go into this and this was not a nominal sort of par-
ticipation, this was for the sake of you know, participation, this was
actually substantial. And many parts of the NCF benefited from these
inputs. Some of these, I vividly recall from my own personal notes, how
many people expressed their solidarity has done and wrote a paragraph
at our request, they you know, if you are the best, if you think you can
do a better drafting – send us a paragraph. So, all these two very ena-
bling kinds of exercise allowing for recognition of such a vast number
of people’s contribution, including the contribution of a of a mother,
housewife and a mother who wrote to us as a remarkably moving letter
which NCF ends with if you look at that from somebody in Mumbai
wrote us that letter. Yes, and so on, but even within the main body of
the text, there is a considerable amount of input from people who are
parents or, who are teachers. And the steering committee and the vari-
ous groups also had teachers, you know, they had four types of mem-
bership, all these groups, …there was a considerable number of experts
in various aspects of education and subject knowledge. Then there were
people from within NCERT, its faculty in the regional Institute, as well
as in Delhi, then they were sort of frontline NGOs active in various
parts of the country with children and system. And then there was a
fourth category of teachers, school teachers, working school teachers,
especially from rural areas, who were made members....And so you had
a very wide ranging and multi layered kind of membership of each of
these 21 groups. In addition to the people that the groups talk to and
invited, another thing NCERT ensured was that no group will have only
Delhi based meetings. So each group was required to meet in at least
three or four places in the country. And when it met in say, Hyderabad,
or Chennai, or in Guwahati, the regional Institutes also helped in that
process. They were expected to get as many people from that region to
come to talk to the national focus group, and to its meetings. And we
also tried to ensure through whatever means NCERT had to mobilise
regional media to report widely on the schedule of our meetings. So that
people who read those reports will themselves want to be heard. And so
this was quite a very exciting exercise of creating a sort of a communica-
tion…movement, for thinking about what might constitute the reason-
able curriculum framework, which will guide the syllabus making and
the textbook process…for this document. So this is a simply brief kind
of summary about a very complex process.
MR: This response was extremely insightful. But what we meant was not
so much the administrative aspects of compiling all these suggestions,
but more academically in terms of how did you operationalise, see Yash
Pal Committee report was more aspirational, those recommendations
that were put forth, but NCF 2005 is the document that has in a very
concrete manner operationalised…many of those recommendations. So
that was the process that we wanted to know. And…this whole exer-
cise that you said was extremely exciting…for the very first time, …if
I may say so, at that level, but even so, the school system as such, was
unreformed, so there was this expectation that NCF 2005 will trans-
form the school system in some sense, and going by the…excitement
and the fervour of everybody involved in the education sector, including
parents, as you pointed out, …one was certainly hoping for substantive
reforms. What did the steering committee members themselves think
about after effects of NCF 2005, if you will?
KK: It’s a difficult question. …I think when we talk about transformation,
we forget that education has some very specific segmentation…there are
three broad areas into which…I’ll divide this world of the system of
education. One is the area of knowledge, which is kind of broadly
addressed in the context of curriculum related decisions, and…that they
can, including syllabus making, textbook making, etc, then there is a
second area, and that’s the area of teaching. And you can see it essen-
tially a function of how teachers are recruited, the conditions in which
they work, and the kind of training they get, before they join the profes-
sion, Teacher Education, namely, and of course, later on, in-service
education. So that’s the second broad area, which affects education…in
a systemic sense. And then there is a third area, which is extremely cru-
cial, and has its very deep roots in the colonial history of India’s educa-
tion system, and that is the area of examination. And that area effects
both directly and indirectly the first two areas in the curriculum and
teacher related matters, Teacher Education in particular, this third area
is, is a kind of, you can say, the most powerful area, because it has con-
sequences in children’s lives, as well as in the world of.....employment
in the world of selection. And that in that sense, the third area, the
examination area, is directly linked to the economy. And that has been
the case since the inception of the examination system in the 1880s,
when it became a system as such, and became a very powerful part of
the education system, in fact, the most powerful part, so powerful that
it won’t be wrong to say that India essentially has an examination sys-
tem rather than education system. But of course, prima face works, as I
said, part of the education systems. But now, let me come to the institu-
tional aspects. These three areas Curriculum, Teacher Education and
Exams system, these are served by three different wings for you, you
might say, of the administrative structure, both at the national level and
in the states. The curriculum area is where NCERT has a role and
(clears throat) in the States, you have the boards and you have the
SCERT. SCERT is only up to grade eight. And beyond that, even the
curriculum area is under what is essentially an examination board. So
that is the first area. Then you come to teacher education. Now,…a…
after NCTE began the statutory body, Teacher Education became an
entirely separate area. And even though when NCERT was set up in
1962, its role was there in training. In fact, the word NCERT includes
training. But…er…today, at least, ever since NCTE became a statutory
body which NCERT is not NCERT is an advisory body doesn’t have

teeth, whereas NCTE is a very powerful body today, it has statutory
status, and that controls teacher education in the country. And then you
have the third area namely exam, which is the most institutionalised
and historically the most firm institution in India. And these are the
boards of education, very powerful (stress) boards. I think in education,
no institution is more powerful than these boards. In various stage they
had the responsibility to get examination papers prepared, they have
the responsibility to get those answer sheets evaluated and to declare
the results. So they are and –and those results you know, affect the lives
of children as well as how teachers and principals are treated in the
system and so on. So at the national level, also, we have a board mainly
the Central Board, the CBSE and the state there is a board and some
states have more than one board, so now you have more than 42 boards
in the country. …and that includes the private board, the ICSE board.
And then on top today, we have some international boards like
International Baccalaureate, and the Cambridge Board…these are now
they are taking another layer of the system away from the main system.
So now when NCF 2005 discussions were on from 2004 onwards, these
discussions started in full earnest across the country, they created an
expectation of what you have called transformation of the system. And
by the time we concluded these discussions NCF came out as a docu-
ment approved by State. And it’s translations got official in various
state. By that time, and when NCERT also started to work on the new
textbooks based on the new syllabi based on the NCF. By that time, it
had become obvious that we in the NCERT will do what we can do.
But the expectation of transformation is far too great an expectation.
Because NCERT has absolutely no control on either NCTE or the vari-
ous boards, including the CBSE board, which is the Central Board. It
has a working relationship with CBSE…and even in that working rela-
tionship is you can say it’s a minor partner, where in each of the subject
committees of CBSE…they keep one member from NCERT. And so
NCERT has just no say at all in how exams are conducted. Now, Yash
Pal personally became aware of these very, very big obstacles to what
NCF related processes might actually achieve in the system. And so
much so that by 2007–2008, he thought that it would be a good idea
for him personally to start a dialogue with CBSE. So, a number of times,
I accompanied him to the office of Mr Ashok Ganguly, who was at that
time, the chairman of the CBSE. And I would say he was a very rare
Chairman, he was not from the IAS, he had come from education itself
in U.P. and was very interested in this whole matter, because he was
also a member of the steering committee of the NCF. And he used to say
in those meetings that even if we accomplish,…you know, (laughs) less
than 50% of what we are trying to do, it will be a huge transformation.
But that was a very big amount that he was expecting. …meetings were
held with various state boards, I mean, there used to be a routine con-
ference in NCERT which we devoted to this exercise of propagating
these ideas. And they were all looking at CBSE for leadership and CBSE
did provide some kind of leadership in wondering about what it would
mean to change the exam system in the light of NCF. And also, you
remember there is an Examination reforms national focus group paper,
one of the 21 focus groups was on this matter, which gave very sharp
recommendations. One of the sharpest, I should say, set of recommen-
dations come from that paper. And if you read those recommendations,
I think half the story of why the transformation was too tall in expecta-
tions would become clear. So those recommendations are so sharp that
you know that most of the state boards are not in a position to imple-
ment them. And I’d go back to a committee which nobody now remem-
bers from the early 90s. The late Professor Amrik Singh had chaired a
government of India committee on how to improve state boards and
how to improve their capacities. And if you read that report, and if
you’re kind of interested in this, what you’re calling transformation,
you would probably have a kind of a very emotional experience of
reading that report which tells you how impoverished the state boards
are in terms of their capacities, in terms of their administrative…kind of
positions, their relationship with state governments and Amrik Singh
gives us a vast number of recommendations which have simply never
been paid any attention…in this long time that has passed from early
90s to now 30 years have passed, state boards are exactly where they
were maybe barring a little bit improvement in the Kerala board and
Kerala really was at the forefront of trying to do something about NCF
in Kerala after NCF was approved and all that happened. Kerala
appointed its own focus group 14 focus groups partly because we had
a very enlightened education minister Mr Bedi at that time and Professor
Khader who coordinated this exercise was from Kerala and he got
involved in that exercise so Kerala did more than almost any state. A
few other states thought of doing something and…made one or two
moves you might say and then there were resistant states like
Maharashtra which…showed absolutely “no attempt” to move for-
ward even though you know many personal efforts were made or said.
On the other hand, if states like Bihar at that time did show some moves
to move ahead along the lines of NCF to improve its own curriculum
process making of syllabi, textbooks etcetera and some attempts were
quite I think nicely followed up by a very enlightened officer at that
time Mr M.N. Shah who is no more, unfortunately. So I can give you
these stray stories in the immediate aftermath of NCF but (slight pause)
transformation is too big a word (laughs). I think NCF tries to achieve
some initial steps towards reform and the NCFTE in the NCF of teacher
education 2009 documents I think was a major document which NCTE

produced and in the light of that it started to make a move. It was fur-
ther supported by the J.S. Verma Commission which tried to reform
NCTE during the second decade but ultimately NCTE proved a very
difficult organisation to reform itself and now all those recommenda-
tions of the J.S. Verma report are really in cold freezer. Although that
commission was appointed by the supreme court of India, so everybody
expected that the J.S. Verma report will really make NCTE a different,
vibrant body will emerge at the end of it and most of those committees
which J.S. Verma has recommended…there were seven of them gave
their report in a positive state and then nothing has happened after the
submission. So teacher education remained I would say unreformed in
the light of its own NCF of 2009…and when it comes to the third area
namely examinations just in one or two subjects Yash Pal meetings with
Ganguly managed to kind of change something and these were not
mainstream subjects. One I remember particularly well is sociology, it’s
paper design strategy etc. began to show some change in 2008/09 and
the other subject is political science. I think you should interview
Professor Ganguly at some point – how difficult it proved to change the
examination system in terms of the design of the paper, typology of
questions those deeper issues which NCF requires to change…that pro-
cess didn’t move very far and so instead of transformation what NCF
achieved I think was a kind of an ethos change. Reform was better
understood and the textbook has survived adverse political climate to
this day…at the school level, many things have happened in many
schools in the country because of the very different kinds reading mate-
rial which they provide. How much of this will pass into the future? I
can’t say.
MR: Thank you very much.
KK: Alright. We will meet on Monday and you can reflect on today’s discus-
sions and ask sharper questions.
T4: 15 February 2021 (Monday)

MR: This morning the three of us were again reflecting…on what came
out of specifically from previous discussion on Friday…of three strands
of…one is the pedagogy aspect…NCF 2005 did manage to change the
ethos of classrooms and textbooks to an extent. So, this places a certain
pedagogic imagination from teachers, and this is what Learning without
Burden report as well did, but NCF goes beyond that aspect of burden
and attempts to broad-base curriculum for holistic learning through, for
example integration of education with work, education for peace… So,
what are your thoughts, Professor on the pedagogic preparation specifi-
cally of teachers and their agency?
KK: I would start my response to this question by talking about the…pres-

sure under which teachers work and the textbooks that NCERT pro-
duced, at least some of them, specifically try to address that issue by
giving an option, for example, our grade 3, grade 4, grade 5 textbook of
environment studies, our Class 9 and 10 textbooks of the history part of
the social sciences. They carried a clear instruction in the beginning
itself that this entire textbook need not be completed. In fact, the histo-
rians went as far as saying any four chapters of this textbook of grade
9 will do. You can choose any four chapters and teach them rather than
teach all the ten. And similarly grade 3, 4, 5 environment study text-
books, textbooks saying, the title with “Looking around” clearly said
that you can choose whichever chapters you think are most appropriate
to your situation, leave the rest. Now while seeing that NCERT was
trying to mould entrenched culture in which a textbook reflects the syl-
labus and the syllabus reflects the examination. And hence if the exam
is going to cover the whole syllabus, the idea has been that therefore
the whole textbook will have to be taught during the session. Now, we
gave this option to teachers and teachers are always under this pressure
to complete the textbook so at least some committees involved thought
that maybe this can be addressed by saying you don’t have to teach the
whole textbook, teach any four lessons, for example. Now, it’s amaz-
ing that the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, which is one of the first or
primary users of NCERT textbooks, its one thousand schools which
are part of the CBSE system, they found that freedom given to teachers
intolerable. They issued an instruction in a proper order saying that the
following four chapters shall be taught in these indicated system which
tells you something about the psychology of the system, that this lit-
tle freedom that the textbook makers tried to give was not acceptable.
And in some other parts of the country, we got the responses saying
that this is too confusing. NCERT should have said which chapters can
be dropped, which can be, need to be taught and so on. They found
it bewildering – the schools, the principals and others. So, I am using
this example to point out that before we move on to the pedagogic
domain of the teachers’ autonomy, let’s register that the teacher is not
treated as a professional in our system because autonomy comes only
when the status is intact that you are a professional, you can make
your own decisions. This is something unacceptable in our system. The
school teacher cannot make his own/her own decision. That’s how the
system is operated for more than a hundred fifty years now. Now we
come to the pedagogy question and that question becomes resolvable by
these two aspects. One, that the teacher is under tremendous pressure
from the school authorities, from the directorate of Education, from
whichever system she is part of, the teacher is under pressure to just fill
up all the days with stipulated amounts of teaching to be done, topics
to be done. And in one of the leading organisations namely Kendriya

Vidyalaya Sangathan, they have worked out each weeks’ time so that
from Srinagar or Jammu in the north to Calicut in the south, every
KVS will be exactly following the same pace. And the tests to be taken
will follow exactly the same pace across this vast diverse country. KVS
really sets that draconian tone, which gives no room to teacher to say
that look, my children are doing very well with this activity, let them
carry on the activity, in say, environment science. Most of the activity
require a lot of time, flexibility, work in exploring, the surroundings of
the school, for example and so on. No, that freedom is just not avail-
able. You got to finish according to the schedule given to you for the
tests. Now under those conditions, the pedagogic space that the text-
books try to create or stretch rather, even in the hands of best teachers,
the best possible trained teachers, became a very, crunched sort of, very
suffocating space. And that is the point now at which we can move to
the pedagogic space which the teacher training, tries to, in some insti-
tutions, at least, offer to teacher so at least give them an idea that hey,
here is the space, use it. Well, even in the best of institutions and I have
served in one of them, it used to be a very good institution for many,
many years of my career. Even in the best of institutions, when trainees
were taught like that in the institute that yes, use this space, use your
time according to how much time it will take for a child of let’s say, ten
years of age, to learn this concept…use that knowledge that we have
given you to decide your pace. These teachers, even during their train-
ing, when they hit the school, where they were supposed to practice
their teaching skills, were clearly told that “ye sab nahichalega”, you
finish this topic within these two days, and so whatever idealism the
teachers acquired from the training institute were just crushed within
a few days by the school. And, subsequently, when they become a full-
time teacher, let’s say they are lucky enough to get a job immediately
after training and some of their idealism is still intact and now, they
feel okay, now is the time for me to do something. One of the studies
carried out in my institute itself points out through empirical research
that it takes about three years for that idealism to, be sort of weathered
out by the pressures on the teacher, the pressures the school puts and
it means the parents as the origin of the pressure. Whether the parents
are responsible or not, nobody really cares but the school, the senior
teachers, the principal, the department heads, the managers, manag-
ing committee – all come together to tell the teacher – this is the pace
you follow. And it takes very little time for young teachers to lose that
sense of autonomy, idealism that they had picked up. And I am talking
now about the best of institutions, where the pedagogic process was
handled with subtlety and care, and it was linked with this question
of pace at which knowledge is negotiated with the child’s capacities in
terms of age, and in terms of their resources, and in terms of the topics,
own requirements, their epistemological requirements. So, to cut this
long point short, the pedagogic question is not simply related to the
quality of the training, which can be, and is, and has become more and
more of an issue in many, many more institutions. As NCTE becomes
increasingly incapable of using its authority to cultivate some progres-
sive ideas, and increasingly the sector is commercialised, privatised and
so on, so forth. I am not even going into those issues. NCTE’s domain
in which NCERT had no say, or the CBSE issue, or the other boards
issues, I am not even going into them. I am saying, even in, under the
best of conditions, the teacher in India does not have that pedagogic
autonomy. We sometimes think that perhaps in the primary grades it
has, and by the secondary and senior secondary grades, it diminishes.
Well, it actually diminishes right from the beginning, right from grade
one, and it’s nothing of it is left by the time you hit the boards. So, that’s
the response I’d like to give to the question you asked.
MR: So…there are also studies that show that this idea of what it means to
teach…of covering the syllabus, for example, or maintaining discipline
in class or a certain set pedagogic activities that the teacher is expected
to carry out. As Padma terms it, there is this ‘teachering device’ that
teachers have imbibed for themselves so on the one hand there is this
aspect of it, and on the other hand, systemically, as you are also point-
ing out teacher education is entrenched in inflexible structures, so even
though NCTE through NCFTE, for example, has tried to bring in some
of these reforms to the pedagogic aspects of teacher education. So, do
you see this as an impasse? Are we somewhere stuck in this kind of an
imagination that we are just not able to come out of?
KK: Well, what do we mean by “we”?…We are looking at a vast system,
which attempts to pull itself together as a whole, across this country,
when we talk about our country. Instead, I think if we focus on spe-
cific spaces, individual schools, individual teachers, then the picture does
change. You do come across many schools, many teachers where, on
account of various little steps taken by the school at the local level, such
spaces get created. And then we begin to see that if there is an impasse,
it’s an impasse in our thinking, in the way we reflect on the system as a
whole or on, in India as a whole, forget about the diversity in the states,
the practices of the state and these specific systems like KVS or CBSE or
Navodaya Vidyalaya and all that. I think it’s partly the academic imagi-
nation also, which has, which fails to create a sufficiently accommoda-
tive discourse, of teaching, that we are never able to reach an accurate,
kind of description, never able to create an accurate enough, a descriptive
kind of portrait, and therefore, keep on thinking in terms of the “we”. I
think we need to, I feel that if we deconstruct the “we”, then things begin
to kind of look different and then also we then better appreciate the kind
of historical pressures that the system continues to deal with and the lack
of clarity with which it deals with it. I mean for instance the bureaucrats,
have absolutely no clarity. The Yash Pal report was submitted in 93 and
in 96, I recall one of my M.Ed. students, to come and ask of doing
a thesis on “Familiarity of the Directorate of Education in Delhi with
Yash Pal report” – that literally was the topic. And she interviewed some
twenty officials of the Directorate, including some officials of the Delhi
Municipal Committee which runs a few thousand schools. I think some
20 or 22 total number of officials. And out of those 22 officials, includ-
ing one IAS officer and the other of a really high rank, she found “one”
(laughs), who had heard about the Yash Pal report, three years after it
was submitted and even, he had not read it. So, this is an example of the
very, very limited communication, very limited discourse that, “we” –
by “we”, I mean academia, are able to create and sustain – in this very
important part of our world mainly, the officialdom, the bureaucracy.
The world of the judiciary which we were talking about two weeks ago,
that’s a still distant world. There, of course, nobody now remembers,
either a Yash Pal or NCF, but even the bureaucracy doesn’t, which has
to execute from day today. And that was just one study, I think if you
had larger studies on this…how many officials are aware of these vari-
ous documents, those who are posted in the education department, or
who have grown up with it, how many of them have some knowledge on
their fingertips about what’s going on in the system. I think you will find
very few, I mean I am reminded this evening of something J.P. Naik had
told me. He said, after the Kothari commission was submitted, and after
the parliament had discussed it and had approved the recommendations,
in Maharashtra, a kind of a, an order which said – from here onwards,
all education in the state of Maharashtra will be child centred (laughs).
This was approved by a competent authority. We are talking of 1967 or
so. Now,…it tells us how little Kothari had percolated in this to know
that the way to bring about reform and Kothari had presented a whole
gamut of reforms and everything, you know, reforms have to be under-
stood by everybody, and that everybody has to stay in the system, you
can’t transfer, you know, in my term with NCERT, Maharashtra had
some five secretaries in five years, how many could you deal with? How
many would know what we discussed in the last meeting, and so on.
This is just giving an example. Every…most states are similar. Officers
come and go. And once the senior officer is transferred within a few
months, or maybe one and a half, two years at the most, the juniors
then begin to feel well, let’s listen to the new man and he may have come
from God knows where. So, these are systemic issues that cannot be
separated. Because they create systemic memory loss, of these issues of
reform that we are very concerned within the academia and we fail to
create a sustainable discourse.
MR: So this particular point is…a reality-check as such, but…one there is

the systemic memory loss of your context. And the other is also very
little history within institutions themselves…of reform efforts and the
learning that accrues from different attempts.
KK: Yes.
RK: So Sir, you know, this, this narration of the entire episode, makes me
think that percolating these ideas percolating to the teachers is rather
quite complex. And, there are multiple levels before the idea seeps into
the practitioner, which is the teacher. Now, I wonder whether it would
be fair enough, to use the construct of academic burden itself for teach-
ers as practitioners, and would it be a worthwhile category to kind
of, even explore the domain of practice within various contextual set-
tings? I mean, do you see a value of extending the idea of academic bur-
den, from the students as, you know, enshrined in Yash Pal Committee
report, to kind of mapping the concerns and issues that relate to the task
of teaching or the issues of teachers?
KK: Actually, the Yash Pal report hints at the teacher’s burden as well,
the weight on teacher’s shoulder, and NCF certainly does, in several of
its focus group reports, it mentions that the burden that the teachers
carry and why they should be the objects of our end to see, in soci-
ety and in the universities and so on. Why the school teacher ought
to be empathised with and sympathised with, and it does need to be
explored. But the word explore is a bit too…open. I think it has to be
probed in relation to this very big systemic force, namely the bureau-
cracy, which governs all three aspects actually. I mean, at the Centre in
Delhi, in the sense of the state government of India. Its, one feels a bit
lucky that the NCERT is not run by an IAS officer, at least not so far.
But every other institution you talk about, is directly under this kind
of thing, whether it’s the central government institutions like NVS or
KVS, etc. In some states, even SCERT, is under the charge of an IAS
officer. And there’s very littlepossibility unless we take the bureaucracy
into account in our research, we won’t get very far. The late Vinod
Raina had rightly become a campaigner for the revival of the old IES,
the Indian educational service, which the British had started, and then
wound up around early 1930s, because of financial constraints, and so
on. And Vinod made quite a point when he said that you need to have
a bureaucracy that is dedicated to education, and whose rank is, whose
status is high, and who, and into which induction is possible, laterally,
and this bureaucracy is the only one that will feed the education, that
will serve the education system he is saying. I think that idea has some
meaning because our system is, is so dependent on the bureaucrats,
who, you know, who really are the sort of steel frame of the education
system, and not just the policing in the country. If they don’t understand
what the academic discourse is, since independence, the discourse of
reform in education, if they have no direct exposure to it, or they have

no memory of (prior) reform efforts etc, then, very little can be really
understood how or why the system fails to function. I had the occasion
twice to go to this Mussoorie based Indian administrative academy,
where fresh recruits from the IAS are given their six-month orientation.
And the module that I was invited under had basically three sessions in
education in those six months. And in those three sessions, two were
really devoted to finance and administration, only one had some space
for academic concerns, you can imagine, and that’s for the young IAS.
Later in life, you hardly ever come to know…if you are a joint Secretary
serving, let’s say state government as Secretary of Education, or you
happen to be in government of India as Secretary, you will hardly ever
get exposed to any academic concerns. In our NCF steering committee,
you will notice that Anita Kaul was included in the steering committee.
She was at that time secretary of NCERT, joint secretary in government
of India and she used to say that this is an absolutely rare exposure. And
she was one of the most dedicated officers I’ve ever seen. And she found
it remarkable that, you know, there was so much that the steering com-
mittee exposed her to. So, it’s just an example and that’s a very, very
rare case, ever to happen in a long time in history of education.
RK: Actually, as a lead to this, you know, the NCF 2005 exercise, in many
ways, opened up diverse kinds of possibilities. And one of these possi-
bilities was also exploring the idea of integrating work in education, or
looking at arts and heritage crafts as an important part of educational
space, looking at inclusive education, and also peace education, that
came. So, in other words, there was a certain kind of an openness to
a variety of ideas, and it kind of expanded the horizon of educational
fold, particularly at the school level. So, in that sense, you know, when
this reformed imagination was taking place, what kind of responses, we
wonder, would have come from practitioners? Because, on one hand
they have this pervading belief of a lot being thrusted upon them, and
at the same time, we have this discourse of relooking at the curricular
spaces with these aspects, which were otherwise bucketed together as co-
curricular or some kind of extracurricular activities? Could you reflect
on a few of your experiences and share with us as to how, whether there
was a tension or a conflict in, how these ideas were being responded to
by the practitioners?
KK: That’s a very interesting question. And it evokes certain memories in
this sort of immediate moment. Early on, the steering committee became
aware that the scene in which it was reflecting on reforms, were very
fragmented, a good number of small, sort of, subsidiary subjects, you
call them, or sub subjects had sort of cropped up over the years. And
we’re eating up the time of schools and teachers. I mean, consider, for
example, let’s say, population education, or adolescent education or in
some cases, even environment education was in that category of teeny

tiny programmes, or life skills learning. And I can name at least six or
seven like that if I could recall them, some of them are mentioned in the
NCF, I think, chapter three. How did these come in to the very other-
wise, already very burdened and crowded school timetable? …that you
have to find time for life skills now, all you have to find time for popu-
lation education once a week, or once a fortnight, or, or sex education
or adolescent education, and so on, so forth. Quite a bit of discussion
took place, in fact, we had some teachers also on the steering commit-
tee, we got some responses from others. And we learned that these had
over the years got pushed into the system, by external agencies, United
Nations agency on population created enough pressure to that become
a part of the CBSE system that there should be some time devoted to
learning about the implications of population education, and what it
would mean to then control it and so on. The life skills idea came from
the World Bank, and so on. And then various other little things. So, we
felt that it was a strange terrain to walk over. Similarly, values educa-
tion, that’s another thing. And the discussion, tried to sort of grasp this
reality creatively to see what does it mean, if life skills are not part of
science learning or social science learning or, or any language learning,
mathematics learning, then that means something is wrong with the
teaching of these subjects? How can life skills be separated from these
mainstream subjects? Similarly, values, I mean, doesn’t science give you
values like, you know, being objective and accurate? Isn’t scientific tem-
per itself a collection of values? So, how can you teach value education
by itself, in the name of moral development, etc., and separated from
how you learn literature or science or history or anything. So…that’s
the kind of discussion that moved NCF towards realising that this frag-
mentation of the curriculum has to be controlled somehow, and each
of these main subjects has to be redefined in a manner that it includes
what people think we miss. So, let’s redefine science, let’s redefine social
sciences, mathematics, and language and literature. These are the four
main areas in which our national focus groups try to…work in the first
set. There are three sets of focus group papers, take the first set and
they tried to redefine these subjects so that these fragmented bits of cur-
riculum which eat up time, can be put to sleep. Now, we didn’t succeed
completely. In fact when their state responses started to come, in June of
2005, quite a few states said no, no this is doing very well, for example
Karnataka, pleaded for, continuation of life skills and so on. And, so,
NCF tries to sort of very subtly deal with this issue and point out the
problems in separating life skills from the rest of the curriculum, or, so
it’s in that context that these broad categories emerged, and we felt that
whatever is called ‘extra’ curriculum, in fact ought to be seen as part of
children development and therefore, curriculum. And the best way to
do that would be through, put it under bigger categories, so that Art

includes theatre dance, visual work and music. And the national focus
group was led by a great vocalist like Shubha Mudgal, whose group
had so many eminent art teachers from various institutions, including
shanti Niketan and where not, and they beautifully tried to define an
art curriculum, which begins with a general, sort of exploratory expo-
sure in early, earlier part of childhood and later on allows for, diver-
sification and, and picking up things that the child might want to do
specially, and that involved national school of drama and various other
institutions to go up to grade 12, and great hopes that aroused by that,
that this will settle the problems that we have in excluding the arts.
Similarly, this question of peace education, we thought if you read the
focus group report of these education, that was a big issue there should
it be a subject or should it be infused in every aspect of the curriculum
and it’s the latter argument that ultimately prevailed and NCF endorses
this idea that this, that each subject area should be investigated in terms
of how its content reflects values that we associate with peace and jus-
tice in society, justice without, I mean peace without justice is not sus-
tainable, so let’s look at all the areas of knowledge and all the topics
we teach, the pedagogic processes of, from the perspective of peace and
make reforms possible. And similarly the heritage crafts area, which is
dovetailed with art, and at the same time also invokes many issues and,
in contemporary economic realities was served by a remarkable focus
group paper, written under the leadership of Laila Tyabji, who runs
dastkar, and it attempts to show how heritage crafts are at the very
centre of livelihood issues and questions of how we define learning for
vast numbers of children; and Gandhi is, is invoked in mentioned, that
the person thought that this is the area which will revive the entire cur-
riculum and make education meaningful, so that’s the big of the history
of these debates which tried to create a more recovered sort of sanctity
of the four main areas of curriculum, namely language, maths, science
and social sciences, and explored more carefully these remaining sort of
areas which, in the school life had got sort of fragmented into annual
function kind of activities for the VVIP, whether it’s art or values, so
on, so forth.
RK: I’m just reminded of the critique that came from the Chaturvedi report,
Sir, sharp contrast of this formulation. So, one of this major critique
was about the idea of decentralisation…of framing the curriculum. This
Chaturvedi report has actually gone on to take the polar view, that,
perhaps decentralisation is not a feasible or a practical thing. And, we
were wondering where was the locus of this critique. Was it in terms of
the incapabilities of the teacher, or the impracticality that is, within the
system, or a complete faith in a certain hierarchised way of, implement-
ing or planning the curriculum?
KK: The locus was in perceptions. Chaturvedi himself was a senior IAS
officer. And, there’s very little doubt in the minds of people who have
worked in the ministry or the directorates or the various other organi-
sations of the government, that there is the tendency to keep the system
under the grip of administrative roles, that tendency is not only very
entrenched and old, and familiar, that’s the tendency which we must
not lose, if we want to achieve greater levels of accountability, and
quality, etc. In the more recent years, quality discourses, accountability,
transparency, all these discourses have revived that old tendency, which
comes down to us from fairly early British days, when the system was
taking root… Rulebook, in fact, became the most important part of
the system and the rulebook had to be implemented by the officer con-
cerned. So, Chaturvedi was merely reiterating, a great fear that once you
let go, everything will go. How will you restart government, which did
many years later, prescribe what colour of blouse and what colour of
saree every teacher should wear? And they eventually, you know, chose
black for the blouse and pink for the saree, and justification given, in a
national level meeting was that, such a dress will make the teacher more
visible in the community. So, if the teacher is not in the class, and is
somewhere, roaming around somewhere, everybody will notice, and so
on. This degree of doubt in the integrity of the Indian teacher, that the
very powerful bureaucracy, maintains as their understanding of reality.
And, this is a purely perceptual reality. I mean, Yash Pal himself was
very committed to remaining curious about how different schools are
doing, even within the government system, let alone the private system,
that there may be, there must be many, many schools doing something
differently, and that faith was justified. But look at Heritage Crafts, we
just mentioned it. When it was floated as a subject, NCERT can only
propose, that it be an optional subject for grades 11, 12. We prepared
textbooks with tremendous effort and passion. Well, we have Ashok
Ganguly in CBSE, we were able to persuade him that CBSE will accept
this subject for grade 12 exams. Now in a system which, at that time
had something like 13,000 schools affiliated to CBSE, seven schools
came up to offer it and we were delighted, that seven schools in the
country actually think that this can be a grade 12 optional, at the same
level as physics, chemistry, arts. We were delighted, four years later
I learned, that the number of institutions teaching it is too small and
therefore it’s being withdrawn, and then those poor seven schools who
had exercised some autonomy, they were told to now choose some-
thing else. So, that’s how, that’s how the system sort of, deals with
the attempts made by its members to seek, you know some freedom,
some spaces. The other board, private boards often, we believe have
more space, but that’s not true either. The problem of burden is even
more severe in the ICSE system. Just a year ago, I had a terrible, a
very tragic sounding letter from a teacher I had once trained in my

institute, who serves in Kerala, and is now a very senior teacher, and
sent me the syllabus he is supposed to cover in grade six. He says that
you will weep, sir, if you look at the syllabus (laughs) and, you know
it was terrible. And there’s no reason why a private board cannot be
more considerate or match age groups and time and so on, in topics
according to the needs of the syllabus. But no, they just have piled up
topic after topic, and that kind of competition is all over the system, so
decentralisation is a very modest deal which cuts very little eyes with
the higher bureaucracy in the states themselves, forget about the union
government bureaucracy. Within the state, I mean, I have experience of
working with three or four states in particular. I tried in Maharashtra,
Bihar where I personally visited a few times, Tamil Nadu, and in each
of these cases I realised that, the education minister who was a member
of the NCERT’s general body, every minister’s member, had no say,
the only minister who matters in the state is the chief minister. And,
and the only one who matters in the overall picture is the secretary.
It’s that tightly managed, our system. So, if the lower-level officials are
convinced of something, they don’t have the kind of say in the system.
Decentralisation yes, is a very, very important value, but it requires
faith, trust a certain degree of, you know, generosity to let go.
Would suggest, if you have more questions, we can meet again this
Friday…It’s a very interesting and somewhat endless subject to deal
with the Yash Pal report.
MR: Alright, so some of these aspects we would certainly like to explore
further, the aspect of burden on teachers and teacher education and
regulation specifically, in the context of decentralisation that you just
mentioned. Thank you very much, Professor.

KK: Okay so where shall we start this time because i have my own agenda
but you can start.
MR: We will begin with this aspect of subjects that you had had spoken
about…some of the authors of this edited volume have also written
about it…so we thought we will begin today’s discussion with the bur-
den of school subjects and we will be very interested in learning from
you how and why some reduced while others in a sense have piled on
in fact.
KK: Ahh…okay so let me start by saying the thing to remember is the defi-
nition which Yash Pal report gives of burden and the definition is that
is the burden of incomprehensibility so when we look at the range of
subjects after the NCF 2005, became less burdensome I would say radi-
cally less burdensome in the sense of becoming more comprehensible
whereas some other subjects did not do so well. I personally don’t think
that any subject became harder but certainly more incomprehensible
but yes, the progress was very uneven and the question is why and
which subjects worked better which subjects did not in terms of becom-
ing comprehensible that…children could read these textbooks, enjoy
them on their own, even if a good teacher was not available i mean
that was really the criteria on which I would say that subjects compre-
hensibility can be judged and in that respect if we look at…what used
to be the territory of civics and became politics why that did so well as
to become sort of the best performer on this issue of comprehensibil-
ity from grade 6 to 12 and same could be said of history, quite well
but geography didn’t do too well. [Grade] 11, 12 sciences didn’t do all
that well whereas 9, 10 science did better and 6, 7, 8 did much better.
Mathematics in the primary grades did much better than in the mid-
dle grades and senior grades and about languages the four languages
– Hindi, English, Sanskrit and Urdu had very different stories. Sanskrit
textbooks of NCERT are the least used but that’s where actually the
maximum achievement was in terms of comprehensibility especially the
earlier grades six to eight even 9, 10, I would say. In Hindi, we did
reasonably well in the primary grades but not so well in the later grades
although parts of the middle grades are better now. Why did these sub-
jects in NCERT (books) did better than others on the scale of compre-
hensibility, and thereby reduction of a sense of burden onto them? That
is the most important question, I think, for us to remember the Yash
Pal report with what makes a subject bit more comprehensible when
represented as a textbook. That is, where the critical issue is. And in
between there is a document which nobody really consults very much –
the syllabus document. How that became the battleground for the older
approach to knowledge, as opposed to the new approach to knowledge
of better structuring, of the epistemology of the subject, greater regard
for the child’s own growth in terms of cognitive development, and how
much of that could be reflected in the making of the syllabus. Why
did some syllabus committees work better? And their achievement was
further reflected or enhanced by the textbook committees, etc. It’s too
short a dialogue for me to go into all these aspects. But let’s take the
case of one or two illustrative problems.
The case of civics versus social political life as it’s now called, and
political science later, that is a unique case. How much better it became,
the subject is unrecognisable. If you see some old yardsticks to the new
ones, this whole question of teaching children about the state, and its
relationship with society, power, and those kinds of issues. But if we
take the instance of middle school science, and history almost through-
out (all grades), why did they become better? My answer would be
that these two subjects had been sort of ploughed, so to say the use
of metaphor from the field of farming, they were ploughed already

by devoted institutions which wanted to make them more child cen-
tred. I think we greatly benefited in science at all stages, generally,
but particularly middle grades, from the work of Kishore Bharati and
Hoshangabad science, which was so deep, it was done in the 70s. And
its inheritance was available for the kind of work that both NCF and
NCERT was doing. Same is true of history, because of the long-stand-
ing controversy. Several historians, young as well as middle aged or sen-
ior ones had had time to think about the issues in history. And what it
would mean to make history more professionally engaged with, so that
children can approach it better, becomes more comprehensible. They
had had time to think about these things over decades almost. And the
debates had gone deep enough that the team that worked on it, I should
say the teams that worked on history, could benefit from that heritage
of debates. Now, such debates didn’t exist in teaching of, let’s say, geog-
raphy, certainly not in mathematics, where some good work was done.
But nothing very comprehensive in terms of debates or discussions
about what makes mathematics so child unfriendly in most states or in
NCERT itself. In the middle of all that, primary mathematic did bet-
ter. We had a team that had the experience of working in Eklavya and
some other institutions. And they did exceptionally well. They knew
what the problems are, but that work could not extend beyond grade
five because of various other reasons. Subjects like geography had no
heritage of discussion or debate. Their epistemologies had never been
ploughed so to say, or discussed threadbare, how to make geography
more child friendly… It’s a beautiful subject to be brought closer to
children. And there are excellent debates in other countries on what
would make a difference to geography teaching. But in India, there is
no debate, there has never been a discussion. The academics have failed
us in a way. And in the absence of academic debate at the higher levels,
school education cannot really be improved, in my opinion. So this is a
brief sort of beginning of an answer to why this very uneven terrain that
some subjects did exceptionally well, some didn’t do so well. In political
science, social political life, the Yash Pal report itself had given a specific
recommendation in 1993, that civics as a subject as its presently taught,
should simply be dropped. And it had given some insight into what it
ought to be replaced with. So that these ideas like children getting to
know what are what is state, what are its structures, what is its relation
with society, these become available to children in the context of con-
temporary issues and problems, so that some critical engagement is pos-
sible. And in fact, NCF itself gives you a very sharp example of water
in one of its chapters. And that discussion in NCF document helped.
Also, the National Focus Group on Social Sciences helped the teams
that worked on social and political life grade 6 to 8, our most enduring
achievement in NCF, in my view, (in) these reforms, even though higher

academics were involved, many teachers were also involved. And they
were able to bring a completely fresh kind of perspective on how poli-
tics should be taught. I think one of the best textbooks produced in
the whole range was politics in India since independence…grade 12.
And I know that textbook has just transcended ideological barriers in
India, the latest state to take over textbooks produced in those days in
the social sciences in grade 9 to 12, is the state of Uttar Pradesh, which
today politically stands in the far right. And yet it has this time adopted
our textbook, many other states had already done it in transcending
sort of party limits, because the professional quality of the work is so
refined, you can say thanks to not just the textbook committees, but
also the National Monitoring Committee (which) the government had
set up to probe deeply whether we had actually worked for the kinds of
things that were in mind that were assigned to us and so on. Anyhow,
I must stop because otherwise, other questions won’t be taken up, but
this epistemological terrain, I think of each subject area is where the
challenge for the future lies, and where some understanding is necessary
for students of education when they study these textbooks not as chil-
dren but as adults in order to understand what the problem of learning
without burden was as identified by that early report.
MR: And this actually makes a lot of sense and the particular analogy that
you use metaphor that you used, of ploughing, I think is really very
powerful. There is an allied question. I mean, this is both an epistemo-
logical as well as a pedagogic question related to fluency and compre-
hension that one of the authors of the book has written. Arindam?
AB: Ya…Professor Subramanium in his chapter for the forthcoming vol-
ume refers to how the NCF (2005) actually took a leaf from Yash Pal
Committee’s recommendation. And he then talks about mathematisa-
tion as one of the goals of mathematics learning and teaching. But before
I go there, I have a question. In the late 50s, when Russia sent Sputnik
to the space, education in the USA…because they felt they were falling
behind in the cold war time…and something of what is known as Math
war really started off. It has had a debate between understanding and
fluency issues…should the syllabus, move towards building understand-
ing, or should it inculcate fluency, you know, use of arithmetical opera-
tions and real-life, practice-driven? Now, the question is…we don’t see
a parallel of that in Indian education system. I would like to hear from
you about any kind of thoughts of even taking cognisance of these kinds
of debates that was going on elsewhere in the world, and with the India
community here? How did we pick or react to those ideas?KK: The
ideal person to respond to this question would actually be Professor
Ramanujam of IIMS, who was a member of the steering committee, and
who also chaired the teaching of Mathematics National Focus Group,
and was already very deeply involved in the work of the mathematics
teachers’ forum in Tamil Nadu, when he joined us in this enterprise. He
would be the right person to really say what all happened in the NCF
related activities, and what all could not happen for various reasons.
But as for the historical debate, I think the Cold War, reflection
in teaching of science and mathematics in American reforms did in
fact, travel to India…that post Sputnik thinking of America, especially
Bruner’s book, “The process of education”, did make its mark in India
to the extent that it got translated into Hindi as well, and was fairly
widely circulated in the 70s and continues to be still read in some BEd
colleges. Now, Professor Bruner himself disowned some of that book
later in life, saying that it was much too contextualised in that cold war
competitiveness because basically, the book argues that the structure of
a subject if it’s organised like a spiral, anything can be taught almost
to anyone as sort of…old Socrates kind of position in history of teach-
ing, so long as the subject knowledge is organised, well, or in relation
to the logic of the subject itself, anything can be taught at any point.
And so, we can – the word that was used earlier this evening – we can
pile up things, if we organise them better. In curriculum theory, we
call it “academic rationalism”. And in India that has really gone on,
you might say, unfortunately, much too energetically till, it was chal-
lenged at least in primary grades by the textbook committee, which
was led by Professor Anita Rampal who steered through this debate
whether children in primary grades need to learn those technical opera-
tions the technical name for those operations in early grades or should
they be learning mathematics in the context of experience and I think
those textbooks called “Mathemagic” grade 1 to 5 are in my mind
very good examples of the attempt to bring mathematics closer to lives
of children. Why didn’t we have (them so) from grade six onwards is
another debate. But Bruner’s ideas in India were quite well received
I should say and not challenged enough partly because I think in the
field of mathematics that question of all children having the having the
pleasure of learning mathematics or developing competency in it was
never taken up. Somehow mathematics remained an area in which a
firm belief prevails in India both, among mathematicians and in the
wider society…including teachers and others that mathematics is not
everybody’s cup of tea and that those who are somehow endowed to
do well in it will do well in it in any case. And the job of schools is to
kind of encourage them or you know spot them early or encourage
them and so on so forth – there are hidden layers of gender discrimi-
nation in this debate there are hidden layers of slow learning versus
gifted learning debates within it but when it comes to mathematics my
own impression is that our social ethos promotes this kind of a “Social
Darwinism” and to my mind the person who was eminently suited
to challenging full scale was in charge of at least the National Focus

Group on Mathematics, Professor Ramanujam. He did as best as he
could in the middle of enormous criticism and opposition for the senior
levels in which other people were involved to produce better materials
better syllabus so and so forth. In Tamil Nadu itself he’s tried to steer
this reform just about three years ago when the reforms began under
the present government in Tamil Nadu and he should be interviewed if
you want to know what his own experience was in his state – of how
to bring mathematics closer to the lives of children and also to create
interdisciplinary bridges – something that was very high value for Yash
Pal, personal value as well as the value we espoused in both the early
report and in NCF, namely that if subjects are linked there were good
couplings available for the full domain of knowledge and everything
will become more comprehensible and mathematics as of course ideally
suited to serve as a coupling device. But that’s not the way it sort of
is perceived in our ethos to this day and that’s a very long answer…I
should have shut up now and let you ask more things.
AB: No, that was nice. Professor Subramaniam attributes the roots of
the core pedagogical vision of constructivism articulated in NCF
2005 particularly it goes back to “Learning without Burden” report.
KK: That’s very true. I think that’s a true statement that we are not espous-
ing a radical constructivist position but a moderate constructivist posi-
tion in which the child’s experience and…when we say child we mean
children in very, very different social, economic, conditions. You know
NCF front cover depicts childhood in different parts of the society in
our very unequal society and for subject to become comprehensible to
all children with due differences of achievement is important that the
subject gets really knocked down in terms of experiences available to
children in different locations in the social hierarchy, caste hierarchy,
gender hierarchy and so on so forth. And the Darwinist approach in
learning which prevails in different measures in different subjects, but
previous quite acutely in mathematics has to be challenged for that to
happen. And in sciences, this is what Anil Sadgopal had achieved in the
sciences in the Hosangabad project. And he was also criticised. And
ultimately, those (Eklavya) textbooks were removed (from Madhya
Pradesh schools) 30 years later on the charge, that they make things
too simple, or that they reduce the so-called academic difficulty level,
something that was charged against NCF as well. I mean, we received
enormous number of such complaints and letters and attacks from
across the country. But once the NCF was out, the textbooks were out
three years later, people wrote that, how will our children now do well
in IIT when the syllabus has been know so much simplified, what we’ll
teach there’s nothing left to teach in many subjects, because children
can understand themselves and so on. I mean, these kinds of attacks
are part of the NCERT archive of letters, to see how society…many

elements in society perceives any attempt to make learning more com-
prehensible, make curriculum more comprehensible, and give children
a taste of learning as Yash Pal called it – out of their own efforts, which
then can be further enhanced by teaching.
AB: And I think this was first time ever if we go back to the history of maths
education as well in India, first time, when we put the effort towards
mathematisation or, you know, mathematical communication and cog-
nitive development of mathematical ideas and practices, which to me,
also, is a way of moving towards comprehension…comprehensibility
and undoing the burden of incomprehensibility which was attached
with mathematics…because one of the reasons – of a high failure rate
– is also in mathematics. However, those who opt out of the system or
even outside of the system, due to mathematics, continue successful use
of mathematics, in the everyday context. Now, why is that? And finally,
my question to you in this regard is, how it took some 12 years, 13 years
for this to happen. And, I’m not sure today, I went to the Bihar SCERT,
and they have already started working on another Bihar Curriculum
Framework this time. I was wondering what else can you do? I would
like to ask you about some way forward in this regard. If you could just
let us share your insights on this.
KK: The point you made about the 12 years between Learning without
Burden, and NCF, I have already covered that we should not really
think in terms of years in India. Otherwise, we will say why did com-
mon school idea of Kothari actually died down after some time, so years
don’t matter. In fact, the hibernation periods have to be acknowledged
in terms of all kinds of things ranging from politics to changes in bureau-
cracy and changes in various other kinds of structures, especially at the
state level, lack of any appreciation of the academic preparedness or
involvement of senior academics or institutions, the recognition of insti-
tutions and various other things are there, which are systemic factors
that impede us all the time. Now, if you are asking for my understand-
ing of what might be sort of a, not a remedy, but a kind of an antidote
to this is the idea of an old idea, actually, of circulation of ideas. I mean,
it was the philosopher Dewey, who had pointed out that quality in
education depends on how well those who are involved in education
as a system at different levels and stages, how well they understand the
purposes of reforms. At each level, right from the lowest rung to the
highest, including the highest bureaucracy in our country. If an idea
circulates across these levels, so widely, then people understand what is
quality, and then the possibility of working together for improvement
of quality in different spheres of education, including subjects, organisa-
tion, curricular organisation, syllabus, working so and so forth, then it
improves, but ideas get stuck. And that’s where I feel very happy that
the minister at that time, literally ordered NCERT to translate NCF into
every language of the Eight Schedule of the Constitution.
No other document had had this remarkable…you can say challenge
and experience, we went through seven drafts when NCF was trans-
lated into Urdu. Each time I had to go back to the finance committee to
approve yet another round because the translation was found unsuit-
able by a monitoring committee. In many languages, we had this experi-
ence but in Urdu we had the worst you can say in terms of expenditure
involved. Translating this document into different languages gave a
much wider audience and possibility of circulation of the ideas of this
document, they got sort of knocked down – like the parts of the old
Ambassador car, which you could get repaired in any village in India,
and the reason was that the ambassador had got to kind of become
part of the Indian terrain, over the very long period during which it ran
across the country. And this happened to some extent, with…this trans-
lation business of NCF. That when it was being translated into Bodo,
people understood what the difficulties are of conveying these ideas, or
when it was translated into Maithili and forget about these major lan-
guages like Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, etc, that they were far easier
to cover…because these languages have had experience of translation.
We had good people to work on these, but many languages, had very
serious problems. And when those translated editions went across to
those states, it was really something appreciated at many levels by the
bureaucracy of that period. In fact, I vividly recall a very touching ques-
tion with somebody from Arunachal Pradesh, who was Secretary at that
time, asked in a national level meeting of Secretaries – organised by the
Ministry for some other purposes, but a slot was allotted to curriculum
– and this very sincere, senior bureaucrat had asked me, “I have read
all the textbooks…now I want to know, can we use your grade three
textbook in grade four?” I was really touched by that question. And I
said, “Sir, you are all powerful in your state, what stops you from doing
what you think is right?” The grade levels and these divisions that are
so tight in our system, if you can soften them for your children, it’s all
the best – that is the purpose of NCF to soften the system. And that was
possible, I think, because somebody there had understood the problem.
This fortune (of translations in local languages) eluded Kothari. The
Kothari report is available only in Hindi to this day – the full Kothari
report…the same thing for that wonderful report of 1953–1955 of
Mudaliar – never got translated into other languages and that makes
such a difference because ideas acquire a certain currency in a society
which is the way forward in my view for what you are asking whether
it’s happening in Bihar. So that is my answer – that we need better and
more intense circulation of ideas of these kinds which are actually quite
abstract, complex and so on.
RK: So sir, I was looking at the recommendations of the Learning without

Burden report and the 12th or the last recommendation is heavily focus-
ing on subjects and one of the interesting things that I noted was there
are many supports which look at suggestions from language, math, sci-
ence, history and geography. So the question that comes to my mind
is – it seems as if the notion of incomprehension is very varied in terms
of the various school subjects that the learners are going through and
therefore there seems to be an emphasis on certain aspects which are
subject specific. For example, mathematics – there is a suggestion of
pacing down of the concepts, whereas in language there is an empha-
sis on spoken medium and representation of child’s experiences and
sciences you have this kind of reducing on didacticism and increasing
more of observations and experiments and experiences through materi-
als and kinds. So has this been the case as expressed in reality or was it
understood through this process of engagement that the burden seeps
variously through the various subjects at the school level?
KK: Very much the latter – that the realisation only gradually dawned on
the various groups and committees and people that this issue of aca-
demic burden on children of stress on childhood which R.K. Narayan
has raised and which Yash Pal Committee has further investigated and
NCF been further sort of engaged with – that this issue of burden was
not a generalised kind of issue as many people think and come up with
generalised solutions like reducing the physical weight of books or vari-
ous other generalised solutions reducing the syllabus as currently hap-
pened in the COVID period – that you slash the syllabus by 30% or
whatever. The realisation that the issue of stress, burden, etc. even epis-
temological is a matter of engagement that occurs when a child tries to
make sense of what is being taught and precisely for that basic reason
it takes different forms – the problem manifests in different forms in
different subjects terrains…each subject has its own long, long history
in the course of which it has evolved a certain kind of an inner, rational
structure, relationship with nature, relationship with the human mind
and so on. When we think of teaching it to the young, in our own
history, different subjects has surfaced at different points. In the last,
let’s say, we just take up the history of 150 years of modern colonial
educational experience, then different subjects have certainly emerged
at different points and the experience of what that subject means in our
context, or its materials, what it means to us, where it’s coming from,
what kinds of metaphors it’s embedded in its pre-history, that say, polit-
ical economy as a subject inspired (in) Gopal Krishna Gokhale so much
that he changed his whole perspective on things. And now that subject
had appeared in the Indian colleges only quite recently, at that time.
Same is true of science. Look at Hindi – Hindi became a subject of inter-
mediate level only in 1920. And its history is very short, we still don’t
quite know how they ought to be negotiated across different states, at

the senior levels of grades, especially 9 to 12, and they were very seri-
ous problems of teaching even in sixth grade level, which some of the
groups engaged with. So what I’m saying is that, yes…your question
is absolutely on the dot, that the problem has to be understood in the
particular manifestation of burden in different subjects. And we should
not reduce subjects to simply broad disciplines either…because that also
is a problem of generalised sort of solutions. We have to look at school
subjects separately. And I think the worst in my experience of work-
ing in NCERT and afterwards, it has manifested in a subject in which
reforms just did not happen and are still not happening. And that is
Health and Physical Education. The country basically still doesn’t know
how to move forward in this respect. And, you know, the National
focus group on Health and Physical Education chaired by Professor
Rama Baru gives excellent recommendations. But the school terrain, the
school culture, the exam culture, and how physical education is…used
for training…teachers in BPEd or Bachelors of Physical Education is so
different from BEd, etc. All these problems haven’t allowed that subject
to even ponder on this topic. Why Physical education (is) so poorly car-
ried out in our country? Why health education is such a dark area…I
am just saying this is an example of how problem of burden manifests
in different subjects.
RK: Sir, as a lead from this discussion. In fact, the same point, the 12th
recommendation, also suggests the formation of a project team with
small subgroups to examine the syllabi and textbooks for all the school
classes. And it would look into the number of topics that are required
to be taught, number of concepts that are to be introduced and looking
at the feasibility of teaching vis-à-vis the time available for teachers.
A very realistic kind of an estimation. Now, this looks like a very nice
idea to me. But unfortunately, I have never been able to notice any kind
of a parallel structure or a parallel thought that has actually tried to
bring this idea into implementation. So, is there an ignorance on my
part or is there a lack of effort in terms of systematically engaging with
the breadth and the scope of ideas that need to be engaged with at each
level of learning?
KK: Yes, …And you have raised a very pertinent issue to which I would
like to add one more dimension. Sometime back, France had a commit-
tee chaired by the late eminent sociologist Pierre Bourdieu to look into
curriculum issues in France. And I recall reading his note summary in
which he says not only the time available for teaching a particular sub-
ject or its concept in school or time available to children at home and
the total time available for study in a child’s life in different sections of
society also need to be factored in, when we are preparing a sensitive
curriculum. To me that is a very important dimension that ought to be
taken into account even in higher education, when we think about the
study time that is available to students. Now, your question is whether
such an effort has been made? Now, under our syllabus group, which
the late Professor Hari Vasudevan in social sciences chaired this became
a very major issue in the social sciences. He as well as the broader NCF
committee with Yash Pal and everybody else had this feeling that we
must be committed to creating sort of interdisciplinary connections,
now in the sciences the integrated science idea had a history already by
then. How much integration happens is another question but at least
there was some sort of precedence and this time people tried to make
those links between physics, chemistry maths and physics, chemistry,
biology and so on, pointing out that there is a physics in biology, there
is a biology in chemistry and so on, some of that has happened. But
in the social sciences where it ought to have been perhaps more easy
we thought – from grade 6 onwards – we had a very different prob-
lem which Hari Vasudevan encountered. The moment this vast syllabus
committee started working for social sciences and the problem was that
the country was almost driven apart – it was totally polarised in terms
of the history controversy for more than three decades. And the histori-
ans were very keen to overcome this controversy in some way. Excellent
people who were young historians were aware that the school pedagogy
was way behind debates in history and they did not think that history
should now not be recognised as a separate subject in grade 6 onwards,
that we do need our space, they thought. Otherwise, there was plenty
of room for making links in history, economics, political science and so
on. So once history felt that its time has come to sort of solve a national
problem, a political problem – improve teaching of history so that all
these ideas of whether what was written in ancient times or what hap-
pened in so and so date – all these ideas became sort of obsolete con-
troversy. So (the historians) will not go for this merging of all the four
subjects of social sciences. Once that happened, we couldn’t do this for
geography, we couldn’t do this for social and political life and in 9th
and 10th (grades) even economics became separate. So, prima facie it
looked as if it became more burden being created and that was not true
at all. Each of the textbooks asked teachers to feel free not to teach
the whole textbook – rather do what Yash Pal has said – give a taste
of learning the subject and leave the rest to children. Well, that didn’t
happen – that was too tall an order and for the school timetable also
there were various recommendations made – but teacher’s time avail-
able should be factored in. How to organise all these variables in this
together? I do not think the problem was resolved in NCF 2005, in the
different subjects. Study of timetables in schools was commissioned, it
could not be completed in time and I think its records exists – how very
rigid way this (was) planned, which makes it impossible for projects
to be pursued. In fact, one of the last things that Hari Vasudevan tried
in 2009 towards the end of this whole reform was to create a project
book for the social sciences and for one level it was almost ready to go
to the press – for other things it was still under debate and discussions
But those books never came out, otherwise they would have shown
the way forward in the social sciences at least. Again there is a great
scope for that discussion so that schools timetables will begin to melt.
At this time, the school timetables are terrible examples of how rigid
and bureaucratic our school functioning is. And if you are thinking in
terms of environmental projects or projects of exploration of anything
in any of the sciences, it’s just impossible because any project takes
several weeks of time and our timetables are organised for weekly tests
and daily teaching of each subjects, so it is a seven-period timetable. It
is terribly, terribly crowded, and it defeats nearly all of these values and
purposes that you and I are discussing for the last two weeks. But still
the work has to go on. I mean I know there are some innovative schools,
some excellent schools which try to it the way we are talking about, But
systemically, this problem remains very, very serious
MR: Professor, I am very conscious that we have crossed one hour.
KK: Oh! My goodness (laughs). Yea, so we better stop and we can take
another time if you like.
MR: Thank you very much for being so gracious with your time. Just a cou-
ple of more points to add on to what you had discussed here. Professor
Ramanujam has also contributed a chapter to this edited volume that
we are bringing out. He critiques this idea of spiral curriculum and he
then basically points out that this deep rooted understanding of the
educator that you also brought out. Instead, he suggests the metaphor
of a garden to invoke an alternate structure of curriculum. So there
are at least two more areas of questions that we want to post to you,
Professor. This epistemological discussion today was indeed very useful
and it relates to what some of the authors of this book have also talked
about burden. Going forward, we would like to revisit some of the
aspects of pedagogy and teacher education, epistemic identity of teach-
ers, so these are things we wanted to discuss further with you. And if
you are up to it, understanding of NEP 2020 in the context of what we
have been discussing so far.
KK: Well, …before we come to this 2020 business. I think those other issues
you have raised we can take them up Tuesday?
AB, RK: Thank you, Sir.
T6: 23 February 2021 (Tuesday)

MR: We were broadly thinking of discussing three components when it
comes to teachers and teacher education – one is the epistemic identities
of the teacher in the context of what we discussed in the previous ses-

sions, about the subject and understanding of the burden…and the fact
that the system provides so little agency to the teachers you had also
pointed out that even so much as timetabling teacher is not provided
freedom, and given the fact that the teacher education programmes
themselves at best equips them with limited pedagogic, and the limited
knowledge of the subject domain themselves. So in that sense both the
general education in terms of preparing their epistemic identity and at
least as a subject teacher and the teacher education preparation in terms
of providing them with pedagogic knowledge both are weak. Added to
this is the fact that a lot has been written about teachers as object of
reforms. This, very broad context, we wanted to set the discussion for
today.
KK: As far as the Learning without Burden report is concerned it didn’t as
such look at teacher’s education – this report was more concerned with
how syllabus is conceptualised, how textbooks are prepared, and in the
committee the broad understanding or consensus was that textbooks
are so important in our system. The teachers task will change if text-
books are developed differently in the context of how each subject is
conceptualised, pacing of materials, and so on issues that we have
already discussed. So given that consensus or assumption that at that
time the committee didn’t really go into this now when it comes to the
next exercise of NCF (long pause)…at that time also quite a few people
thought that NCF should focus on curriculum. In fact one complaint
was that why didn’t they give an ideal timetable or why does it broaden
the issue so much etc. and it’s very obvious that the NCF process recog-
nised the broader systemic conditions in which curricular reforms
repeatedly either fail or achieve very limited improvement and therefore
it went into such a wide canvas of discussions and issues including
teacher education, even though as a jurisdiction teacher education was
not under NCERT, nor was examination reforms. But the discussion
did go into those directions and I think a focus group which sort of
guides to look at the linkages among the various systems was the one
that was chaired by Professor Shanta Sinha. It’s called systemic reforms.
And it’s from that focus group report that the last two chapters of NCF,
draw a lot of ideas as you will see. What you are raising – teachers’ self-
identity or professional identity, their placement in the system, their
professional rights – all of these, we are able to accommodate in
chapter 5. Some of these issues precisely because we felt that these are
very relevant to how teachers might become agents of curricular change
and that’s I think where certain histories lie. Because teachers have been
recognised in previous reports like the Chattopadhyay commission or
Kothari commission and so on as agents of social change but their role
in allowing internal change to occur in the system itself especially
curricular change related to the way knowledge is perceived and worked

out so to say, …in these various locations like syllabus, textbook, exam
and so on – that agency of the teacher has rarely been given sufficient
attention in these earlier documents. I’m not sure if NCF gives it enough
space but it does mention issues of teacher unions for example. They’re
significant from the point of view of building teachers’ self-identity,
their powers to bargain with the system, teachers’ location in the
school’s own authority structure – kinds of issues that Bernstein raised
in a broader sort of context of sociology of education. Those are also
recognised here in the context of local knowledge – in other matters
NCF recognises that teachers are a very important location for curricu-
lum change and the rest of this matter, in a way, is kind of assumed has
to be left to the institutions dealing with teacher education. Now, in
that context NCTE, of course, is the apex agency. Already it had a lot
of power at that time when NCF was prepared. Subsequently, some
meetings were held between NCERT and NCTE to see what more can
be achieved. But I think micro issues, which NCF had pointed out,
haven’t got discussed enough. And, the future also depends on how they
will add, when they will be discussed. For instance, a very important
micro issue is the relationship between teacher education institutions,
and schools, where teachers, young teachers are sent to try out what
they have learned to gradually get inducted into a regular teaching life.
Now, that relationship is a very fraught relationship – partly because
schools are very firmly sort of organised around their own priorities. So
some young trainee teachers come to the school they are expected to
adjust to the school and do exactly what they are told to do. And it’s
hard to find a school that will recognise the importance of these young
trainees in terms of bringing change to within the school itself. So the
idea is in chapter four of NCF like academic planning from below, and
issues like timetabling practices, and so on, on these matters, these
trainees are really kind of completely under servitude, during their
training programme. And that induction has a very deep socialising
impact on their later life when their training is over. And that’s a very
old problem of teacher education. And it’s been recognised around the
world and countries that have done something good in this – the ones
which created a strong bond of understanding and almost a social bond
between the Teacher Education Institute and the schools, which are
selected by the institute to send their teachers for what is known as
practical experience of school education, school teaching experience
and so on. In some countries, these bonds are built with things like din-
ner between school staff and Institute staff, or very close cooperation
between the two institutions to make sure that these young trainees are
treated with great respect when they arrive, given proper places to space
to sit and discuss things, and the existing staff of the school is kind of
encouraged to play a positive role in this relationship, rather than the

role in which the staff will make them feel that they were there to fit in
– to the teacher who fits into the system, as opposed to teacher who
changes the system – a guiding point that Chattopadhyay had recog-
nised. That report (by the Chattopadhyay Committee on teachers and
teaching) has a chapter on training, which was drafted by the late David
Horsburg. And this idea is kind of indicated there that teacher who fits
into the system will never make the system any different. So, the teach-
ers’ identity as somebody who will not fit into the existing system, but
see that the system is inadequate. In fact, the system is an obstacle to
society’s own desired transformation of change, etc. and therefore, will
help to soften the system – change the system. That’s the professional
identity question. I think it is very important from the point of view of
the Yash Pal recommendations which have to do with how syllabus is
best interpreted, how textbooks are prepared, interpreted, how they
link up with exams or assessment, testing, etc., all these –for the whole
gamut of tasks, the teacher’s professional identity is important. The
other issue, of course, is the teacher placement in the hierarchy of the
system. And that, again starts with the school where the principal is
even more powerful than it used to be. How the principals harnesses the
teacher’s energy, especially these young teachers’ energies during that
(school internship) period is very important. But when it comes to the
larger system, the Directorate’s relationship with schools and princi-
pals, that’s a terrible and very firm colonial legacy, it hasn’t changed one
bit - is indebted to default. The Directorate has enormous power, not
just in recruitment and so on, so forth. But Directorate is an institution
that simply does not budge at all. In some states, they call it now
Commissioner’s Office, doesn’t matter. But basically, as a legal author-
ity employing authority, the Directorate is a formidable institution, in
the life of teachers, and in all provinces like in Uttar Pradesh or Madhya
Pradesh, etc. In case of Delhi, for example, if you’re looking for the
most important centre of power in Delhi’s education system, it won’t
take you more than a week to realise that that centre of power is the
Directorate. Every teacher is scared of it. And the directorate, of course,
is directly answerable to the Minister, etc. But the Directorate has its
own power that it fully activated, controlling time, literally oppressing
the teacher. So, this issue of systemic reforms attends to look at power
relations, not just status relations, but actual exercise of power. And it
comes to pretty close to the kinds of issues that Chattopadhyay had
tried to raise in that 1984 report, National Teacher Commission report,
one of the least sort of heeded reports, in our history of so many other
reports. And even today, if you read it carefully, you will see that it
offers a lot of insights into how these status, power and identity issues
impinge on what we want teacher to do – that is to change the way
knowledge is understood in the system, and how child’s learning is

related to that epistemological understanding of each subject area. I
suppose I have taken too long. So now, I will stop here and we could go
further.
MR: Professor, the Chattopadhyay report definitely seems hopeful about
NCTE gaining statutory status, it comes down heavily correspondence
courses. So, was there some hope at that point in time that NCTE will
be able to deliver on its promises. And it would in some sense, bring in
reforms to the teacher education sector?
KK: That period of early 80s was the way you can say, somewhat deceptive
period. At that time, even though things had begun to move towards
what later on was called liberalisation of the economy. Nobody knew
how far it will go – so nobody could imagine that NCTE will become a
very direct victim of this corrupt commercialisation and petty privatisa-
tion so fast – that teacher education will become the greatest victim of
the kind of petty privatisation which started to occur and it gripped…
NCTE…to the extent that the Anand Swarup Committee which was
set up in late 90s, recognised corruption is one of the major issues in
NCTE. And later on J.S. Verma, of course, found such copious evidence
of that, as the Supreme Court retired judge, he was horrified when he
saw how many colleges – so-called colleges – existed on paper. And you
know, in one stroke, he kind of finished off quite a few of them, etc. But
that’s the development in 2008/09, and when Verma gave his report,
but this problem had been recognised in the 90s itself. In fact, one of my
former colleagues, the late R.N. Mehrotra, who saw the writing on the
wall pretty early. I remember him saying sometime around mid-90s – he
refused to be on the inspection committee of NCTE – because he said,
he knew that money has now started to really get freely used for getting
approvals. He was one of the senior most teacher educators at the time,
and academically highly regarded. And yet, his refusal to take part in any
inspection didn’t get any attention. The NCTE was on its way to becom-
ing what it eventually did. So in the Chattopadhyay period, nobody
could have imagined all this, that these reforms that are being recom-
mended will go parallel with privatisation of the reckless apparatus in
this sector. In fact, as late as ’91, when the programme of action of
the National Education Policy of 1986 was prepared, finalised, after the
review of the policy within six years, even at that time, it wasn’t really
understood how liberalisation is going to affect education as a whole.
Yes, if you are making a very close reading of the programme of action
and comparing it to the NEP 1986, you will begin to see some signs that
the of actions drafters have become aware of this issue of privatisation
and ways in which it might be regulated. The key…breaches occurred
in teacher education. I don’t think anyone could predict that. Certainly
not at the time Chattopadhyay was giving you recommendations. So
the sector became increasingly sick. And it’s sickness grew exponentially
from year to year, as these colleges spread, and the draconian net of the
regional committees got tighter and tighter. And inspection became the
thing. I mean, that’s very strange to say. But in the economy, opening
up or liberalisation meant the end of inspection raj. But in education
and teacher education, it meant not just beginning but blossoming of
inspection raj – which even in British days, nobody knew, you know,
inspection would mean this. But that’s what it meant and at NCTE
nobody could do much about it at any point. And then, of course, when
entities stopped getting funds from the government, it became a self-
financing institution. That’s another development of this period, that
institutional institutions were encouraged to become self-financing. The
CBSE, for example, hardly gets any needs any funds from the Ministry
now. The same is true of NCTE except for you know, capital investment
like building – so I don’t think it gets much…it generates its own funds
with the help of these procedures. And therefore, the ministry also is
not in quite a position, nobody can control NCTE in that sense, really
autonomous to be what it is. And it had become that already in the late
90s. And if you read the Anand Swarup report, you will get the feeling of
this helplessness of what to do, I mean, he was a very senior IAS officer,
who understood the inner workings of the system. And his report gives
us the feeling that already at that time, things have become very difficult.
And NCTE looked very different if you saw it in Delhi, but the regional
ones – my God it was a different beast altogether. So how it impacted
the sector is a study by itself, that you got this vast mushrooming of
utterly bogus institutions. And even real institutions like mine, which I
serve, a central institution, even we have to submit to these inspections
raj and explain and do all kinds of funny things for that inspection. We
tried to say, look, we are older than anyone in this sector, we should be
the object of study. But that’s a very, it’s kind of a systemic aberration
that has really gripped the system very hard. And even a retired Supreme
Court judge had not managed to show it the right way to liberation.
Although he spent so much energy and time on writing that three vol-
ume report, which is still a wonderful guide for future generations to
try to want to reform this sector. But it will require a lot of investment.
I chaired one of the seven committees, following the commission. And
we discovered that our recommendations will require a lot of invest-
ment from the government, the ministry, and since NCTE is supposed
to be fully self-financing, there is no hope in that direction at all, unless
our idea of institutional life changes. And we again, start saying, look,
institutions need government funding. They can’t depend on their own
funding, because that funding becomes subject to all kinds of pressures.
RK: This thought had crossed my mind – there is a larger debate of posi-
tioning Teacher Education within the university space within the higher
education space, so that it has it received kind of a liberal perspective,

along with the professional orientation. Whereas it seems like a very
genuine, novel step to kind of place it within higher education institu-
tions, it has its own challenges. In the sense the academia has a certain
kind of language and orientation to the discipline. And, you know, in
our own context, the disciplinary orientation is quite entrenched. So,
in such a context, would there be a backlash in some senses of such a
placement. Do you think that such a kind of a positioning will kind of
give rise to different kinds of tensions that perhaps have not imagined?
KK: If we, first of all, remind ourselves that the BEd course was always
placed in universities even in British days and continues to do so. This
question of placing teacher education within universities really makes
a difference to the elementary section. And in many states only elemen-
tary basically means only the primary teacher education, which was
under government. So it’s not that big a change. Following the Verma
Commission, it became evident that the problems really are not so much
of the tension between the discipline-oriented departments of universi-
ties etc. and departments of education for teacher education. It was
clear in the Verma debate and even earlier – that the problem is of
having more than one Apex master. On every other department of the
university, the UGC rules apply as far as recruitment is concerned. In
teacher education department, rules of NCTE have to be taken into
account over and above the UGC rules. The UGC rules provided the
kinds of flexibility for selection committees and vice chancellors often
use it in the better universities, but the NCTE rules are truly difficult
and draconian, for recruitment and also for distribution of work. And
they are very tough as far as specific areas are concerned, but they are
totally absent when it comes to salaries. They don’t even go into the
question of how emoluments will be important for teacher education
colleges. So, financially, you have plenty of leverage for running teacher
education courses with people who are called lecturers, etc. who’re sim-
ply not paid as lectures in the same university or college affiliated to
a university, you will find a total anomaly. So, the question of status
is not so much in the context of discipline versus professional knowl-
edge. It’s directly concerned with teachers’ own status, salaries they get
and the service conditions. Now, Verma recognised this problem. And
one of the seven committees was about coordination between these dif-
ferent bodies, UGC and the NCTE how to coordinate this and where
do universities’ own structures which are supposed to be autonomous,
where do they fit into this for recruitment roles and other service condi-
tions, and a report was prepared very meticulously – I don’t think it has
had any significance. So, these are the sort of systemic issues that are
unresolved, totally unresolved and unaddressed in the regulatory struc-
tures of entities. And now, they have become very complex, because
we already have so many colleges running now. It’s a factor of higher

education, which is far sicker than the rest of higher education, as far as
these kinds of issues are concerned.
RK: This relates to the development of epistemic identity with regard to cer-
tain orientations, in terms of the developments that has occurred in con-
temporary research or practices in the field. We noted that there is an
ongoing tension in the very character of the presentation of pre-service
and in-service teacher education. And this kind of differentiation, actu-
ally separates the kind of feeding in from the practices of teachers or, a
certain kind of continuity from research into understanding of teacher
education domain as such. Now would you consider that we would
need a certain re imagination perhaps, to kind of move away from this
ossified structure of pre-service and in-service to more diverse ways of
looking and which will, again, kind of impact how to loosen the grip of
regulatory body on Teacher Education?
KK: To what extent research feeds into a form of teacher education, is a
question that can be asked, in the reverse order itself. To what extent
does teacher education impact the research done in the field of edu-
cation? Now, any number of departments exists in the country…who
don’t want to do any teacher training. And in fact, in my own depart-
ment, this has been a debate for some years now that they want to com-
pletely jettison the BEd program, confine it to colleges, and focus in the
department on research – there is that tension which you have spoken
about earlier. Why shouldn’t we be departments like other economics,
sociology or sciences, which have so much more time for research, etc?
So why should we do this very labour-intensive BEd program? Now,
this is where I think we have a lot to learn by looking at what other
countries have been doing, including, you know, the country from
which so many of our practices originally emerge – the UK, where this
question of research feeding into teacher education and teachers experi-
ence during training feeding into what is research – how is it such con-
ceptualised? And I think there’s a lot of good learning, available to us,
from the literature that in England in this context, where both research
and training, were, for a long time, pursued in the same highest rank-
ing Institute, namely the University of London Institute of Education,
where this debate has lasted the longest for more than 100 years, and
has been pursued in many different contexts, including the context of
who can become the director of the IoE? Should she be a person who
has been taught in schools? Or should that be a person from a university
department etc. And one of the most brilliant papers written on this
subject is called “Between the devil and the deep sea”, published by
British Journal of Educational Studies more than two or three decades
ago, which is about how directors have been chosen in this institute for
the last century. And what they can learn from that experience in the
context of running teacher education as a sector, with benefits from

research, and this also contributes to research. I think, in our context,
this matter will certainly open up many new ideas if it’s treated as a
serious enough resource for conceptualising what is researchable in edu-
cational theory as a whole, I mean, the only person I know who actually
thought about this very deeply was the Late Professor N.S. Yadav, who
nearly always argued that there is no such thing as teacher education,
the field is education. And if you want to contribute to education, you
have to work with teachers and their training, that is the feeding ground
for educational research…he used to say. And in fact, he wrote a very
good report for NCERT, also helped NCERT prepare a post NCF syl-
labus of teacher education, which has been published by NCERT. And
that thinking I think is very important – highly debatable, of course,
many people in Departments of Education don’t even agree that we
should deal with teacher training at all. They perceive it like, as if it’s
sort of putting your hand in cow dung and whereas I don’t think they
will cut any ice in the area of medicine for example, or law or hospital
attached to medical colleges and the back and forth – the relationship
between practicing medicine as a doctor on real patients and learning
how to learn about medicine as a trainee – all that very closely tied
together. That’s true in many professional fields but in teacher educa-
tion somehow that field of education or educational theory has evolved
on its own and some of these institutions don’t want to treat teacher
education as a responsibility. I did my PhD in one such institute over-
seas where the teacher education part of the education faculty was
located a block away from the institute of graduate studies in educa-
tion. Luckily, we had good people in the institute who had sort of very
good grounding in the field so there was some give and take – but not
like the IoE, which I think was the ultimate example of this very closed
relationship – at one point at least.
RK: Sir, another question. Often it is told, that there may be a lot of merit
in policy revisions and making systems change. However particularly
in the case of teacher education not enough time and space is made
available for teachers to imbibe these suggestions and for many of these
suggestions to become deep-seated in some kind of epistemic engage-
ment. For example, we’ve seen learning without burden and the idea of
comprehension as very critical for basis for formation of knowledge. So,
I just wondered if they’re not even broad signs that are made available
for teachers to imbibe the reforms – particularly the examination and
pedagogic reforms – is sufficient enough to get a feel for the changes
that have been suggested particularly in the context of NCF?
KK: I’ll answer this question by saying, look at the teacher education syl-
labus itself – it’s so densely crowded that it leaves no room, no time for
reflection even during the period that a teacher is studying the art of
teaching and of course in later life they have very little time – the school
doesn’t think that the reflective teacher is their responsibility. By the
way, that’s another title of a very nice booklet brought out by NCERT,
“The reflective Teacher” and that sort of enjoins on the system to cre-
ate more opportunities and time and leisure for the teacher to imbibe
these ideas that you are talking about. But I’m saying even within the
training period whether it’s a two-year training or four-year training,
the syllabus is conceptualised so densely that you will say well, here is
the doctor who is not taking his own remedy. When the TISS syllabus
was being drafted I pointed this out – it was terribly dense and it would
leave no time for reflection, or for absorbing ideas and what it was try-
ing to remedy would become itself a problem by this very dense and
crowded syllabus of every possible study was suggested. I think realistic
syllabus making which is Yash Pal’s absolutely central recommendation
to my mind in his report as well as in NCF…realistic syllabus making
which takes into account human energies, time available, space avail-
able, resources readily available, to an average student of the course.
That kind of information is what will relieve some of these days or
energies which the current syllabus at all levels, the Dl.Ed, as well as
the BEd doesn’t leave at all. So, and the later life of teachers, of course,
that question has to be taken up as a much bigger systemic issue. How
much work can a teacher do or should do in school? And that issue is
similar to how much work you expect a college lecturer to do –look at
the UGC number of hours kind of expectations. And that’s a college
level, where you’re supposed to have somewhat greater autonomy. But
at the school level, there’s simply no discussion in settings once you’ve
got 36 classes as a minimum a week, all day long. And the classes them-
selves are so organised in a timetable that you’re just running from one
class to another, and so on and so forth. So that’s a later consideration,
but even during training, and we have plenty of work to do think about
why does a syllabus making get so dense? Why can’t it think about
the students’ real time for reflection, and what you call imbibing or
absorbing the ideas – ideas emerging from policy documents and other
literature, which are necessary for them to feel that now they are intel-
lectually autonomous enough to think about things.
RK: Actually, this takes me to another question about the forms of engage-
ment with pre- and in-service teachers. You know, even the present-day
kind of reforms in teacher education are guided by an overarching mis-
sionary framework. For example, the Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya
Mission on Teachers and Teaching and the engagement of teacher edu-
cators with teachers is also guided largely by a set of workshops that
one has to accomplish in a certain period of time. Now, this kind of an
imagination itself is quite antithetical to a kind of…a reflective engage-
ment into practice or thinking. It seems quite contradictory in nature in
terms of the larger imaginative space that is available to teachers and

the kind of expectations from teachers in developing themselves as pro-
fessionals. Do you also consider this as antithetical or have I missed out
on something in the current state?
KK: I think its a very good question and we can take it up maybe in the next
time. For me, Friday will be the best again.
RK: Thank you Sir.
KK: I am glad we are getting an opportunity to reflect on this in so much
detail…
AB: Thank you, Sir.

RK: So, Sir, I’ll pick up from where we had left earlier. We were talking
about the pre-service teacher education space and also that there’s
very little space in the reimagination and also for reflection and for the
teacher who have absorbed the kind of newer ideas or pedagogies that
have been discussed. I just wanted to have your reflections on the in-
service teacher education space Sir, which is largely you know, either
a cascade model or a workshop-based engagement. And, typically, you
know for the career growth as well as professional development. So,
I am asking your reflection on the in-service teacher education where
typically a cascade model or a workshop model is predominantly held
and also the number of such workshops in professional development
engagement are seen as a marker for professional development. Now,
do you think there is a need for a reimagination of the space as well?
KK: See, reimagination has been exercised. If you read Chattopadhyay
report, he has very specific reflections and recommendations on this,
about the possibility of creating room for study vacations for teach-
ers, other ways in which individual teachers may want to enhance their
engagement with their own subject or increase their intellectual and
tutorial capacities by taking a few months off. There are various things
given in Chattopadhyay and who obviously shows an understanding of
the fact that the professional condition of Indian teachers is such that
it doesn’t allow them to grow on their own momentum or on the basis
of reflection or contemplation on their own experience. So, it’s not as if
the problem has not been acknowledged or understood in our system. I
think we have to recognise the weight of or the pressure of what I would
call simply, historically reinforced structural factors. This workshop
model you’re talking about, was not a part of any long legacy, but it did
become quite central to our system over the 1980’s, and then onwards
and this has been, you can say, a kind of a influence, and reflection
of an external influence, where, ideas from business and management
are brought into our system, primarily through the American route,
and the word ‘training’ had begun to acquire a new kind of meaning;
words like “resource persons” also got introduced at that juncture. And
it was time for the workshop model to fully emerge. Now the cascade
existed towards centralised institutions like NCERT and others, that if
we train master trainers on top – engage with people at the state level
and then the state level people will engage with people at the district
level and so on. This cascade model has existed in various forms, not
necessarily in education, but certainly for example in political parties,
how trainings take place of the lower-level cadre – we have seen it all in
the last 40 years or so. So, it’s not surprising that the model also is kind
of, it’s working in the Indian in-service scene. A certain ritualisation is
a necessary part of it. After people are training each other, there’s not
much of a possibility of the time it takes to reflect in, derive some benefit
from your own experience. I think the only aberration in this, that has
happened in recent times, post Chattopadhyay, is in the context of the
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, where these cluster resource centres and block
resource centres were at least envisaged or imagined to be places for
intellectual revival of teachers working in a certain cluster of schools,
or in a block. And the original imagination there, in the Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan context was that there will be a good library at the block level
of pedagogic material as well as educational research policy documents
and things like that and there will be a possibility of teachers assembling
there to reflect on things. The same is true of the cluster resource centres
that this will be a resource for seven to eight schools to draw upon every
now and then, and that’ll be run primarily for the purpose of this idea
of in-service revival of energies. Now, the slightly older training model
that had, as I said to you, can be dated back from 80’s onwards and the
newer idea of collective reflection improvement – these co-existed sort
of, but ultimately the in-service training workshop model has prevailed
and already within less than, you know ten years of the final farewell
to the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan kind of model, cluster resource centres
have dried up virtually in all parts of the country, for not just want of
resources that of course have happened but also simply disused, or not
being used for the purposes for which they were set up. Both CRCs and
BRCs ultimately became kind of post offices for sending data upwards
and that all the norms are being met and this and that and so they were
kind of this data suppliers for report writing on top. These other func-
tions which SSA originally mentioned, SSA documents have lot to say
about them and the early joint review missions actually looked for those
and found those activities in quite a few places in the country. I mean
there have been at least 14 or 15 joint review missions; if you read the
first seven or eight, you will find plenty of, you know evidence that,
in the first seven to eight years of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, these were
functioning as places for intellectual reenergising of teachers by getting
together at reasonable intervals but ultimately this had kind of dried up.
So, what I’m trying to say is that yes, there is a lot of thinking available
in the system, but sustaining that thinking or sustaining it for a period
of time has been very difficult for the Indian system and this current
period, is a period, as I have said to you earlier also, in my view, is a
period where a lot of the efforts put in the first decade of the century
had kind of gone down again for another time when it might be revived
or further reinstated.
AB: Sir, I mean in the same light of what is confusing me now is this work-
shop model, or within workshop model, the engagement these models
are offering and all of these, even for higher education and surprisingly
the new NEP 2020 also, proposes this. But I wonder, you know this
imagination or this way of doing things, does it not compromise the
agentic role of the teacher?
KK: You mean the workshop model?
AB: Yeah, and also, you know this modular offering and engaging with
them and then the education policies are advocating that. Education
policy would be expected to be more encompassing. Does it not com-
promise on the agentic role of the teacher?
KK: See, the level of decay in the system is so pervasive, so widespread that
this particular phenomenon cannot be singled out as a case of compro-
mise. In fact, compromise would be a very serious understatement. The
policy doesn’t reflect either an objective attitude towards the gains that
had been made or the desire to retain and sustain them, let alone build
upon them - the policy in fact seems to scoff at the gains made. So, it’s
a strange historical break, kind of we are going through and it’s hard to
say whether this policy itself will be able to shape anything in the future
because it doesn’t acknowledge what all the system had tried out and
had internalised to some extent. The most glaring instance of what I
am saying or the glaring evidence of this in the document is its remark-
able distance from the RTE, which by any standards of social history
would be considered the highest point of awareness reached by the sys-
tem towards childhood and its rights. And yet this policy document just
underplays, seriously plays down the RTE related achievements, both in
terms of the articulation of RTE as a legal document and also the prepa-
ration made for it – since Tapas Majumdar estimated the budget and
the central-state relations that SSA worked out or the harmonisation
committee of Anil Bordia working out how the system can now move
from the SSA project mode to a systemic sustaining of the SSA gains,
none of that discourse has been even acknowledged, let alone retained
or appreciated by the final document that came in the name of policy.
So, we have to see a peculiar kind of break in the history of documenta-
tion, a break that surely affects the history of ideas and their growth in
the system and we’ll have to wait to see how it affects the system, how
it in any manner, changes it. It’s too early. This policy has been around
in a COVID period. I don’t think that we are in a position to say what
its effects going to be, in the years to come.
RK: Sir, I was thinking of the teacher education programme as a way of
building an epistemic identity for the teacher, and ideally in case of
practice, you know it should get further strengthened and reshaped in
a richer way. But perhaps what seems to be happening is, an ongoing
tension for the teacher who have specially joined into the profession,
where they’re struggling between, whatever epistemic identity they have
gained and the demand of attending to the profession which often come
from bureaucratic and administrative structure. And there has been a
lot of literature which talks about teacher-learner burnout and teacher
aphelion. Now, I do see that both these seem to be, although they are a
part of the continuum, they represent teachers as, either emerging from
the difficult situation or unable to come out of the hard time. So, this
kind of a construction of narrative, places burden as a way of…testing
the capacities of teachers in a certain sense and therefore, kind of, an
invariable as it seems out to be. Now, I wonder if this is really the case
or is there some other imagination that could really override this kind
of a conceptualisation of teacher burden?
KK: I’m not sure if I can directly address this question, because my own sort
of inclination has been to, first understand what’s going on, rather than
workout solutions or say what can override this. I don’t think we under-
stand the period we are passing through, although the period has settled
in, has been setting in since, at least 2010–2011 onwards. Since the pas-
sage of RTE, this new period has begun in which, which we don’t quite
understand partly because there is a crowding of perceptions, there are
pressures, there are internal tensions as well as external influences and
pressures; if you look at the openness of the Indian system, including
the Indian bureaucracy to influences from global organisations like the
OECD, and the Australian Research Council or institutions like World
Bank etc., it’s remarkably vulnerable our system, and it has absorbed in
this period a whole range of very instrumentalist kind of ideas; exchang-
ing them for the more reflective ideas that either the system itself had
somehow developed, in the earlier period or has simply gone for these
very dominant trends in various other countries that one can recog-
nise globally like that. Then there is a technological pressure; there is
a new technological environment, which also encourages, this sort of,
this kind of solution culture as opposed to a professional identity cul-
ture. After all, an identity whether it’s professional or otherwise takes
time to germinate and for a profession like teaching, which is a weak
profession status wise, and income wise, recognition wise, in every
sense in our system. A professional identity orientation of reform would
have taken in any case quite a long time to build a certain amount of
momentum. That time just didn’t come, as if it got evaporated before it

could come, you might say. Yes, one can say the fifth and the sixth pay
commissions gave a certain kind of recognition to the school teachers,
improved their salaries, to a certain extent, at least in the government
system, and many states were trying to emulate this, already that had
led to controversy and debates whether private schools can follow it
– and then there’s a whole discussion from a number of people who
had been engaging with these new salary structures of the sixth pay
commission, saying, they cannot be paid if RTE norms are to be met,
system just cannot afford it and we go back to the whole question of
systemic capacities, how they are going to be measured, etc. Now, the
salaries and incomes are very much a part of the professional identity of
teachers and in this period, this very big factor of rampant privatisation,
at all levels of education, has seriously interfered with that project. So,
what is happening in this second decade of the twenty-first century is
yet to be graphed. We haven’t had room and spaces for people to come
together around understanding this period. How it can be overcome etc.
is really – we are too far away from it yet. We don’t even know, what
is post RTE or post SSA like in India. And we have to look at it from
all these perspectives – from you know, finance, administration, global
influences, etc. Then, we might return to the Yash Pal question. Are we
creating the teachers who can epistemically engage or have epistemic
agency, and therefore can then transfer similar agency to teach to chil-
dren? …Back to Chattopadhyay, which is the last time that you know
–Chattopadhyay was a philosopher, he engaged in his language, in his
discourse – with these questions about what is the role of teacher in the
life of children? And that question remains unanswered. And now it’s
not just unanswered but now it’s being marginalised, neglected, as if it’s
a non-question in this period. So, the time of Chattopadhyay is what,
mid-80’s, and now we’re into a different sort of period, as if, in the his-
tory of ideas and education. And I think our first act, if I were to suggest
a way, to kind of, what these days it’s called moving forward – I don’t
know what that means after all world is moving forward – anyhow,
time is moving forward, if there were a way to, sort of, reorganise our
sense of direction and energy then I would say, we would have to start
by understanding the period, that we have passed soon, 2010–2020,
from various perspectives and ideas and then we will probably be able
to think about what now? It will mean to live with a policy that is just
as sort of, just as lost anyway because it hasn’t reflected on these things
and the policy’s own history, this new policy’s own short history is
so fragmented. Just think about how many times it has been revised
and how many committees have worked on it, and how different were
those committees – the Subramanian Committee and the Kasturiranjan
Committee and the first grouping. So, within six to seven years that
it took to bring it out, it went through mutations that nobody really

has understood so far. We haven’t had time yet to or in fact, not many
people are even curious to understand- how did it take the final shape it
did? So, is it a useful document as it exists in the final round? It hasn’t
gone to Parliament, it has never been discussed properly, thoroughly yet
and its budget estimates don’t exist, it’s systemic analysis doesn’t exist
in terms of how school education will relate to higher education, rela-
tions between teacher education and other professionals, and so many
other aspects of the system. There’s no systemic overview analysis yet
done by anyone, either institutionally or individually, of this policy. So,
this conversation that we are having, with reference to Yash Pal, is kind
of acknowledging the opacities around us, and as a good researcher, I
think our first step to my mind, would be to overcome some of these
opacities and understand this situation better, before we get, a sense of
direction. So, I have taken too long to respond...
RK: Really interesting, Sir. I think it was insightful. I am just moving ahead
to this aspect of research and practice, and like you currently pointed
out, there’s not enough investment into studying the kind of revolution-
ary trajectories that we have been following and the kind of influences
that are constantly shaping the discourse. In this scenario, particularly,
the NEP as an example, I would like your reflections on the compo-
nent of research in teacher education. It’s somehow seems that the kind
of research that is directed towards teacher education, is not efficient
enough or it is rather insulated from the other forms of research within
the educational enquiry. In fact, the work of teacher and identity aspects
of teacher or the sociological dynamic involving the teacher, although
they are some researchers, but one doesn’t see a kind of a continuity
over a period of time and an investment of dedicated research which fol-
lows these ideas continuously. Would you consider this is as one of the
critical aspects that is contributing to this larger problem and, therefore,
we are unable to even actually problematise the notion of burden for
teachers in an evolving, you know, globalised and privatised context?
KK: I think my basic, instinct at this moment is to say, I agree with you and
in addition to the agreement I have a thought. I agree with you and I
agree with you partly because of the point that the late M.S. Yadav used
to make, that “If we want to understand teacher education better do it,
do research on it, etc. We should recognise it as a subset of the larger
education system and not as a, sort of a separate area and, then we will
be able to pose better, questions worth researching, how the teacher
training institutions, how the teacher training syllabi, teacher training
practices, relations to school etc. are done, if we place it in the context
of the broader education system.” So yes, I think, research is a very
important physical, you would say, input to be made in this context
that you are portraying – today when we are ready to do many things
but exactly don’t know what to do, in this, sort of, we are facing so
many multiple and contradictory pressures on the system. But in addi-
tion to agreeing with you I said, I will add one point and that’s a very
old point, that I have made it actually earlier in these conversations,
and that is seeing research as an aspect of the system talking to itself.
Our chronic problem being a colonised country as we are, has been that
research, does not flow into practice, partly because the practitioner
doesn’t speak the language in which research is done, mainly English.
As I said to you, NCF was a very lucky document that all its documents
were translated into all the languages of India. This is the first time that
something like this happened and a primary school teacher could actu-
ally read NCF at least in theory, and many did, in their own language
which they understand well. Research has a similar kind of problem and
therefore research teams have a similar responsibility. Not only just to,
in terms of, translating the product of research, the final report, not in
simplified versions or summaries, but actually putting across the entire
document that the research study produces into the language at least of
the state itself, where the research has been done, so that a wide enough
audience in the world of teachers can, itself read what has been written,
in that piece of research. But this is not a question of merely translating
the final report but is also a question of letting those who don’t know
English contribute to the engagement at their first level when research is
being conceptualised and in (thinking of) questions worth researching
and how do you research, etc. In that level also, language is a very big
barrier to quality and you know, relevance and sharpness of research
in India. Because the professional for whom we are doing this research,
that is, at the lower end, primary certainly but even the secondary, sen-
ior secondary levels cannot read that research comfortably. So, with
that rider I agree with you, that research has a very important role at
this juncture, and organisations that are equipped with the responsibil-
ity to promote and do research, I think can’t do better than by choosing
teacher education as in its relationship with education, as an area of
research to be done, in various dimensions including this one – talking
about Yash Pal report’s concerns about knowledge, how it’s conceptu-
alised, etc.
RK: I would like to take the case example of the CCE in the context of NCF,
to bring home that the idea that Professor Yash Pal’s Committee report
mentioned, which is about the Indian education system to be having
three parallel systems of syllabus, textbook and examination, and it is,
I mean interestingly if the NCF addressed all these three dimensions,
which allowed for a certain comprehensive reform. But in the case of
the CCE, there was a lot of resistance, also from the teachers that was
registered in terms of the reforms in examinations. It would be really
nice Sir if you could reflect and share with us a few of your observations
and also your reflection on how, and what were the sources of burden
that teachers so perceived in the CCE framework?
KK: CCE became a major sort of, signpost following RTE. In fact, it’s RTE
which is more than NCF, commits itself to the CCE for the elementary
stage. As far as NCF is concerned, it had a focus group called exami-
nation reforms to guide it, and NCF took the line that the old exam
systems can be reformed, particularly the board exam of 10 and 12th
and it’s reform ideas were articulated very sharply by that focus group
and some of these ideas were, actually very implementable, and as I said
to you earlier, examination was not in the purview of the NCERT and
therefore all we could do from NCERT was to promote, advise, rec-
ommend, etc. But the momentum for the board exam to be reformed,
on at least two dimensions, didn’t get built up and then it was given
up. These dimensions are- the typology of the question paper and the
quality of questions, and if you see the Exam Reform Focus Group’s
report, it relates the second question of quality of questions and how
questions are prepared and so on. So, within the old exam system, the
traditional exam system, NCF takes the line that if board exams can be
reformed, a number of new energies will be released in the system all the
way down. Now the CCE idea which the RTE very strongly promotes,
requires much more labour-intensive work with teachers, whereas exam
reforms wouldn’t have done that much, wouldn’t have required that
much intensive work with teachers as such. In fact, in terms of a design,
the NCF approach to this question was that teachers will actually ben-
efit if exam reforms are carried out by the board. Teachers will feel sud-
denly that a certain kind of pressure has been released and a new kind
of pressure has been created and gradually they will, notice the change
in the quality of questions asked, they will notice the change in the way
in which marking is done, with model answers approach completely
discarded and, and typology of the question paper itself changed. They
will feel that now a new terrain exists and they will gradually register
that and we can promote that also. So, that approach would be differ-
ent from the very high expectations that CCE approach and which the
RTE committed itself to, would have required. It in fact, takes away the
grade 8 board and the grade 5 boards which exist in many states and
says that we will go full scale for CCE from grade 1 to 8. Now that did
require enormous investment, in preparing teachers for using activities
in the classroom, observations, record keeping, etc. as a way to cre-
ate a continuous evaluative system for benefiting the teacher himself or
herself; a pedagogically beneficial evaluation system which again not at
evaluating the child so much as picking up clues from what’s happening
in the child’s performance for teaching to improve. That envisages and
requires a sea change in teacher training and in both pre-service and
in-service, and enormous investment in these sectors, and its, I mean,
its momentum just didn’t build up, partly, if you look at the period
2011–2012, it’s a very interesting period; the first two years of RTE.
There were many competing models of CCE at that time. Some states
had done genuine kind of attempt, genuine work in getting teachers to
tell us how CCE should be implemented and they had come up with
their own guidelines. For example, I remember Rajasthan has its own
guidelines, but the dominant CCE model which was proposed by CBSE,
it kind of prevailed over these attempts of some of the states and sys-
temically, it’s very peculiar that the secondary board in the CBSE should
offer a model for elementary education which is not even its terrain,
but such is the system’s reality that CBSE rules not only secondary edu-
cation, which is a part of its own name, Central board of Secondary
Education, but even in the elementary and primary education which is
actually, legally beyond its jurisdiction, although no court case has yet
sort of, been fought on that ground. So CBSE’s CCE model which actu-
ally had very little to do with teachers’ input and which was a kind of a
mishmash of ideas, that it had been promoting for the board exam itself
at the secondary level, was foisted on the elementary level and these
initial attempts made by some States including Haryana, Rajasthan,
Karnataka; some of these attempts were very interesting and could
have gone a long way if, a sense of direction had been maintained and
SCERTs had remained empowered enough to translate CCE goals into
teacher training. For another four to five years had it continued, my
own sense was that CCE will take some sort of route. But no, within
two years that momentum begins to get lost and there were forces any-
how, all ready to reintroduce it, exam system, annual exam system in
this unreformed form in the elementary sector itself which ultimately
succeeded. Now we got a parliamentary amendment to RTE. So, the
RTE’s dream of a CCE is not only been compromised, it’s discarded
now and, today of course, there are a few States that have not passed
similar legislations, the parliament’s amendment gives some scope for
States, who want to continue CCE instead of the annual exams to let
them do it, but many states, some of the most influential States have
already gone for the exams. So, the system has recoiled sort of, from
a moment of reform after two years of flirtation with reform, and that
period will be very interesting period to study historically, very recent
period of course. So, the exam reforms idea of the NCF, that, it was
dependent on boards taking initiative, and I have spoken to you earlier
about that. Even, the role that academic institutions would play in that
model for providing a critical analysis every year of board questions,
and the question quality, etc., even that was not done. And, NCERT did
for one or two years, it sent its feedback to CBSE saying this year’s ques-
tion papers had these kinds of questions and this is how they resonate
or oppose to the NCF approach and so on and so forth, in one or two
subjects, it made some impact, but elsewhere among the 42 boards of

the country, no effort is made even now. It’s not even a research agenda
that every year some institution should analyse the questions asked this
year, put them in different categories from totally idiotic to slightly bet-
ter, and show to the board which questions were of what kind, so that
there is some discourse on that.
RK: Sir, about the co-curricular activity and this idea of reduction of burden
by truncating the content in terms of percentages, it sometimes both-
ers me because you know, it seems almost a parallel narrative to the
idea of academic burden, that was envisaged in Professor Yash Pal’s
Committee report. It seems as if, and I noticed a deliberate effort in
terms of recommendation where, the first and the primary recommen-
dation regarding competitions that resist…allowing scope for children
to enjoy learning. So how does a parallel kind of a narrative been gener-
ated where it seems as if addition of co-curricular content will lead to
balancing the burden aspect of the curriculum, or you know, some kind
of a mechanistic reduction in terms of trimming of the content as a way
out to handling the burden. Is there something that has been missed in
the discourse or…I really struggle to understand, what was the kind of
a shift that we’ve made and why this continual narrative of, you know,
a percentage reduction or, looking at other forms of creativity – art and
craft activity as a way of means to balance the curriculum. I just wanted
to know your reflection on that and perhaps I’ll stop from my end for
the day.
KK: I think you are being very kind in calling it a parallel narrative. No, it’s
the “old entrenched structure”. It’s not a narrative. That idea that the
main burden…will somehow become bearable with the help of these
entertaining co-curricular activities, that was the structure of the Indian
system. It’s not a narrative. It’s not a parallel narrative. That is the core
structure since the late nineteenth century, and the Yash Pal recom-
mendations were an attempt to hit that or bend that core structure,
saying that the perception that knowledge is a body and that this body
must get piled up with more and more ideas, this is the problem, and it
cannot be resolved by having some entertaining co-curricular activities.
So, I think we have simply recoiled, the Yash Pal idea on this, we go
down – if we never sort of revise it – it will go down as a failed reform
idea, that the system could not digest it. Otherwise, it’s direction is very
clear, and what it wants to dent is very clear. I mean go to the chapter
in Kothari commission for example, mid-60’s Kothari Commission’s
articulation of this – it’s in the chapter on curriculum – where it says
that the ten-year comprehensive model and the two years to be added
and after that the three years, so we are adding a year so that the explo-
sion of knowledge etc. can be dealt with, and for these, adjustments will
have to be made in content and topics all the way down to the early
trail. So, the Kothari report in a way acknowledges that this is the way
to handle, problems of more information that has arrived in Science,
in various areas of knowledge, that’s how it can be accommodated,
by letting every grade readjust to a bigger density or a bigger number
of topics to be handled and the pressure can go down all the way we
can readjust the whole curriculum. Now, Yash Pal precisely dents that,
35 years after Kothari report came, but the Kothari report is not giving
a new idea. That, and I don’t think it’s a narrative at all. That is the
core system, and the system has survived Yash Pal, you could say. The
core system is fully back in command and the NEP in a way, reinstates
the old structure even though it uses some, you know, deceptive terms
from this – from this kind of, progressive education discourse or child-
centredness and so on, so forth, without any evidence that it fits into
the logic. I mean look at the NEP’s attempt to bring in three years of
early childhood into primary education, and its connections with it –
formalising the Anganwadi. All that restructuring harps back to the
Kothari model, even though it slightly changed that model and it rein-
states the old structure and so, I think the Yash Pal aberration lasted for
the period it did and unless it’s now resuscitated and sort of retrieved
and some salvage archaeology is done, which you are doing right now, I
think it will be very difficult to even to fully explain it to future genera-
tions, what is that the Yash Pal idea wanted to do?
MR, AB & RK: Sir, it was such a pleasure. It has been such a wonderful
learning surely, through these seven sessions, and you have been very
generous with your time. Thank you very much.
KK: Most welcome. All the best.
Transcript of interview with Dr T.S. Saraswathi
Interview with Professor T.S. Saraswati (S)
Interviewer: Dr Arindam Bose (A), Dr Ritesh Khunyakari (R) and Professor

Mythili Ramchand (M)
Date of interview: 26 November 2020
A: Ma’am in the earlier note you have mentioned that you had some reserva-
tions about acceptance of the “Learning without Burden” Committee’s
suggestions by the ministry. Can you elaborate on that?
S: No matter how optimistic I am, I managed to hold to my optimism
throughout my career. Still, I keep asking questions as to what are the
priorities of the political scenario. Even at the time, I do remember at
one point I felt that the report even got lost in its deliberations and
had to be rediscovered. Arjun Singh was the Human resource person

in charge and he was interested, but what came up in the presentation
by the government officials was the diluted version of the committee’s
report. Perhaps at that time, since it was 25 years ago, I was at the
peak of optimism, but today when I look at the priorities of the govern-
ment, what are their priorities? Is it Ram mandir or the new Parliament?
Where does education figure? Nobody talks about education except for
the national policies. In the larger picture, education doesn’t seem to
play a prominent role. So, whether it is the earlier committee or the
present committee, Education is kept at the fringe. Compared to other
nations in Southeast Asia where education is placed at the forefront
almost from the 70s. Be it Singapore, Indonesia. I am not talking about
western countries at all. I am talking of South Asian and Southeast
Asian countries. They invest in education looking 20 years ahead. We
talk about it but our actions don’t show that. That is why I hesitated at
that time and even more so at this time. Is it just the continuing exercise
of the so-called education or will any kind of reform really take place?
Are we going to continue our battle with basics including teacher train-
ing, teacher recruitment etc? We have to meet the basics and then go
beyond and do the reform. In a country like ours, we can’t do them
successively. We have to do it simultaneously at the same time. That’s
why I have a mixed-up feeling. I have expressed it at that time and I am
expressing it now with greater concern because now there is a crisis.
At that time there was no major economic and political crisis. Now we
do have a major crisis. Where does education fit in here? Are we even
going to be able to do what we did earlier? Or are we going to just lie
down and we have to start all over again. I don’t know, I seriously don’t
know. I don’t want to be a doomsday predictor but I can’t pretend to
be optimistic.
A: Ma’am while the physical and psychological burden was addressed in
the report, the social burden was not addressed adequately. You have
also observed that the pandemic has thrown the clock back and the slim
progress we have made in terms of enrolment is getting eroded. How do
we conceive of this social burden to ensure that all stakeholders are able
to recognise and also address it?
S: That’s one of the central questions. One good thing is that at least there
seems to be a realisation that there is a real gap and it has widened due
to the COVID crisis which has thrown up the digital divide. Recently in
“The Hindu” newspaper survey, it was found that hardly 30% of stu-
dents are able to access the online classes. Many states themselves have
a problem in facilitating online classes. You are right that our committee
did not address the social problem or social disadvantage directly but
now, apart from the recognition of the vivid gap that the pandemic has
thrown up, there are a number of NGOs who are working even during
this time to see that children don’t fall behind. They cannot completely
arrest the decline because it’s too large an issue. But on the whole there
are tens and thousands of NGOs on a small scale, large scale trying to
intervene in the issues. Also in some villages including in Karnataka, the
teachers themselves have taken the initiative in moving from village to
village and to teach students in rotation with all the safety measures. To
some extent these initiatives may address the social disadvantages but
drastic changes at policy level alone can fill this gap. NGOs can never
cover this entire nation. My hope is that because it’s so prominent and
there is clear data regarding it, the social divide could be addressed bet-
ter now. That’s my hope, otherwise we will go behind 50 years.
There are enough models as to how it can be done but the state, as well
as the centre, has to take advantage of what is available and improve this
model. We cannot have one big policy, we can bring it up to the panchayat
level. So that not a uniform education but some kind of education takes
place and then we can move towards integration.
A: I will come to the digital age now. The digital age has reconceived the
notion of the textbook. In some ways, textbooks cease to exist as the
only source of information. In what ways the digital age will affect the
notion of learning, given that there is a digital divide as you noted.
Are there any alternative suggestions to reach out to the children at the
marginalised edge?
S: Access to technology can be a tremendous advantage. Practically every
sphere of life benefits from it. Then why can’t it be in the field of edu-
cation. I remember even three years ago I was hesitant to use a smart-
phone. I thought it was unnecessary. I have a regular telephone and
I don’t want the luxury of a smartphone. Having been compelled by
circumstances to use a smartphone I found that there are so many things
I can do. I can stay in close touch with people whom I otherwise would
not have been able to do. Why I took this as an example because even
when you resist technology and digitisation one cannot deny that it can
be a tremendous asset and reach to children who otherwise may not
be able to get an education. On the other hand, they must have access
to this digital model of education. Children who have a smartphone
are just 30%. Majority of parents have only one smartphone so they
can’t give it to their children all the time. Around 60% of parents have
expressed that online education is not suitable. I am living in Bangalore
rural and it’s likely that electricity will go off and this call gets discon-
nected. There is a backup battery and the electricity will be restored in
5 minutes so for a few minutes we will be disconnected. Most people
don’t have this backup. When the classes constantly get interrupted the
children, as well as their parents, find it frustrating. A lot of my students
are abroad and are teaching online. In the beginning, they wrote saying
that they are able to contact students seamlessly. I smiled to myself and
said wait and see. Now after eight months of teaching they say that the
online mode is very frustrating as there is no human touch. They don’t
get a sense of whether the students have understood. Whether they are
irritated, whether they appreciate the joke. Many are exhausted at the
end of the day unlike when they teach in person. Let’s hope the situa-
tion changes. Let me make it clear when digitisation spreads and people
have access it will have a tremendous advantage. Easy access means you
don’t have to load the child with information. We don’t have to burden
the child. We have to teach the child how to learn to learn. We must
provide the children with the environment to enable learning. Teachers
should be trained to enable that. Otherwise what happens is that in
upper-class homes children have it all. In other homes, children are frus-
trated with repeated interruptions. This will lead to the widening of the
gap. Even in digital learning, we need a tremendous support system.
If provided with such support, students will feel empowered and they
learn better. So there must be a computer, there must be electricity and
there must be a teacher to support and guide them.
A: On one hand, there is a need to push learners to maximise their poten-
tial but on the other hand, there is a pull from parents and teachers to
achieve. How do you visualise this tension especially in this competitive
world? Will the tensions abate?
S: Will the tensions abate? No, I don’t think so, not for a long time to come.
There are too many odds. Basic attitude especially of Indian parents.
The basic attitude of the Indian teacher because the teacher thinks there
is a syllabus to cover. I believe that you uncover ideas and you don’t
cover anything because it’s inexhaustible. You teach children how to
learn to learn. But that’s an abstract idea to talk about. So, most teach-
ers even in colleges have the idea that the priority is to cover the syl-
labus. They are only overloaded, never mind learning without burden.
I think the idea of burden is even forgotten. Even 20 years ago teachers
would tell us that we have to cover the syllabus and they don’t have
time for discussion, questioning and letting the children learn to learn.
This shows that teachers were ill-equipped. From what group do we
recruit our teachers? Now the salaries are better and the qualifications
expected are also higher but we are not able to attract the best talent
to become school teachers like in Finland and Japan. There are too
many social factors playing a role here. The teacher himself or herself
is burdened and there is so much uncertainty about the job. Today one
of my friends called and said both her daughter and her son, who are
CEOs of Fortune 200 companies have resigned because they want to
take a break. I laughed at that. We couldn’t afford to take a break
but they can because of a good bank balance. Afterwards, they will be
employed by someone who would compete with one another to hire

them. They are in an envious position. For the majority of the people,
that’s not the case, so parents want their children to study and be well
settled in life. The options now have at least widened. Earlier it was just
medicine and engineering. So in that direction, we have moved ahead.
Even within these options, there are so many complications. This year
in Delhi University the cutoff is 100%! What do the children do to get
that and still children are getting it. So I feel that in the near future these
competitive sentiments are not going away. Still in the long run when
the options widen, as there is egalitarian pay and as the respect to dif-
ferent jobs increases there is hope. The hope is that as nations grow,
as opportunities widen there will be a realisation that all of us don’t
have to be doctors and engineers. People can become painters, sculp-
tors, dancers, or maybe a farmer. Now some of the IIT guys are farming
and making good money. This new realisation and broadened options
may lessen the tension in the future. But I’m not seeing that in the near
future at all.
R: Another question is – It seems that in the present time, there is a lot of
burden on the teacher as well. They need to be on the toes and be able
to respond to a variety of questions coming from students. So, whether
we need to revise this concept of academic burden in relation to teacher
education?
S: Absolutely. You couldn’t have said it better. At that point, in fact, the
compassion was with the child who carries the burden and it is found in
all of our discussions. But the teacher’s burden is enormous. We over-
load the syllabus, don’t give the teachers any extra support and many of
the classes are large. The optimal size of the classroom is supposed to be
30. In remote areas by compulsion, because there are no other children,
the classroom may have optimal size. In states like Tamil Nadu and to
some extent in Kerala manage to keep plus-minus 30 but otherwise in
states like UP and Bihar you will find classrooms with a large number
of students. It is worse in private schools. The other day, I was talking
to one of the students from an elite convent. He said the teacher doesn’t
even notice him. I asked how the teacher did not notice him. He said the
classes are more 55 to 60 students and he sits in the back row and does
what he wants. Parents pay enormous fees for the child to be not even
noticed by the teacher, because the classes are large. If the class had
20 or 25 students then the teacher would have noticed every child. Also
there is a burden on the teacher in terms of the information, in terms
of the workload. I myself as a teacher had felt burdened because I used
to teach five courses. It was hard because all the time you’re preparing,
you’re correcting, you are giving feedback and you are so hesitant to
give essay type of assignment because the correction can become hec-
tic. I think we have to have a separate committee on the burden of the
teacher. Not only that, teachers should be given support in terms of

both in-service and the pre-service training. Not just training, mentor-
ing is even more important. Even in the preschool, we found that when
the block development officer was sensitive to the anganwadis, more
realistic teaching took place. Otherwise it was ritualistic. If the block
development officer was ill-informed and went there only as the super-
visor to check all the ledgers and files, she/he wasn’t interested in what
is going on in class, what learning was taking place. For her/him, it was
only the mechanics of how many children got recruited and how many
children attended, about the midday meal – what was served, accounts
book, etc. Now that is mechanical. That is not mentoring. So, do teach-
ers have access to somebody who will mentor them? In rare instances
you have a principal who will mentor. But if the Principal starts men-
toring all the teachers, she will be overburdened too, and above all,
how many positions are unfilled? During this pandemic, in the small
community of ours, we had two people who came in because all the
workers stopped when the pandemic began. Then the community was
compelled to hire workers. So we got two people to come and work for
at least basic cleanliness of the corridors and other places. Then when
I asked them, what were they doing before, my heart broke. They were
primary school teachers without a job. They became a cleaner. They
couldn’t clean properly because that was not their business at all. So as I
was asking before, how many positions are filled? Along with filling up
all the positions, it is also important that we select the best one possible
and regardless of who got selected, repeatedly give them support. Not
just training but mentoring. And it is systemic. It is not individualised or
you’re not limited to whims and fancies. But this mentoring stream has
to be built into the system. Didn’t this happen to a great extent till the
pandemic struck when Delhi took over primary education? What was
the simple thing they did? They just upgraded the physical structure
of the classes, painted everything, repaired the broken building, and
they gave the children uniforms. I believe attendance improved and the
children were, according to me, walking with their shoulders held high.
I’ve seen that happen in my own department. So, there is so much in
the basic level to do and I completely agree that the teachers’ burden in
fact is among the greatest burdens in India. We talk of the parents being
burdened, the children being burdened, but I really think the teach-
ers are more burdened and are with the least support. If NEP would
address that, then I think the education will be uplifted. but will it? I
don’t know.
A: The idea of academic burden also seems there is an implied sense of a
certain kind of an ideological positioning, that notion of burden can
be offloaded. Of Course there is a psychological and emotive burden,
but perhaps there is also a certain kind of an instrumentality which is
external to the learner. One can actually kind of strategise and reduce
the burden. Would that be a correct reading? Whether there is some
external agency apart from the learner, who can facilitate the offloading
or reducing the burden?
S: You are absolutely right. The whole exercise started because of R.K.
Narayan’s (speech) as you know the history, where he raised the ques-
tion of the physical burden of children. But then, that can be expanded
to cover the burden of the amount of learning, and that is what the
children brought out beautifully by saying “why do we have to learn
so many lessons which we don’t remember anyway? You teach us to
learn to learn, don’t burden us with information”. That’s a wonderful
idea. If we are linking it to the digital age question, perhaps digitalisa-
tion would enable the lessening of that burden in terms of information
and focus more on knowledge.
Now to talk about the external agency, especially at a younger age, children
are entirely dependent on the external factors. We are teaching them to
internalise and make decisions etc., but otherwise it is what they’re told to
do. I remember when teaching children, one almost gets scared by looking
at the complete trust in their eyes. It is like they looked at you to say you
knew everything. Even Padma’s (Padma Sarangapani) book brings out very
well. They think the teacher knows everything and they trust the teacher. So
it really is in the teachers hand to lessen the burden. In a way I think when
we are burdened emotionally, socially physically, we do seek support. For
the child this external support, be it parents or teachers, is very important.
Who will decide whether you should bring all the books to class every day?
Or you make provisions in the classroom where the desks could be locked
so that you can leave the books and go home. It is an external agent. Child
cannot. Once I asked a second grade child, how many books are there, she
said 56. I asked ‘why you carry 56 books’. She said “I have to do home-
work”. “But do you have homework in all the 56?” I asked. She said “we
don’t have a place to leave books and come. So, every day I have to carry the
books home and carry it back”. These were slim notebooks. But some of the
textbooks are not that slim at all. So there is a physical burden. Also, how
much homework we give the child, how much do we expect them to memo-
rise leads to the intellectual burden. What the children do when they can’t
manage, they put a wall and rid that what they can’t learn and in the worst
cases they withdraw completely. But we shouldn’t let that happen right?!
M: I think I agree with you on this aspect because as you have already
shared, it has taken a while for even miniscule changes to happen on
the ground. On the one hand, this pandemic had little to do with us
directly. But then on the other hand, the current dispensation and think-
ing both of the critique as well as the larger society does not seem to
be conducive to make the kind of changes that are required now, if we

have to not to set a clock back. So that is indeed a major worry.
S: It is very much a major worry. People are talking of enacting laws for
love jihad, enacting laws for cow protection and nobody is talking
about children. Yes, there are a few selected very good NGOs which
are addressing this. But the government is not. They are talking about
Ram mandir. Although I’m a believer, not an atheist, I think Ram does
not need a mandir. He is quite comfortable wherever he is. Also, The
Parliament doesn’t need another structure. Nobody is talking about
education! Politicians have not talked about education. I am not a
part of the system anymore. Otherwise at least I could pretend I will
make a small dent. Now I feel hopeless. So I keep writing to friends
who are in committees and tell them that we need to do this, we need
to take that example and all. But unless it’s done at the policy level, and
even if it’s done at the policy level, if there is no zeal, there is no point.
Look at the Verma Committee report. I believe it’s one of the finest
reports of the legal sayings. And yet nobody talks about that anymore.
Our priorities are all mixed up. They are based on political agenda; not
at all on human right agenda. So as a group if you all are doing any-
thing, let policy discussions regarding education address these multiple
disadvantages. And it’s not that next year we will pick up. It may take a
decade to pick up. Many may not come back at all to school. I hope I’m
not exhausting you people because I get pretty emotional with all these
issues. So I exhaust myself.
R: No Ma’am, it was really nice to hear you. And I think throughout, it
was really nice. And we were also kind of resonating with the ideas and
concerns that you were raising.
S: Now as youngsters you must say what’s next. How do we turn these
concerns with constructive suggestions? What can be done? What steps
need to be taken? Whether NEP is addressing the concern that you have
raised? You all will play a major role in this regard and if you can bring
these up, that could be a great service for the children.
M: Yes, absolutely. We will certainly try and do that. This conversation has
also rejuvenated us in terms of the urgency of the situation and how
much we should all try and pitch in at the levels that we can. Thank
you very much.
Epilogue
Arindam Bose, Mythili Ramchand and Ritesh Khunyakari
Orientation guiding the book’s discourse

This volume attempts to illustrate how the construct of burden can be used
as a prism to both problematise issues related to education and also to
explore multiple ways of addressing them. Hitherto, the education system
has been segmented with different educational and administrative bodies
serving the interrelated sectors of curriculum, teacher education and exam-
ination. While various reforms and policies have brought about changes
in each of these sectors, transformation of the system vis-à-vis inclusion
has not been possible. An integrated and cohesive understanding of learn-
ing and a common vision and effort to reduce burden in a comprehensive
and concerted manner is needed for enabling systemic transformation. The
notion that the system cannot let go of “control” is widespread as seen from
the time of the Chaturvedi Committee that studied the feasibility of imple-
menting the recommendation of the Learning without Burden report to the
current NEP 2020. Even as the NEP 2020 recommends a “light but tight”
regulation, the discourse is one of developing governance and monitoring
mechanisms at different levels of educational engagement, managing teach-
ers and teaching through accountability measures. The “burden” on teach-
ers is as pernicious and has to be recognised in the context of a potential
transformation. Equally important are epistemic understandings through
field level engagements for inclusive curriculum and pedagogic practices.
As has been pointed out by the LwB report and NCF 2005, examination
reforms are a sine-qua-non for transforming the education system in the
country. The burden on learning is heavily determined by high-stakes exam-
inations. This certainly needs to change. Besides systemic reforms through
curricular imagination and systems of assessment and evaluation, acknowl-
edging the critical space of teachers is needed. Teachers need to be trusted
and provided freedom to develop, discuss and exercise vibrant pedagogic
spaces so as to emerge as participants in systemic reforms and contribute as
agents of social transformation.
DOI: 10.4324/9781003046059-23
Measures to address burden

Policy documents in the country have long recognised the cognitive burden
that the education system places on children and reform efforts, backed by
legislation, have tried to address this. Within the National Education Policy
2020, the structural aspects are inadequately deliberated upon as are the
processes of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment in terms of either cogni-
tive burden or burden on learners’ socioemotional states. The pandemic
caused by COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021 has disrupted the education sys-
tem in the country (as in other spheres of general public life) and accentu-
ated inequities. It has brought to the fore the importance of socioemotional
learning, flexible modes of delivery and blurring of boundaries among non-
formal, informal and formal education, and community and school spaces.
However, the current measures of learning instead of analysing the above
aspects have morphed into a deficit discourse of learning loss. Most states
are planning to measure learning “loss” due to school closure and bridge the
gap through accelerated intervention programmes. The agency of teachers,
students and parents as cognitive beings are not being sufficiently recog-
nised. The disruption caused by the pandemic impact is an opportunity to
reimagine this sector. It offers possibilities for contextualising and recon-
ceptualising knowledge, connecting home and school as integrated spaces
of learning, revisiting burden through human relations and flexible policies,
curricula, pedagogies and assessments. Aspects of home, community and
school can creatively converge to support children’s growth and learning;
schools cannot be considered to be the only space for learning.
In the current changed contexts, the Learning without Burden report
and its recommendations appear to be even more fitting and relevant now.
As the deliberations emerging in the chapters of this volume note, a more
nuanced discourse on the notion of burden is presently needed, rather than
just a mechanistic conception of the physical burden mostly alluding to the
syllabus and even going to the extent of cutting down syllabus as a marker
of load reduction in the post-pandemic context of reopening schools. The
authors of this volume push us to think of burden not as something to be
overcome but as a construct to engage productively with the issues that sur-
round inclusive, meaningful and authentic learning. Moving forward, the
objective is to bring in reform efforts in the post-pandemic contexts that
“stick” and suggest measures to reduce burden for learners at the systemic
level and also in practice in the following thematic categories:
Reimagination
Noting that learning without burden is essentially a case of learning with
understanding, the chapters on literacy and language learning call for
Epilogue 425
tapping into the natural urge of children to explore, make sense of the world
and express themselves. When given the autonomy, learners choose texts
that they can relate to and make sense of. They are also capable of evolving
standards that they hold themselves accountable to. Ethical learning and
moral development within formal educational settings also need to draw
upon the natural human impetus for empathy and self-inquiry and recon-
sider the broader aims and processes of education, based on the complex-
ity of human nature and current disruptive circumstances in society. These
highlight the acute need for reimagining teacher education and examination
systems more than ever.
Restructuring
Most chapters call for restructuring the link between policy intent and
implementation; curriculum reforms and pedagogic practices; learn-
ing and assessment; and school and teacher education. The chapter on
mathematics curriculum reform suggests a shift from the current focus
on developing competences that prepares students for higher education,
to restructuring the curriculum around key ideas in the domain to sup-
port learners to meaningfully learn the “language” of mathematics. The
chapters on visuospatial thinking and arts in education call for an inte-
grated approach to curriculum design, pedagogy and assessment. The lat-
ter makes a case for inclusive pedagogic practices in a non-competitive
learning environment. The adoption of universal design learning princi-
ples across the sector can provide an opportunity for inclusive practices
and learner friendly environments.
Transformative action
Technology provides the potential to disrupt existing ways of thinking and
practicing and bring about a transformation in designing curriculum mate-
rials, pedagogy and assessment. The transformation is only possible if it
is based on equitable and inclusive principles. The education system has
been consistently neglecting the aspirations of an inclusive society guaran-
teed by the Indian Constitution and cannot afford to continue to do so if
schools are to remain relevant. Curriculum and pedagogic practices must
take into account the lived experiences of the learners if it hopes to mean-
ingfully include those who have hitherto been marginalised and deprived
of meaningful educational experiences. Alongside political will, a broad-
based understanding of inclusion is needed to ensure adequate allocation of
resources to ensure equal educational opportunities and develop adequate
capabilities among all learners.
Going forward
It is hoped that the discourse on learning without burden continues to
elaborate and present critique to the interpretations that have begun in this
volume. The Editors envisage the construct of burden as a prism that will
continue to refract more interpretations that are open-ended enabling a
transformation of the sector.
Index
Page numbers in bold denote tables, in italic denote figures
abstraction 8, 19, 105–108, 114, Arnold, A. 215

116–117, 295, 317 Ashok Ganguly 50, 372, 374, 383
academic burden 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, assessment 5, 17, 20, 29, 48, 55, 61,
12, 16–18, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 43, 55, 87, 88, 90, 91, 96, 98, 101, 109,
58, 124, 214, 363, 379, 392, 414, 113, 120–133, 136, 138, 140, 141,
419, 420 157, 159, 165, 168, 169, 177, 203,
academic ethos 2, 16, 167, 214, 217, 226, 228, 229, 231, 232,
170–171, 332 247, 248, 285, 289, 291, 301, 302,
academic rationalism 388 313, 398, 423–425
accessibility 156, 178, 216 astronomy 23, 105, 106, 306, 311,
accountability 20, 55, 61, 68, 120, 121, 312, 314, 318, 341, 342
125, 129, 130, 140, 208, 383, 423 Auden, W.H. 244
activity-based learning 94, 173 authenticity 108, 275, 279
aesthetic development 211, 212 autism 222–224, 226
agency of teachers 14, 424 autonomy 22, 23, 66, 68, 70, 122, 172,
Ahmad, A.C. 176 173, 215, 217, 221, 270, 282, 341,
Akhilesh, A. 256 375–377, 383, 404, 425
Al Hazmi, A.N. 176
alienated 231 Baddeley, A. 307, 342n6
All India Council of Secondary Banerjee, S. 25, 28, 357, 366
Education (AICSE) 123 Barakhadi 256, 257, 259, 263, 265
Alsubiae, M.A. 172 behaviourism 122, 307
American Association of Intellectual Benedict, C. 225
and Developmental Disabilities Berger, D.S. 223
(AAIDD) 226 Bhukkal, G. 48
analogical mapping 327 bio-inspired design (BID) 324–326,
analogues 341 330–331, 333, 341
anatomical 323 biomimetics 324
anganwadi 245–247, 415, 420 biomimicry 324
Anita Kaul 380 biomorphism 324
Annual Status of Education Report bionics 324
(ASER) 129 biophilic design 324
Anuradha, P. 256, 263 Black, P. 140
Aoki, N. 269 Bloom, B. 123–124
archaeology of problem 363 boards of education 165, 168, 170,
arithmetical operations 109, 115, 387 216, 372

428 Index
broad-based appeal 259 communities of practice 63, 78

Bruner, J. 243, 388 competency-based test 53
Bullock, S.M. 70 comprehensibility 276, 385, 390
burden: academic 3, 5–6, 8–9, 11–12, computational thinking 111, 112, 114,
16–18, 22, 24–25, 27–28, 43, 55, 58, 116, 156, 199
124, 214, 363–364, 379, 392, 414, concept 8, 40, 59, 70, 107, 108, 131,
419–420; cognitive 2–3, 16, 23, 356, 133, 149, 168, 176, 213, 227, 228,
424; of learning 2, 22, 145, 246–247, 244, 256, 310, 316, 360, 393
264, 285, 354, 364 conceptual understanding 19, 78, 107,
burden of incomprehensibility 384, 390 109, 132, 159, 218, 321, 327
connected computers 20, 144–146,
Cahn, B.R. 222 152, 159–161
canonical imagery 133 Connected Learning Initiative (CLIx)
case-based analysis 71 149, 151–152, 318
Central Advisory Board of Education Connelly, F. 137
(CABE) 46, 48, 369 Constitutional values 28, 48, 98, 194,
Central Board of Secondary 198, 199, 364
Education (CBSE) 45, 49, 52, 54, Constitutional vision 84
156, 168, 372–373, 375, 377, 381, construct of burden 6, 16, 29, 423, 426
383, 400, 413 constructionism 149
Central Examination Unit (CEU) 123 constructivist developmental
Central Institute of languages 369 psychology 286
Chagla, M.C. 124 constructivist pedagogy 288
challenge of education 39–40, 46 constructs 6, 8, 84, 215, 309, 341
Chandrashekaran, C. 310 contextualisation 75, 77, 79, 157
character development 185, 187, contextually relevant 22
192–194, 196, 198, 200, 205 continuous and comprehensive
Chargaff, E. 136–137 evaluation (CCE) 41–43, 44, 48,
Chattopadhyay Commission 58–60, 96–97, 127, 173, 411–413
62–63, 65–66, 396 Corey, R. 137
Chaturvedi Committee 17, 28, 37, 43, corporal punishment 41
44, 46, 49, 355, 361–362, 423 COVID-19 2, 144, 153–155, 178, 198,
Chik, A. 269 241, 392, 408, 416, 424
child-centredness 3, 365 creative arts 211, 215
childhood 85, 91, 93, 96, 221, 229, Crick, F.H.C. 136, 138
230, 269, 356, 382, 389, 407 crisis 21, 184, 197, 198, 416
children: with disabilities (CwD) 20–22, critical imagination/reimagination 363
62, 163–173, 175–179, 222, 232; critical space 423
with diverse learning needs 163–164; curricular adaptation 165
with special needs (CwSN) 163–164, curricular load 26, 42, 43, 51, 144,
167–168 165, 166
chlorenchyma cells 329 curricular structure 19, 109, 111, 117
Choudhury, R. 256 curricular transaction 40
Chunawala, S. 310 curriculum design 230, 425
Clandinin, D. 137 curriculum reforms 1, 16, 18–19,
Clay, M. 244 23–24, 57–58, 66–68, 90–91, 95,
cognitive burden 2, 3, 16, 23, 356, 424 287–288, 300, 425
cognitive functioning 165, 169 Curtis, A. 184
cognitive load 144, 145, 147, 150, 312
cognitive overload 355 Darke, J. 336
colonial history 371 Darrow, A.A. 224–225
commercialisation 57, 399 Darwinist approach 389
communicative purpose 120 Das, A.K. 173
Index 429
dastkar 382 Eisner, E. 8, 26

decentralisation 54, 98, 287, 382, 384 Eklavya 13–14, 93, 288, 294, 296, 358,
Delhi High Court 50, 52 386, 389
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) 130–133, embedded pedagogy 283
134, 139, 140, 309–310 empirical research 376
Desai, I.P. 173 Engelhart, M. 123
design and technology (D&T) 5, 21, entrance criteria 363
23, 306, 308–311, 334, 343n12 environment science 376
design strategy 374 epistemic 28, 128, 340, 342, 409, 423
Devanagari 151, 253–254, 255, epistemic identity 69, 395, 396,
256–257, 259–260, 262, 265, 266n1 402, 408
development: aesthetic 211–212; epistemological requirements 377
character 21, 185, 187, 192–194, equitable and inclusive principles 425
196, 198, 200, 202, 205 esoteric discipline 287
Dewey, J. 72, 192, 211, 390 ethical learning 21, 185, 188, 190–194,
Dhankar, R. 14 196, 198–200, 202, 205, 425
dialectic 340 ethno-mathematical practices 288
differentiated instruction (DI) 176–177 Euclidean space 315
digital age 417 evaluation 21, 38–42, 48, 52, 96–98,
Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge 109, 115, 123–125, 128, 141, 166,
Sharing (DIKSHA) 156–157 173, 268, 412, 423
digital natives 159–160 examination system 16, 17, 23, 41,
digitisation 417, 418 42, 122, 126, 127, 151, 173, 371,
diglossic 246 374, 425
discipline-based approach 74, 76, 77 exit attainment 363
discourse 2, 3, 5, 16, 19, 26, 27, 29,
60, 66, 68, 70, 73, 83, 99, 114, 121, Fenton-O’Creevy, M. 73
126, 130, 140, 263, 354, 362, 365, Forlin, C. 174
379, 407, 423, 424, 426 Franklin, R. 136–137, 139, 140
District Primary Education Programme Freire, P. 243–244
(DPEP) 3, 93–94, 97, 288, 365 Furst, E. 123
diverse learning needs 163–164, 166
Donald, J.G. 70 Garcia-Barros, S. 323
Donaldson, M. 261 Gardner, H. 169
Garrido, M. 323
Earl, L. 131 gender discrimination 388
early childhood care and education Gilbert, J.K. 306
(ECCE) 41, 49–50, 55, 100, 179, 214 Giroux, H.A. 67–68
early childhood education (ECE) 45, globalisation 2, 197, 291
53, 62, 213 Goel, A.K. 328
Early Literacy Initiative 22, 262 Gopal Krishna Gokhale 392
education: art 211–212, 215–217, 220, Government of India (GoI) 1, 43, 46,
222; elementary 2, 48, 52, 175, 282, 63–65, 86, 108, 112, 122, 124, 126,
413; preschool 49, 175, 213; school 145, 147–148, 152, 155–156, 158,
1–2, 4–5, 16, 19, 28, 39, 41–42, 54, 163, 165, 217, 282, 284–285, 373,
57, 78, 122, 126–127, 145, 147, 166, 379–380
169–170, 173, 205n5, 224, 282, 285, Greene, M. 214
287, 360, 365, 367, 386, 397, 410 Guang-Xue, Y. 174
educational discourse 1–3, 5, 8, 10,
120, 123, 127, 141, 283, 287 Habibi, A. 222
educational policymaking 367 Halder, S. 310
educational principles 84, 112, 286 haptic 306, 318
eighth schedule 369 Helms, M. 328
430 Index
Heptullah, N. 6, 356 J.S. Verma Commission 374

heritage crafts 380, 382, 383 Justice Verma Commission 58, 60–61,
heuristics 289 63, 374, 401, 422
Hickman, R. 212
higher order skills 53 Kasturirangan, K. 282
Hill, W. 123 Kelly, A. 164
holistic learning 99, 374 Khader, M.A. 28, 368, 373
Homi Bhabha Centre 286, 288, Khemani, S. 295–296
294, 300 Kimbell, R. 140
Hoshangabad Science Teaching Project kinaesthetic 222, 306, 318, 343
359 Kishore Bharati 27, 358–361, 386
Howe, M.J.A. 268 knowledge flux 339
human nature 21, 185–188, 188, 198, Kothari Commission 37–38, 55, 58–60,
200–201, 203, 205, 205n3, 425 62, 64, 67, 86, 124, 215, 282–283,
humanistic philosophy 286 285–286, 302, 378, 390–391, 396,
Hunter Commission 122 414–415
Hutchinson, S. 73 Kothari, D.S. 124
Krashen, S.D. 269, 279
idealism 59, 376 Krathwohl, D. 123
ideological barriers 387 Krishnamoorthy, K. 222
inclusion 19, 69, 79, 86–90, 94, 100, Krishnamurti, J. 201
173, 174, 177, 178, 219, 225, 229, KSSP 361
231, 291, 320, 425 Kubiak, C. 73
inclusive classrooms 167, 175–177 Kuchah, K. 269
inclusive education 22, 164, 167, 170, Kulkarni, V.G. 27, 286, 357–358
171, 174, 177–179 Kumar, K. (KK) 24, 28, 71, 74, 76,
Indian administrative academy 380 147, 286, 353–356, 359, 361–368,
Indian Administrative Service (IAS) 25, 371, 374–375, 377, 379–380,
357, 372, 378–380, 383, 400 383–384, 387, 389–390, 392–393,
Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) 395–396, 399, 401–403, 405,
127, 387 407–408, 410, 412, 414–415
Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) Kuyini, A.B. 173
127, 389, 419
inequities 424 Lamb, M. 269
Information and Communication Laxman, R.K. 6, 7, 25, 284
Technologies (ICTs) 4, 16, 20, 29, learner autonomy 22, 269–270,
155–156 277, 279
Inhelder, B. 307 learning with burden 29
input 22, 110, 172, 269, 271–273, 288, Learning without Burden (LwB)
370, 410 Committee/Report 1–5, 8, 9, 10–11,
in-service education 371 16–17, 19–20, 23, 25–29, 26, 58,
intellectual and developmental 83–85, 93, 96, 100, 105, 108–109,
disabilities (IDDs) 22, 226, 230 111, 121, 126, 141, 144–145,
intonation 238 147–148, 151, 159, 163, 165–167,
invariance 125 170–171, 174, 179–180, 195, 199,
IPTA 361 203, 218, 246, 283–288, 299–300,
Ishwarbhai Patel Committee 39 305, 324, 332, 341, 353–354, 361,
iterative 116, 132, 140, 340 364, 366–368, 374, 389–390, 392,
396, 415, 423–424
Jament, J. 168 learning: activity-based (ABL) 94,
Jhingran, D. 246 173; ethical 21, 185, 188, 190–192,
Jones, S. 120 192, 194, 196, 198–200, 202, 205,
Index 431
425; joyful 21, 44, 148, 174, 176; 42–43, 53, 64, 94, 96, 125–126, 163,
joyless 16, 20, 26, 144–145, 161, 164, 167, 170, 217, 218, 282, 357
167; lifelong 167, 174, 178; social- Ministry of Social Justice and
emotional 21, 188, 190, 192, 200, Empowerment (MSJ&E) 164,
203; without burden 17, 21, 37, 55, 171, 173
92, 163, 172, 176, 179–180, 229, mnemonic 307
278, 387, 403, 418, 424, 426; see modelling 71, 106, 132–135, 138, 291,
also burden of 309, 310, 318–324, 338
Levene, P. 136–137 moral development 5, 90, 185, 194,
liberalization 37, 288, 365, 399, 400 195, 202, 381, 425
literacy 1, 16, 22, 53, 84, 99, 118, moral education 21, 185, 193, 194,
129, 157, 199, 214, 220, 237–238, 196, 199
244–246, 248–249, 251–252, 257, moral values 21, 188–190, 192, 194
260, 265, 288, 424 morphemic levels 252
morphological 323
Ma, L. 70 motor-sensory activity 239
Macedo, D. 243 Mudaliar Commission 194, 199, 205n5
Macnamara, J. 271
malleable 238, 308 Nag, S. 269
managerial purpose 120, 140 Nai Talim 84, 340
Marathi 244, 253–254, 256–259, Naik, J.P. 17, 378
262–263, 266n3, 312, 391 Najma Heptullah 6, 356
marginalised 22, 71, 164, 168, 170, Narayan, R.K. 5–6, 8, 25, 30n2,
175, 180, 184, 273, 409, 417, 425 356–357, 363, 392, 421
marginalised traditions 22 Narlikar, J. 360
Maria, S. 212 Narsimha Rao 365
marketisation 18, 66 Natarajan, C. 310
Martínez-Losada, C. 323 National Achievement Survey (NAS)
Mason, J.M. 248 128–129
mathematisation 111, 287–291, National Advisory Committee 1, 3,
387, 390 5–6, 8, 37, 125, 163, 353
Mathew, L. 269 National Assessment Centre (NAC)
McCord, K.A. 222 129, 159
Medium Density Fibre (MDF) National Book Trust 367
327–328, 329 National Council for Fire and Safety
Mehrotra, R.N. 399 Engineering (NCFSE) 19, 88, 90, 99,
Mehrotra, S. 310 101, 364, 366
mental imagery 306, 307, 342n7 National Council for Teacher
mental structure 287 Education (NCTE) 57, 61, 62, 65,
Menuhin, Y. 211 68–69, 69, 76, 219, 371, 372, 374,
metacognitive skills 141 377, 397, 399–401
metaphorical language 240 National Council of Educational
Metzler, J. 307, 342n3 Research and Training (NCERT) 15,
microworlds 149, 151, 156, 160–161 28, 38–39, 43, 46–47, 49, 52, 89–90,
midday meal 420 93, 96–101, 123, 128, 156–157, 216,
Milton Keynes 269 219, 289, 294–295, 319, 320, 355,
Minimum Levels of Learning (MLL) 357, 362, 364–365, 367–373, 375,
41, 55, 90, 292, 293 377–380, 383–386, 390–391, 393,
Ministry of Education 38–40, 47, 164, 396–397, 403–404, 406, 412–413
170, 173, 177 National Curriculum Framework
Ministry of Human Resource (NCF) 1–3, 19, 23, 28, 42, 46–49,
Development (MHRD) 1, 3, 25–26, 51, 88, 93, 96–98, 100–101,
432 Index
108–109, 111, 124, 127, 144, 286, 354, 357–363, 365, 367, 372,
159, 195–196, 202, 205n8, 215, 374, 383, 389–390, 394, 398, 404,
282, 296, 292, 297–298, 300, 409–411, 414–415
305, 354, 364–374, 378–382, 384, Pande, P. 310
386–392, 394, 396–397, 403–404, Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya
411–413, 423 National Mission on Teachers and
National Curriculum Framework for Teaching (PMMMNMTT) 57–58
Teacher Education (NCFTE) 57, 60, Papert, S. 149–150
64, 66, 67, 69, 373, 377 PARAKH 129, 159
National Education Policy (NEP) 1, 16, parenchyma cells 329
18–19, 29, 37–38, 41, 47, 52–55, Parmeswaran, M.P. 14
58, 60, 62–65, 98–101, 111–112, Parsons, M.J. 212
117–118, 129, 153–159, 161, 170, Pauling, L. 137
175, 179, 198–200, 214, 217, 245, payol schools 105
248, 264, 282–283, 286, 301, 305, peace education 196, 380, 382
395, 399, 407, 410, 415, 420, 422, pedagogic autonomy 377
423–424 pedagogic experiment 73
National Education Policy 2020 (NEP pedagogic imagination 374
2020) 16, 18, 19, 29, 52–55, 58, 60, pedagogic practice 16, 124, 318,
62–65, 98–101, 112, 117, 118, 129– 423, 425
130, 153–159, 161, 179, 198–200, pedagogic purpose 20, 120–121
248, 282, 283, 305, 423 pedagogic transformation 109
National Focus Groups 1, 3, 28, 107, pedagogy 4, 20, 44, 49, 53, 63–64, 69,
127, 215, 220, 268, 364, 369, 373, 71, 74–78, 94, 108–109, 111, 121,
381, 382, 386–387, 389, 393 124–126, 131, 132, 140, 155, 195,
National Institute for the 217, 230, 269–270, 283, 285, 288,
Empowerment of Persons with 313, 314, 316, 318, 325, 343n12,
intellectual Disabilities (NIEPID) 169 375, 384, 395, 424, 425
National Policy on Education (NPE) People’s Science Movement 361
37–38, 41–43, 44–45, 46, 57–61, 90, Perfetti, C. 252
124, 195, 205n6, 302n1 Performance, Assessment, Review and
National Repository of OER (NROER) Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic
148, 157 development (PARAKH) 129, 159
National Testing Agency (NTA) 62, 159 phonetic structure 253
Newmark, L. 271 photosynthetic 329
no detention policy (NDP) 55, 127 Piaget, J. 268, 287, 307, 342n2
non-comprehension 3, 43, 91, 93, 105, Pitre, B.G. 27, 286, 358
126, 141, 284, 363 policymaking 367
normative child 147, 150 political history 362, 365, 366
position papers (PP) 1, 3, 28, 107, 127,
One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) 146, 205n8, 220, 288–289, 364, 368
149, 151–152 Prabhu, N.S. 276
ontological conceptions 339 Pragat Shikshan Sanstha (PSS)
Open Educational Resources (OERs) approach 260, 262
20, 148, 157, 160–161 Pritam, A. 6
optimisation 118 procedural learning 107
Organisation for Economic Programme for International Student
Cooperation and Development Assessment (PISA) 128, 140
(OECD) 128, 408 proportional reasoning 286
propositional thinking 308
Paivio, A. 307, 342n5 psychological burden 348, 349, 416
Pal, Yash (Professor) 1, 3, 25, 27, 30n4, psychomotor 123
46–47, 126, 163, 245, 268, 278, psycho-social 196
Index 433
quality 1–2, 17–20, 33, 37, 40–41, 43, 6, 18, 27, 128, 219, 266n3, 268,
50–52, 54, 55, 57–59, 61, 83, 85–90, 359; see also education
94, 120, 123–124, 126–129, 140, Science, Technology, Engineering and
141, 157, 160, 165, 166, 190–192, Mathematics (STEM) 308, 343n8
195, 200–202, 211, 218, 219, 383, second language acquisition 22, 269
387, 411–413 Sharma, U. 174
quality education 37, 89, 97, 123, Shepard, R. 307, 342n3
165, 174 Shubha Mudgal 382
QWERTY effect 150–152, 154, 160 Shulman, L. 298
Singh, A. 25, 46, 356–357, 362, 366,
Radhakrishnan Commission 59, 86 373, 416
Rajaraman, V. 7 Singh, Gajendra 11
Rajya Sabha 6, 25, 356, 363, 365 Sinha, S. 248, 396
Ramadas, J. 308–309, 311 Sivagnanam Committee 111
Regional Institute of Education (RIE) 28 Skill Council for Persons with Disability
Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) (SCPwD) 170
173, 177 Smith, R. 212, 269
reimagination 8, 17, 29, 61, 72, 123, social Darwinism 388
127, 363, 405, 424–425 social divide 417
remediating 120 social transformation 423
restructuring 8, 19, 29, 132, 415, 425 social-emotional learning 21, 188, 190,
Right of Children to Free and 200, 203
Compulsory Education Act (RTE socio-economically disadvantaged
Act) 18, 47–50, 52, 54, 57, 97, 127, groups (SEDGs) 99, 219
163, 177, 283, 407–409, 412–413 socio-emotional states 424
right to education 85, 163, 177, 282 sociology 72, 75, 131, 204, 374, 397,
Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 402
(RpwD) 163, 165, 175, 179 special educational needs (SEN) 164,
Rogers, E.M. 152 168, 173, 177
Rose, L.S. 225 Spencer, M.M. 240
rote learning 23, 39, 40, 42, 53, 60, Srivastava, A. 309
89, 91, 95, 105, 144, 155, 199, 279, Stables, K. 104
282, 283, 285, 301 State Achievement Survey (SAS) 129
rule-governed creativity 270–271 State Centres for Education, Research
Ruppert, S.S. 230 and Training (SCERTs) 47, 52, 89,
94, 97–98, 371, 379, 390, 413
Sadgopal, A. 14, 286, 358–359, 389 steering committee 3, 28, 286, 368–
saffronisation 364 372, 380, 381, 387
Saha, S. 310 structures 13, 18, 19, 26, 29, 42, 43,
Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan 57, 163 47, 49, 50, 54, 55, 57–59, 62–66, 85,
Sampoorna Music Therapy Centre 91, 93, 102, 106–111, 117, 131–134,
222–224 136–139, 151, 153–157, 161, 184,
Sarangapani, P. (PS) 10, 12–15, 26, 421 186, 208, 232, 236, 253, 261,
Saraswathi, T.S. 24, 286, 415–422 263, 287, 308–310, 318, 319, 324,
Sarkar, S. 310 329–330, 334, 336–339, 349, 388,
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan 163, 406 390, 392, 397, 401–402, 408–409,
Sawyer, W.W. 114 414–415, 422
scaffold 74, 101, 176, 325, 327 subject-specific knowledge 78
Scheme for Implementation of Persons Sudeep Bannerjee 366
with Disabilities Act (SIPDA) 170 Sulzby, E. 244
Schön, D. 308 super-hydrophobic nanostructues 324
school: bag 6–7, 9, 11, 18, 33, 42–43, Sustainable Development Goal on
49–53, 124, 145, 284, 354; children Education (SDG 4) 174–175
434 Index
syllabus 14, 40, 43, 44, 51, 63, transparency 27, 61, 383
85, 89–94, 98, 247, 271, 273, Trends in International Mathematics
282–283, 290–296, 341, 355, 361, and Science Study (TIMSS) 128, 140
364, 371, 375, 384–385, 387, 389, turning point 2, 27, 354
390, 392, 396–398, 403–404, 411, Tyabji, L. 382
418–419, 424
symbolisation 237, 238, 251, 264 uncertainty 114–115, 117, 118,
systemic offloading 364 183, 418
systemic problem 364 UNESCO 39, 178, 197
systemic reforms 3, 28, 98, 264, 396, Unified District Information System for
398, 423 Education (UDISE) 163
systemic response 364 United Nations convention on rights
of persons with disabilities
Tagore, R. 211, 286, 365 (UNCRPD) 175
Tamil Nadu Science Forum (TNSF) 104 universal design for learning (UDL) 21,
Tanner, H. 120 172, 176–177
teacher education 2, 4–5, 17–18, Universal Elementary Education (UEE)
23–24, 45, 57–79, 163, 173–174, 57, 60, 365
178, 219, 268, 298, 302n1, 371–372, universalisation 109, 282
395–397, 399–405, 423, 425 University Grants Commission (UGC)
teacher preparation (TP) 2, 18, 27, 1, 45, 360, 401, 404
57–59, 61–62, 65–74, 77–79, 85, UPA 366, 368
101, 132, 156, 178–179, 289, 297
teacher preparation programme 62, 65, Vagh, S.B. 269
67, 69–70, 74, 132 variation 113, 115, 116, 118, 194, 254,
teacher readiness 173–174 295, 300, 311, 317
teachering device 377 Vattam, S.S. 328
teaching-learning materials (TLMs) Veerappa Moily 362
148, 160, 171 Verma, J.S. 374, 399
Teale, W. 244 vestibular 306, 343n9
technology 5, 20–21, 23, 38, 55, 63, virtues 21, 188–190, 192, 193–194,
69, 86, 106, 112, 117, 127, 148–152, 203
154–155, 160–161, 177–179, 183, visuospatial mediation 335
222, 306, 308–309, 425 visuospatial sketchpad 307
Telangana State Council of Educational visuospatial thinking 23, 29, 132,
Research and Training (TSCERT) 305–309, 311, 317, 321–325, 337,
319–320, 320 340–341, 343n8, 425
Telugu 22, 253–254, 257–260, 258, VUCA world 183, 191, 196, 205
262–265, 266n1, 268, 275 Vygotsky, L. 176, 237–239, 244, 248,
Templer, B. 269 251–252, 264, 279
textbook culture 7, 147, 148, 318, 322
textbook reforms 83, 294, 296 Watson, J.D. 136–138
theatre movement 367 well-being 22, 42, 51, 187, 189, 193,
theory-practice dialectic 71–72 196, 204, 215, 247
Thurston, W. 110, 118 Wenger-Trayner, B. 73
Toffler, A. 7 Wenger-Trayner, E. 73
Tomasello, M. 241 Westheimer, J. 221
Tomlinson, A.C. 176–177 Widdowson, H.G. 279
training institute 376 Wilkins, M. 136–137
transformation 14–15, 29, 37–38, 52, Working Group on Curriculum Load
78, 86, 94, 108–109, 111, 114–118, 39–40
177, 218, 306, 308, 323, 338, 341, World Health Organization (WHO)
371–374, 398, 423, 425, 426 166
Index 435
Yash Pal 1–5, 16–25, 27–30, 37, 58–64, 66, 83–85, 88, 90, 92–93,
42–55, 58–61, 66, 83–85, 90–95, 96–98, 101–102, 111, 163, 172,
98–100, 247–249, 286, 354–370, 178–179, 195, 218, 247–248, 249n1,
395, 409–411, 414–415 282–284, 286, 288, 354–356, 358,
Yash Pal Committee/Report 2–5, 16–24, 360, 362, 364–366, 370, 378–379,
28–29, 37, 42–43, 44, 46–50, 52–55, 384–387, 392, 411, 414–415

Mythili Ramchand, Ritesh Khunyakari, Arindam Bose - Learning Without Burden - Where Are We A Quarter Century After The Yash Pal Committee Report - Routledge (2022)

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Learning without Burden

This book looks at education reforms, planning and policy through an

Mythili Ramchand is a Professor at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS),

Ritesh Khunyakari is an Associate Professor at Tata Institute of Social

Arindam Bose is an Associate Professor at Tata Institute of Social Sciences

Where are We a Quarter Century after the

Edited by Mythili Ramchand,

List of Figures vii

1 Unpacking the Construct of Burden 1

2 Policy Perspectives on Learning without Burden 37

3 Initial Teacher Education: Possibilities and Limits of

4 Reforms in Curriculum and Textbooks: Challenges and

5 From the Tall Tower to a Lush Garden 104

6 Assessment and Learning in Indian Context: Compelling

7 Learning without Burden in the Era of Connected Computers 144

8 Education of Children with Diverse Learning Needs 163

9 The Demands of Ethical Learning and Character Development

10 Learning in the Arts and Aesthetic Development 211

11 Growing into Literacy: Part 1: The Building Blocks of Literacy 236

12 Growing into Literacy: Part 2: The Devanagari and Telugu

13 Understand Language to Acquire It: The Burden Is

14 The Unfinished Agenda of Mathematics Curriculum Reform 282

15 Strengthening Learning through Visuospatial Experiences:

16 Reflections on the Process and Impact of the Learning without

1.1 The burden of academic load visualised through R.K.

entitled BEAR NEWS. Note the blending of letters, numer-

flower, (b) a vegetable chopper inspired from the grinding

1.1 Dimensions of burden (load) characterised in the LwB report. 9

Mythili Ramchand: ORCID: 0000-0001-8762-1026

R Amritavalli ORCID: 0000-0002-4731-9866

is currently investigating salience of visualisation and modelling in con-

Professor Yash Pal’s 1993 “Learning without Burden” Committee report

the curriculum. They offer us a gem of an interview with Professor Krishna

Contextual portrayals of academic burden

Joyful learning makes the burden slide down

Unpacking the Construct of Burden

The Learning without Burden (LwB) report:

Reflections after 25 years: the colloquium

few academicians and practitioners working in the education sector to dis-

Themes were selected to reflect different domains of school learning. The

Rationale for the book

the proceedings of the Colloquium. However, while analysing the available

Conceptualising the notion of burden

Emergence of “burden” in Indian educational

Reflective analysis of the conception of burden

dimensions. These multiple manifestations of burden among learners could

The notion of burden can either be attributed to systemic aspects of

Scoping the characterisation of burden within the LwB report

and more mutually beneficial interaction of students with the commu-

Table 1.1 Dimensions of burden (load) characterised in the LwB report.

Dimension Manifestation Causal explanation/s Recommended orientation/s

Physical/ Gravitational load Faulty notions of Textbooks made available

heuristic outcome of an effort to consolidate the characterisation of burden

Reconstructing explorations of burden

Assimilation of the construct at different levels

There seems to be no consensus in the committee on what the problem

though, worded differently, is similar. He is particularly concerned

Reconnecting to the scenario invokes the question about the approach to

Insights from processes of field interactions revisited

Implied in the questions raised, is a discomfort with the existing scheme of

burden, different from the educationists and practitioners. In many cases,

Teachers in different contexts: The responses to the questions seemed to be

The problem everyone claimed they were responding to was, ‘why do

Table 1.1 Dimensions of burden (load) characterised in the LwB report.

Table 1.2 Burden (curriculum load) schematised as “Nature” and “Cause” of