Roll No:35

M.ED 1st year.Semester II

Subject: Issues in Curriculum Development

Topic: Decentralized Curriculum

 CONCEPT OF 
DECENTRALISED
CURRICULUM
• There are some issues related to
curriculum development, among of
them the decentralized curriculum issue
is often out of the hands of individuals
involved in course development but has
impact on all aspects of curriculum
development.
• Decentralization of academic
management functions is limited to: 
    Extra-curricular activities with local
contents 
    Flexibility with timetables to implement
a prescribed core curriculum 
    Authorization to select reading materials
 MEANING OF
DECENTRALIZATION
IN EDUCATION
• Decentralization as a concept concerns the
transfer of authority in public planning,
management, and decision making from national
and/or central levels to sub-national levels
with the view to achieving positive outcomes in
both democratic and developmental terms.
• The decentralized curriculum tends to be more
appropriate to students' local needs and often
ensure better ownership of the course by
teachers.
• Decentralization relates to a local transfer of 
authority and resources, leading to more. 
• It aims at ownership at the local level. 
The motives of shifting authority and management responsibilities to
local levels are:

a) To enhance democracy in decision making, 

b) To promote the effective and efficient use of resources in education, 
c) To make public education more responsive to local needs, 
d) To reduce the central government’s and increase local groups’
financial     responsibility for schooling provision, and 
e) To enable schools and teachers to exercise greater professional
autonomy.
• Decentralisation can improve learning when it enhances capacity and
democratic participation, and when resources are distributed fairly.
• Over the last few decades it has occurred in most education systems
around the globe.
• If implemented well, decentralisation has the potential to improve
education quality and learning outcomes. 
• Careful system design is needed in order to reduce the potential
adverse effects of decentralization, such as regional disparities,
overlapping/conflicting policies, and elite capture.
DIFFERENT FORMS OF DECENTRALISATION
Functional Decentralisation
• It refers to the distribution of powers between various authorities that
operate in parallel.
• e.g. one ministry responsible for basic education and another ministry
responsible for higher education and research, a separate examinations
authority or accreditation/inspection authority operating within the
ministry of education
Territorial Decentralisation
• It refers to the redistribution of authority among the different geographic
tiers of government, such as central/federal government, states, regions,
provinces, districts, and schools.
 EFFECTS OF DECENTRALISATION ON
LEARNING OUTCOMES

Decentralisation of administrative functions to school-based management

can result in- 
• greater empowerment and collaboration among teachers
• a greater school-wide focus on professional development
• a greater sense of accountability
• will give more room for local variance and relevance, potentially leading
to more motivated students and a better culture of learning
 ADVERSE EFFECTS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF
DECENTRALISATION

• It can cause overlapping and conflicting decisions to be made at

different levels and the phenomenon of elite capture, reducing
democratic spaces.

• The poor and disadvantaged groups possibly could be neglected or

excluded.
 CONCLUSION 

• The decentralised system must enable the government

to recover the capacity to hold local governments and
schools to account, and it must build the capacity of
disadvantaged groups to participate more effectively within
the system, enabling motivation of subordinates, growth
and diversification, quick decision making, efficient
communication, ease of expansion, better supervision and
control and satisfaction of human needs.
Thank You