A framework with the provision to incorporate a local subject of importance in the school curricula of secondary level students has been introduced.

The National Curriculum Development and Evaluation Council has to give its nod to the proposal.

According to the Curriculum Development Centre, the framework will be implemented from the next academic session. Ganesh Prasad Bhattarai, CDC spokesperson, said respective schools would be developing the curriculum and textbooks of local subjects themselves with the help of resource centre and District Curriculum Coordination Committee.

Activity that can be developed as a profession, occupations, religion, culture, traditions, local heritage, environment conservation, locally available technologies, festivals and social systems can be offered to the students as subjects. Each such subject will carry 100 marks. “Now onwards, if interested, the schools of Jumla district can develop a curriculum on apple farming in their own locality,” Bhattarai added.

“The provision to teach local subjects was always there, but it could not materialise due to lack of guidelines and framework. Therefore, this year the CDC is introducing the framework to make the implementation aspect easier for the schools and district education authority,” Bhattarai said.

He further said, “National curriculum framework has made a provision to include global and national context. That’s why the government has introduced the new subject with the objective of making students aware regarding the local context.”

Bhattarai said, “New generations often tend to show distaste for their ancestors’ occupations saying that they must not do what their forefathers did for income as they are more educated.”

“But once they start learning about the occupations their forefathers were engaged in, they would love to carry them forward and embrace them as means of livelihood.” A local subject will be included as compulsory subject under Occupation, Entrepreneurship and Technology carrying 100 marks.

source: the himalayan times,27 Oct 2013