Combining two curricula: Syllabus, exam structure for class VI-IX ready

In response to parental demands, the interim government has initiated changes to the new curriculum being taught this year to students from Class VI to IX across the country. 

While the textbooks will continue to follow the new curriculum, annual exams will be conducted using the old question structure, with a focus on written tests instead of summative assessments.

The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) has already prepared the syllabus and question paper structure for these annual exams, set to take place in December. 

The draft has been sent to the Ministry of Education for approval, and NCTB officials expect the final version to be released shortly.

NCTB Chairman Professor AKM Riazul Hasan confirmed the developments on Tuesday (September 10), stating, "We have prepared the syllabus for this year's annual exams and submitted it to the Ministry of Education for feedback. Once we receive their input, the final syllabus and question structure will be released within a day or two."

Hasan explained that the adjustments to the curriculum are based on lessons learned from the implementation of the new experiential learning framework. With the decision to revert to traditional annual exams, NCTB has adapted the syllabus to incorporate relevant parts of the new curriculum into the conventional written test format.

The exam questions will follow the 2012 syllabus structure, with a combination of short and long-form questions. 

These adjustments were drafted in collaboration with teachers and curriculum experts during seminars. The final syllabus and question pattern will be published soon and distributed to schools across the country.