HRD minister releases NCERT's Alternative Academic Calendar for Higher Secondary Classes; initiative aimed at helping students learn at home

Alternative Academic Calendar for Higher Secondary Classes (Class 11 and Class 12) was released on Wednesday, 3 June by Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.The academic calendar is developed by National Council of Educational and Research Training (NCERT). The alternative calendar will guide teachers how to use various technological and social media tools to teach students while they are at home, the minister said. The calendar will cater to the needs of all children including Divyang children (children with special need). It also has link for audiobooks, radio and video programmes. [caption id=“attachment_8444231” align=“alignnone” width=“630”]  Representational image. PTI[/caption] The minister also said that the alternative academic calendar will empower students, teachers, school principals, and parents to find positive ways to deal with COVID-19. According to a report by NDTV, the academic calendar covers all the subjects of each stream for Class 11 and Class 12. It has week-wise plans with related activities and challenges. CIET- NCERT also tweeted about the academic calendar, “Come online, teach your children at home and be safe with Alternative Academic Calendar.” A report by Hindustan Times mentions that initially this calendar is prepared for four weeks, which may be extended further. The themes and topics in it have been selected from syllabus and are linked with the learning outcomes. The report mentions that the alternate academic calendar maps the themes with the learning outcomes. In April, NCERT has released an alternative academic calendar for primary school students in view of the coronavirus lockdown. The calendar aims to helps students receive education at home with their teachers through technological tools till schools reopen. Here’s the direct link for NCERT’s alternative academic calendar for higher secondary stage: http://www.ncert.nic.in/pdf_files/AAC_HigherSecondary_eng.pdf