Secondary Edn: Science, arts, commerce groups return

The education ministry has reinstated the stream-based system at the secondary level, reinstating science, humanities, and business studies groups that were scrapped under the new curriculum introduced by the previous government.
The Secondary and Higher Education Division issued a notice yesterday, announcing that the students currently in the ninth grade will return to the previous curriculum of 2012 when they advance to the 10th grade in 2025. Textbooks of the 2012 curriculum were last used in the 2023 academic year. 
These students will receive revised textbooks and follow a shortened syllabus to ensure they complete their studies within one academic year, after which they will sit for the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) or equivalent exams in 2026.
The notice, signed by Deputy Secretary Rohima Akhter, cited widespread feedback concerning the National Curriculum 2022 from educators, stakeholders, and researchers.
It said there are issues such as inadequate teacher preparation, unclear content, concerns over assessment methods, and significant institutional limitations. Therefore, the curriculum is not feasible for implementation, the notice said.
In response to these challenges, the ministry has decided to keep the current textbooks for classes six to nine throughout 2024. New textbooks, revised and updated as far as possible, will be introduced in 2025.
Additionally, students of grades six to nine will be evaluated under a revised assessment method for the remainder of 2024 and during the annual exams.
Their six subject-based assessments, which could not be completed due to the mass uprising and closure, will not resume.
Instead, the 2024 annual exams will follow a revised assessment framework, which will be distributed among the schools soon, the notice said.
Students advancing to the ninth grade in 2025 will study under the revised 2012 curriculum, using stream-based and cluster-based formats. They will complete their syllabus in two academic years and participate in the SSC or equivalent exams in 2027.
For the primary level, the ministry decided to revise and print fourth and fifth-grade textbooks, aligning them with earlier grades. Teaching methods and assessments will be updated, with a focus on exams, similar to the National Curriculum 2012.
The education ministry said that the revised curriculum would be finalised in 2025, incorporating input from educationists, curriculum experts, and other stakeholders. A fully updated curriculum will be implemented from 2026 onward.
The existing new curriculum, launched in 2023 in classes one, six, and seven, expanded to classes two, three, eight, and nine this year. Initially, it was planned to be introduced in all classes by next year. The curriculum brought major changes, including a revised assessment system and the elimination of stream-based education at the secondary level.