As per the recommendation of the New Education Policy 2020 (NEP), the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), will soon direct all CBSE-affiliated schools to migrate to the 5+3+3+4 system of education and scrap the current 10+2 format. The new periodical education system will be effective from the upcoming academic session in all CBSE-affiliated schools in India.
The CBSE will soon begin the creating a school registry, teacher registry and student registry to track the growth of resources throughout the stages of schooling.
The 5+3+3+4 periodical education system is based on the cognitive developmental stages of the children. The new system comprises three years of pre-school education and 12 years of school education.
Stages of 5+3+3+4 format
The new education format comprises four stages, taking into account the cognitive development that children undergo in various stages of their life. Stage one is the foundational stage, which lasts for five years. Stage two, the preparatory stage, lasts for three years. Then comes the third or middle stage, which lasts three years. The final and fourth stage is the secondary stage, which lasts for four years.
In the first or foundation stage, children in the three to six age bracket will be first nourished and developed in pre-school institutions for three years. They will then be educated and further developed in classes I and II, for two years, that is from age six to eight.
The second or preparatory stage starts when the child turns eight. This lasts till the child attains 11 years of age. This is the stage where the student studies in classes III to V.
The third or middle stage begins at age 11. That is, for three years, the child completes his education in classes VI to VIII. By the time the child finishes class VIII, he/she will be 14 years of age.
The fourth or secondary stage begins at age 14, when the student goes through classes IX to XII.
Inclusion of children in the three to six age bracket in the formal education system is a salient feature of NEP 2020. Since the National Test Agency (NTA) will conduct a common entrance test for admission to higher education institutions, the NEP clearly has lesser focus on board examinations of Class X and XII.
Students of CBSE schools will be able to take the board exams on two occasions during a school year. The main exam will be compulsory, but the improvement exam will be optional.
