As the Maharashtra State Board plans a complete shift to a new curriculum based on NCERT textbooks in a phased manner till 2029, students being taught the new curriculum for the first time will also undergo a bridge course. The corrected version of the withdrawn April 16 government resolution (GR) released on Monday reiterates that the bridge course will be developed by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) and will be used in all grades.
The GR states, “With the new curriculum being implemented for the first time, a bridge course for all grades should be prepared by the State Council of Educational Research and Training and used as necessary in all grades.”
The state board has decided to formulate a new curriculum based on NCERT textbooks keeping in mind educational requirements of the state. This new curriculum will be prepared by the SCERT and introduced for Class 1 from this year (academic year 2025-26) onwards. In the next year (AY 2026-27), the new syllabus will be implemented for classes 2, 3, 4 and 6. Following that in AY 2027-28 the new syllabus will be introduced for classes 5, 7, 9, and 11. In the last year AY 2028-29, the new syllabus will be introduced for classes 8, 10, and 12.
Mahendra Ganpule, former head of Maharashtra School Principals’ Association, said, “The objective of the bridge course is to help students cover any changes between the old curriculum and the new curriculum. To remove any backlog. The GR just notified that there will be such a course, no other details have been provided yet.” Ganpule also agrees that there is a gap between the current state board syllabus and the NCERT syllabus that would need to be bridged as the curriculum change is brought about.
The GR also states that according to the New Education Policy 2020, the 10+2 structure of school education would be changed to a 5+3+3+4 structure in the state as well. The first stage will be the Foundational Stage consisting of three years of Balvatika and class 1 and 2. The next will be the Preparatory Stage consisting of classes 3 to 5. Following will be the Pre-Secondary stage consisting of classes 6 to 8 and the last stage will be the Secondary Stage consisting of classes 9 to 12.
SCERT director Rahul Rekhawar, who is currently on an educational tour to Germany, did not respond to Whatsapp messages for comments on the bridge course.
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