OBJECTIVES OF CURRICULUM

National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is mainly concerned with
school education as well as with the planning and designing of school curriculum. It has also
prescribed the objectives of school curriculum at different levels (pre-primary, primary, upper
primary, secondary and higher secondary) in its National Curriculum Framework (NCF, 2005).

According to National Curriculum Framework (NCF, 2005), the objectives of curriculum at

primary, upper primary and secondary levels of school education are as follows:

OBJECTIVES OF MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM

AT PRIMARY STAGE

1. To develop a positive attitude towards, and a liking for, Mathematics through the use of
mathematical games, puzzles and stories
2. To acquire mathematical concepts, arithmetic and computational skills
3. To learn estimation and approximation in solving problems
4. To understand mathematical shapes, spatial patterns, procedures of measurement and data
handling
5. To identify, express and explain patterns
6. To ensure the progression students from concrete to abstract while acquiring concepts
7. To help students make connections between Mathematics and everyday thinking

AT UPPER PRIMARY STAGE

1. To achieve universal mathematical literacy by revisiting, consolidating and applying

basic concepts and skills learnt at the primary stage
2. To learn and understand algebraic notation and its use in solving problems and in the
systematic study of space and shapes
3. To enrich students spatial reasoning and visualisation skills
4. To learn handling, representation and interpretation of data that is an essential life skill

AT SECONDARY STAGE

1. To become familiar with the characteristics of mathematical communication: carefully

defined terms and concepts, the use of symbols to represent them, precisely stated
propositions, and proofs justifying propositions. These aspects are to be developed
particularly in the area of geometry
2. To develop high proficiency in algebra, that is important not only in the application of
Mathematics, but also within Mathematics in providing justifications and proofs. At this
stage, students integrate the many concepts and skills that they have learnt into a
problem-solving ability

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 3. To encourage individual and group exploration of patterns, visualisations and
generalisations, through the use of appropriate tools that include concrete models used in
Mathematics laboratories and computers

OBJECTIVES OF SCIENCE CURRICULUM

AT PRIMARY STAGE

1. To nurture the curiosity of the child about the world (natural environment, artifacts and
people)
2. To have the child engage in exploratory and hands-on activities for acquiring the basic
cognitive and psychomotor skills through observation, classification, inference, etc.
3. To emphasise design and fabrication, estimation and measurement as a prelude to the
development of technological and quantitative skills at later stages
4. To develop basic language skills: speaking, reading and writing not only for Science but
also through Science
5. To integrate Science and Social Science together in the form of environmental studies,
with health as an important component

AT UPPER PRIMARY STAGE

1. To engage in learning the principles of Science through familiar experiences, working

with hands to design simple technological units and modules (e.g. designing and making
a working model of a windmill to lift weights)
2. To learn more about the scientific concepts including environment and health through
activities, experiments, discussions with peers and teachers, surveys, organisation of data
and their display through exhibitions, etc. in schools and the neighbourhood

AT SECONDARY STAGE

1. To engage in learning Science as a composite discipline, in working with hands and tools
to design more advanced technological modules than at the upper primary stage
2. To engage in activities and analyses on issues concerning the environment and health
3. To carry out systematic experimentation as a tool to discover/verify theoretical principles,
laws and theories
4. To work on locally significant projects involving Science and technology

OBJECTIVES OF SOCIAL SCIENCE CURRICULUM

AT PRIMARY STAGE

1. To engage in activities to understand the environment through illustrations from the

physical, biological, social, and cultural spheres

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 2. To realize the need of preserving and saving the environment from degradation through
the subject Environment Studies (EVS)
3. To sensitise to social issues like poverty, child labour, illiteracy, caste and class
inequalities in rural and urban areas through day-to-day experiences of children and their
life worlds

AT UPPER PRIMARY STAGE

1. To take into account developments in different parts of India, with sections on events or
developments in other parts of the world through the study of History
2. To develop a balanced perspective related to issues concerning the environment,
resources and development at different levels, from local to global through the study of
Geography
3. To understand the formation and functioning of governments at local, state, and central
levels and the democratic processes of participation through the study of Political Science
4. To enable students observe economic institutions like the family, the market and the state
through the study of Economics

AT SECONDARY STAGE

1. To study about Indias freedom movement and other aspects of its modern History as
well as significant developments in other parts of the world
2. To learn History with the intent of enabling students better understand their own world
and their own identities in the context of a rich and varied past
3. To help students discover the processes of change and continuity in their world, and to
compare ways in which power and control were and are exercised through the study of
History
4. To inculcate in the child a critical appreciation for conservation and environmental
concerns along with developmental issues through the study of Geography
5. To discuss the philosophical foundations that underlie the value framework of the Indian
Constitution, i.e., equality, liberty, justice, fraternity, secularism, dignity, plurality, and
freedom from exploitation.
6. To discuss the topics of Economics from the perspective of the people

OBJECTIVES OF LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

AT PRIMARY STAGE

1. To acquire the basic skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing

2. To develop the skills of good handwriting, correct spelling and right habit of silent
reading with comprehension besides nurturing in the students the ability for creative self-
expression

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AT UPPER PRIMARY STAGE

1. To strengthen students competence in languages through the introduction to various

forms of literature
2. To develop the students insight into the nature, structure and functions of the languages
through the introduction to applied or practical grammar
3. To encourage creative expression (i.e., the ability to think on ones own and to react in
speech and in writing to whatever they read and listen to)

AT SECONDARY STAGE

1. To achieve maturity in oral and written expression in response to what they read or listen
to.
2. To understanding and appreciate the depth and diversities of human mind through the
literary texts in prose and poetry
3. To facilitate the understanding and use of language through teaching of grammar
4. To develop high order communication skills with grammatical accuracy

Thus, more and more aural and oral skills of language are to be emphasised at the
primary stage, all the skills, i.e., listening, speaking, reading, and writing and thinking are
to be aimed at in a balanced manner by the end of the upper primary stage, and slightly
more attention is to be paid to the skills of reading and writing at the secondary stage.
The most crucial and ultimate task of language education at all these levels remains to
prepare the learners to use the languages effectively in either mode (spoken/written)
whenever and wherever required in their day-to-day life situations of all sorts.

OBJECTIVES OF ART EDUCATION CURRICULUM

AT PRIMARY STAGE

1. To develop aesthetic sensibility among learners so as to enable them to respond to the

beauty in line, colour, form, movement and sound
2. To experience the area of fine arts through music (rhymes, poems and songs), dance,
colouring and drawing

AT UPPER PRIMARY STAGE

1. To develop awareness and interest in a wide variety of arts (fine arts, music, dance) so
that the learner is both the performer and the recipient of pleasure
2. To express their creative talents through drawing, painting, collage, clay modeling and
construction of puppets, handling and playing of simple musical instruments and sound-
producing bodies, dance forms; group singing, short plays and dramas

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AT SECONDARY STAGE

1. To refine aesthetic sensibilities and social values through projects on conservation of

natural and cultural heritage, organization of festivals and celebrations of the community
at large, display of physical environment and surrounding landscape, inter-group and
inter-school art activities (such as, dance and music competitions, fine arts competition,
exhibitions), study trips and interaction with artists in the community

OBJECTIVES OF WORK EDUCATION CURRICULUM

Work Education is purposive and meaningful manual work, that results into goods or services
useful to the community besides the pleasure of self-fulfillment. It should be provided through
well-structured and graded programmes at primary, upper primary and secondary levels such as:

work related to needs of the individual such as health, hygiene, clothing, cleanliness, etc.
work at home to be performed as a growing member of the family
work in the classroom, school and out-of-school activities integrated with school life as
well as learning of other subjects
work in the community focused on self-less service or seva
work related to vocational development, production, social usefulness and exploration of
the world of work

AT PRIMARY STAGE

1. To inculcate among learners the respect for manual work, values for self-reliance/self-
dependence, cooperativeness, perseverance, helpfulness, tolerance and work ethics
besides developing attitudes and values-related to productive work and concern for the
community
2. To understand the facts, terms concepts and scientific principles involved in various
forms of work situations, know the sources of raw-materials, understand the use of tools
and equipments in production and service processes

AT UPPER PRIMARY STAGE

1. To integrate science and technology with the life of community, through emphasis on
agricultural and technological processes which may enable the learners to feel confident
for their entry into the work of work
2. To participate in activities that may lead to enhancement in nutrition, personal and
community health, sanitation, productivity and economic status of the community

AT SECONDARY STAGE

1. To facilitate the choice of the vocational courses at the higher secondary stage through
the provision of Pre-vocational courses at secondary level

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 2. To acquire the knowledge and skills required for entry into the higher secondary stage
and world of work

OBJECTIVES OF PHYSICAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION CURRICULUM

AT PRIMARY STAGE

1. To develop desirable understanding, attitude and practices with regard to nutrition, health
and sanitation so as to improve health status of the self, family and the community
2. To promote an integral development of body, mind and spirit by developing health,
strength and fitness of the body

AT UPPER PRIMARY STAGE

1. To ensure physical growth and development, neuro-muscular coordination and social

development through physical education (that is, by providing vigorous developmental
and rhythmic exercises, gymnastics, athletics, judo, swimming, breathing exercises and
yoga, drill and marching, scouting and guiding camping and various team games and
competitions)
2. To create awareness related to common health problems, safety measures, nutritional
problems, adulteration, first-aid, sanitation and pollution through health education

AT SECONDARY STAGE

1. To facilitate the adjustment of adolescents due to rapid growth and changes in appearance
and functions of the body associated with the onset of puberty through physical education
(that is, by providing more vigorous activities of various sorts including athletics,
gymnastics, yogic exercises, meditation, judo and swimming. The NCC [National Cadet
Corps.], scouting and guiding and social service should be encouraged in addition to the
compulsory programmes of physical education)
2. To learn, in comparatively great detail, about personal health, impact of environmental
pollution on health, food and nutrition, control and prevention of diseases (awareness of
HIV and AIDS), drug abuse, first aid, home nursing, and safety measures through health
education in Classes IX and X