COO, ODM Educational Group, Bhubaneswa
Swoyan Satyendu is chief operating officer of the Bhubaneswar-based ODM Educational Group, which includes ODM Public School, ODM Kids World preschool chain, ODM School of Advanced Learning (test prep), among other education institutions.
- Against the backdrop of a rising number of Indian students aspiring to study abroad and the recent green signal given to foreign universities to set up campuses in India, I am confident NCFSE 2023 will suggest ways and means to moderinise school curriculums, pedagogies and education practices in India. Our 260 million school-going children need to be equipped with the skills and competencies to compete and succeed not only nationally but internationally.
- NEP 2020 highlights the importance of child-friendly curriculums and pedagogies to enable children to learn happily. I hope NCFSE 2023 will provide standardised guidelines for teachers to deliver joyful, practical and discovery-based teaching-learning in all schools across the length and breadth of India. All children countrywide have the fundamental right to high-quality, enriching primary-secondary education.
- Currently in some subjects, the prescribed content is too extensive. I am hoping NCFSE 2023 will trim it down, especially content which requires rote learning. The focus should be on encouraging conceptual understanding and learning.
- The new NCFSE should provide guidelines to prepare India’s children for the 21st century VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) world. I am expecting suggestions on how to introduce new age contemporary subjects such as AI, entrepreneurship, innovation etc, in all schools.
- NEP 2020 has called for radical reform of the examination system. I hope that the NCFSE will provide guidelines to exam boards to move from testing rote learning to assessing children’s critical thinking and problem-solving skills.