As per the recommendations of NEP (National Education Policy) 2020, the Central Board of School Education (CBSE) has included 'data science' and 'coding' in the school curriculum from the 2021-22 session with support from tech giant Microsoft.
The CBSE board has decided to include 'coding' as a skill module of 12 hours duration in Classes 6-8, while 'data science' is being introduced as a skill module of 12 hours duration in Class 8 and as a skill subject in classes 9-12.
"The idea is to simplify the coding learning experience by nurturing design thinking, logical flow of ideas and applying this across the disciplines. The foundations laid in the early years will help the students to build the competencies in the area of AI, data sciences, and other disciplines," the central education board said in a statement.
The board said faculty and student handbooks have been created with support from Microsoft, so the students can work on applied projects and integrate coding across multiple subjects and make learning fun.
The CBSE will also waive off the application fee for introducing new skill subjects at the senior secondary level. "Thus, schools desirous of introducing skill subjects in Class 11, can do so without submitting any fee to CBSE," the statement added.
Marks distribution of all skill subjects at the senior secondary level will be 60 for theory (including 10 marks for employability skills) and 40 for practicals and projects. This will be effective for Class 12 from 2022-2023. For the present Class 12 i.e. for session 2021-2022, there is no change in the marks distribution.
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