Class 1 and 2 students will have all their subjects combined into one textbook for each quarter or semester (Representational image)
As per the new plan, the textbooks for Maharashtra government and aided school children will be divided into four parts, and blank sheets will be provided after each chapter to write notes during classes.
The Maharashtra government recently issued a proposal to merge textbooks and notebooks for classes 1 to 10 in schools. The resolution was passed on Thursday, March 2, to reduce the burden of school bags on children in the academic year 2023-24. As per the new scheme, textbooks for government and aided school children will be divided into four parts (semesters) and blank sheets/papers will be provided after each chapter for writing notes during classes.
According to the report, one or two blank pages will be there under the heading ‘My Notes’. Blank sheets will be attached or provided by the school only where necessary. These blank sheets will be used by the students to write down the important points or notes discussed by the teachers in the class.
Depending on the success of the new scheme, the integrated textbook-cum-notebook may be extended to private schools as well. As per the government’s resolution plan, all the subjects will be put together in four textbooks for each of the four semesters. Furthermore, the goal is to ensure that children only carry one book per semester.
According to a report in The Times of India, the State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research, which prints textbooks under the ‘Balabharti’ banner, will now publish and distribute the new textbooks to government and aided schools. Meanwhile, children in private schools can also buy existing textbooks till stocks last. After the distribution of new textbooks in government schools, these textbooks will also be made available in the open market.
The report states that students of classes 1 and 2 will have all their subjects combined in one textbook for each quarter or semester. There will be one textbook-cum-notebook for all subjects per quarter or semester for classes 3 to 8. These students have to carry textbooks for every quarter. Additionally, the printing and distribution of the above will be done in a phased manner. Whereas for those students of classes 9 and 10, there will be a textbook-cum-notebook for all major subjects in each quarter. But for optional and graded subjects, existing textbooks will be used.
Students will continue to use separate notebooks for classwork and homework. On the new government proposal, the principal of a school in Jogeshwari said, “There is no point in attaching blank sheets as students need to write a lot and use long notebooks.”
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