PANAJI
The State government has announced the expansion of the National Education Policy (NEP) implementation from the academic year 2026“27, extending its coverage to Classes I, II, IV, V, VII and VIII. With this move, the policy will span the Balvatika, preparatory and middle stages, and partially the secondary level.
The Goa State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) in a circular issued has said that all students will be evaluated under a credit-based system, with each credit equivalent to 30 notional hours of learning.
SCERT will implement NEP from Classes I to VIII using new NCERT textbooks, while Classes IX and X will continue with the existing textbooks for now. The forthcoming textbooks, aligned with those introduced for Class VI, will incorporate the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) into mainstream education, with an emphasis on holistic child development.
The Council has also announced that the newly developed NEP-aligned textbooks will be provided free of cost to all government and government-aided schools.
Under the revised structure, students of Classes I and II will study art and craft, sports, yoga, reading and gardening activities in addition to regular subjects. A common syllabus for art and craft, sports and yoga will be introduced.
“There will be six periods per day, each of 40 minutes. All institutions must ensure a minimum of four instructional hours per day, including morning assembly, at the Foundational Stage (Grades I and II), excluding recess,” the circular states. Assessments for these classes will be conducted internally.
For Grades III to V, students must complete a minimum of 1,000 learning hours annually, with 10 hours earmarked for reading at home. SCERT noted that this arrangement may be necessary to align the timetable of Grade V with that of Grades VI to X, as Grade V is structurally attached to middle and secondary schools that follow an eight-period schedule per day.
These classes will have eight periods daily, each of 40 minutes, ensuring a minimum of five instructional hours per day, including morning assembly and excluding recess.
“For Grades VI to VIII, practical examinations will be conducted in the presence of an external examiner,” SCERT stated.
Goa has been implementing NEP in a phased manner. The foundational stage (Balvatika I) was introduced in 2023-24, followed by Balvatika II and the secondary stage (Class IX) in 2024-25. In 2025“26, NEP was extended to the middle stage (Class VI) and Class X.
The State aims to complete full NEP implementation by 2027“28, followed by two years dedicated to cluster formation and physical restructuring, with the broader rollout targeted for completion by 2030.
