4. Time Allocation

Time is an invaluable resource in every school. Thus, the allocation of time to different activities and areas of learning (often referred to as the ‘timetable’) must be carried out very carefully. It must consider practical aspects, such as time available, but also must enable the operationalisation of the curriculum including its priorities and balance.

This section describes the principles and approach to time allocation in a school that would bring this NCF to life. The specific time allocations described in this section must be seen as illustrative, and the actual time allocations must be conducted by schools, in accordance with their contexts, using these principles and approach.

Section 4.1 - Considerations for Reduction of Content Load

As mentioned in NEP 2020 and discussed earlier in §3.2, care has been taken to ensure a reduction in the content load across Curricular Areas while designing the Learning Standards of this NCF. This reduction in the content load across the Stages has been chalked out with the following considerations.

a. Adequate time and space must be created for the development of genuine conceptual understanding, and of the development of capacities, rather than mere procedural or rote learning which often occurs due to content overload.

b. Requisite space and time are needed for the Curricular Areas that have renewed focus and emphasis — like Art Education, Physical Education, and Vocational Education. Often, these areas have earlier been considered ‘co-curricular’ or ‘not important,’ without (or inadequate) specific Learning Standards and expectations. In this NCF, they need explicit and significant time allocation.

c. The teaching time available in a working day, over an academic year for various Curricular Areas, and their distribution in a week’s timetable is limited and poses a challenge to the achievement of ‘content knowledge’ focussed learning.

These three factors imply that the content load in some Curricular Areas need to be rationalised and reduced. This will ensure both that these Curricular Areas are learnt meaningfully and that space is created for other Curricular Areas.

a. The curriculum has been designed with an explicit focus on a range of essential Competencies and not coverage of content knowledge. Hence the content load (in terms of the amount of content to be learnt in a particular school Stage) has been reduced. This also means that the Competencies must be viewed as the core essentials, and the overall time available must enable their achievement.

b. The illustrative timetable given later in this section might show an increased amount of time in the working day and week when compared to the existing school time. This increase in the number of daily hours at school does not directly indicate a heavier content load in individual Curricular Areas. The actual decision on the exact number of working hours would be taken by schools/school systems, and the proportion and rhythm of the illustrative timetable in the NCF could still be held.

c. In the illustrative timetable given here, Curricular Areas such as Languages, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science may show a lower number of annual hours apportioned to them compared to the number of hours they may have received earlier in school. This has been made possible by focussing on the core essentials in terms of Competencies (as in the Learning Standards) in these areas.

Some of the points relevant to specific Curricular Areas, for the design choices made to reduce content are as follows:

a. In Science, the focus on essential capacities of scientific inquiry allows for rationalisation of content. The concepts are therefore chosen based on the opportunities they provide for developing these capacities, thus reducing content load.

b. In Mathematics, whatever is specialised prerequisite knowledge for certain types of higher education needs has been moved out from the compulsory curricular content to the choice-based curriculum in the Secondary Stage, while retaining all concepts/areas that are foundational to the subject.

c. In Social Science, the approach based on themes and levels ensures the learning of essential Competencies while reducing content load.

d. In Language education, there are three languages to be learnt in school education through Grade 10. A range of literary Curricular Goals are transferable from a known language to the learning of unfamiliar languages, and those that are specialised liguistic and literary goals have been moved to the choice-based Curricular Areas of the Secondary Stage, keeping only the core essential Competencies until Grade 10.

Section 4.2 - Foundational Stage

Young children enjoy using their free time to explore their immediate environment. However, as they grow older, they also need organised, structured and guided activities that are play-based. The day needs to be carefully organised so that all Developmental Domains receive adequate time and attention. While activities of each domain are connected with other domains (e.g., a good story will help language development as well as socio-emotional and ethical development), the routine must ensure that children get ample opportunity for a range of experiences in every domain.

*4.2.1 Considerations for the Daily Routine *

The organisation of the day is based on the institutional setting, the number of working days, and the number of daily working hours for each day.

Each activity may be planned keeping in mind the attention span of the child. There may be a balance between child-initiated and Teacher-guided activities, group (whole group or small group) and individual or pair activities, and alternating activities (e.g., quieter activity after physical activity, group activity after individual activity, indoor activity after outdoor activity). Art and Craft, Outdoor Play, and Free Play must have adequate time and focus in the day.

4.2.1.1 Illustrative Daily Routine for Ages 3-6

There are multiple ways to organise the daily routine for children of ages 3-6.

Two illustrations are given below.

The first illustration is more appropriate in contexts where experiences such as Circle Time, Story Time, and Concept/Pre-numeracy Time are Teacher-guided, and Free Play and Corners Time are independent activities for the children.

The second illustration is more appropriate in contexts with fewer children and where there is a range of appropriate material available for them to use. Emphasis is on self-learning and children learn to use materials independently and with care.

‘Work Time’ is allotted for children to independently choose the activity they would like to engage with. Children select activities of their choice and work with materials on those activities independently. Teachers observe children’s activities and extend support as and when required. Teachers also decide and present the next activity to an individual child, based on their observations during Work Time. Activities and the corresponding materials are arranged according to the domains of development (e.g., Physical, Cognitive, Language, Art) and children are made familiar with this arrangement.

Both the illustrations have a five-and-a-half-hour school day with about four-and-a-half hours of active instructional time for children of ages 4-6.

4.2.1.2 Illustrative Daily/Weekly Routine for Ages 6-8

The daily routine for ages 6-8 would be slightly longer and a little more structured. While all Language classes for children 3-6 years can be handled together, for this age group dedicated time for each language is necessary. Specific blocks of time for literacy, numeracy, and art can be incorporated. R1 would need 90 minutes every day and R2 would need 60 minutes. Mathematics and numeracy would require 60 minutes a day. These periods of time can be organised into four blocks.

A longer day would allow more time for activities such as art, sports and gardening. The illustrative weekly timetable below allows for such possibilities. As mentioned earlier, Mathematics and R1 would include activities in blocks of time.

Section 4.3 - Considerations for Time Allocation across

Preparatory, Middle, and Secondary Stages

a. The annual working year for schools has 220 instruction/school-going days after taking into consideration national holidays, term breaks, and vacations.

b. Of these 220 days, around 20 days may be considered for assessments and other assessment-related activities across Stages.

c. Another 20 days may be set aside for school events and other similar activities (or as a buffer for less foreseeable events) in schools. The ten bagless days mandated by NEP 2020 can come from these 20 days spread across the year for the Middle and Secondary Stage students.

d. Therefore, a safe estimate can be of 180 days of instruction time across these three Stages at school.

e. Given the wide range of contexts in which schools operate across the country, a working school week has been taken as five and a half days (with Saturdays as half working days).

f. Since not all Saturdays are likely to be working for all students, the model here has considered five and a half days of school every alternate week only.

g. Given the range of subjects in the different Stages and the reasonable number of hours students can spend in school, a working school year would have around 34 working weeks of around 29 hours of instruction hours every week.

h. The exact timings and order of subjects may be chosen to be the same each day (e.g., Language and Mathematics in the morning after a nutritious breakfast) in order to establish a daily rhythm for students; or they may be varied on a weekly basis to give different subjects different priorities each day within the time schedule. What works best for each school would depend on the local context, on whether breakfast or snacks can be offered to all students each morning, on the daylight hours in the local region, etc.

Section 4.4 - Stage-specific Considerations

4.4.1 Time Allocation for the Preparatory Stage

a. Weekdays begin with an assembly for 25 minutes with 05 minutes to reach the classroom.

b. Class time for all subjects is 40 minutes. Some subjects will require a block period of 80 minutes (1 hour 20 minutes).

c. The transition time for students to prepare for the next class is 05 minutes.

d. The two working Saturdays a month have a slightly different schedule compared to other working weekdays. No assembly on Saturdays.

e. A snack break of 15 minutes and a lunch break of 45 minutes has been built in (see the illustrative timetable) on weekdays. Lunch is 30 minutes on Saturdays.

f. R1 Language has Curricular Goals for the Library built into it in the design of Learning Standards. Therefore, the time is shared between these two subjects on the timetable.

g. Languages (R1 and R2 together) have been given adequate time for students to become independent readers and writers in these, as the basis of learning other Curricular Areas.

h. R2 has been given more time than R1 as gaining proficiency in the language by the end of this Stage will require additional time. Also, all other Curricular Areas are taught in the language of R1 and so add to the learning of R1.

i. The World Around Us (TWAU) has also been given adequate time as the Preparatory Stage is a developmentally critical time to learn essential multidisciplinary skills of inquiring about and learning from the world around the students.

j. Art Education and Physical Education (PE) have been given a fair share of their time considering the Learning Standards built into this Curriculum Framework.

Number of classes in each subject on the illustrative timetable (see Table 4.4ii) matches these numbers approximately.

4.4.2 Time Allocation for the Middle Stage

a. The weekday begins with an assembly for 25 minutes with 05 minutes to reach the classroom.

b. Class time for all subjects is 40 minutes. Some subjects will require a block period of 80 minutes (1 hour 20 minutes) for activities, lab work, and other such pedagogic requirements.

c. The transition time for students to prepare for the next class is 05 minutes.

d. The two working Saturdays a month have a slightly different schedule compared to other working weekdays. No assembly on Saturdays.

e. A snack break of 15 minutes and a lunch break of 45 minutes has been built in (see the illustrative timetable) on weekdays. Lunch is 30 minutes on Saturdays.

f. R1 Language has Curricular Goals for the Library built into it in the design of Learning Standards. Therefore, the time is shared between these two subjects on the timetable.

g. A third Language (R3) gets introduced in the Middle Stage and requires an adequate amount of time to develop basic interpersonal communication skills. R3 has been given more time than R2 and R1 as the learning of a third unfamiliar language in the Middle Stage requires adequate time and practice.

h. Science, Social Science, and Vocational Education as new Curricular Areas have been given a fair share of their time considering the Learning Standards built into this Curriculum Framework.

Number of classes in each subject on the illustrative timetable (see Table 4.4iv) matches these numbers approximately.

4.4.3 Time Allocation for the Secondary Stage

a. The weekday begins with an assembly for 25 minutes with 05 minutes to reach the classroom.

b. Class time for all subjects is 50 minutes. Some subjects will require a block period of 100 minutes (1 hour 40 minutes) for hands-on work, activities, lab work, and other such pedagogic requirements.

c. The transition time for students to prepare for the next class is 05 minutes.

d. The two working Saturdays a month have a slightly different schedule compared to other working weekdays.

e. A lunch break of 55 minutes has been built in (see the illustrative timetable) on weekdays and 30 minutes on Saturdays.

f. There is an optional ‘Additional Enrichment Period’ (AEP) every evening and on the two working Saturdays after class. This is for students to use as additional time for enrichment in any subject of the curriculum. In Curricular Areas such as Art Education, Physical Education and Well-being, and Vocational Education, extended time for group/team practice, interschool competitions, subject clubs, etc. can be facilitated by the school in AEP if students choose to participate.

*AEP = Additional Enrichment Period

Ten Bagless Days Every student will take a fun course, during Grades 6-8, that gives a survey and hands-on experience of a sampling of important vocational crafts, such as carpentry, electric work, metal work, gardening, pottery making, etc., as decided by States and local communities and as mapped by local skilling needs. A practice based curriculum for Grades 6-8 will be appropriately designed by NCERT while framing the NCFSE 2020-21. All students will participate in a 10-day bagless period sometime during Grades 6-8 where they intern with local vocational experts such as carpenters, gardeners, potters, artists, etc. Similar internship opportunities to learn vocational subjects may be made available to students throughout Grades 6-12, including holiday periods. Vocational courses through online mode will also be made available. Bagless days will be encouraged throughout the year for various types of enrichment activities involving the arts, quizzes, sports, and vocational crafts. Children will be given periodic exposure to activities outside school through visits to places/monuments of historical, cultural, and tourist importance, meeting local artists and craftsmen and visits higher educational institutions in their village/Tehsil/District/State. [NEP 2020, 4.26]
Learning in school is not limited to the experiences in the classroom. Recognising and legitimising this possibility, NEP 2020 has stated that provisions be made in the annual calendar of schools for ten bagless days in the Middle and Secondary Stages where students do not have to carry their books to school and use that time valuably in learning from local professionals from various walks of life and engage with various educational activities, such as vocational crafts and field trips.
The illustrative timetable given here in this NCF has accounted for these ten bagless days in the twenty days kept aside for school events.

g. There is no separate Library time built into the timetable - students may use time from the AEP for this purpose.

h. All three Languages (R1, R2, and R3) will continue in this Stage. By the end of Grade 10, schools will ensure the development of the capacity for basic communication for social purposes in R1, R2, and R3, and linguistic proficiency for academic use in the classrooms in R1 and R2, and to the extent possible, in R3.

i. Interdisciplinary Areas (IDA) is a new Curricular Area and has been given a reasonable share of time on the timetable.

Number of classes in each subject on the illustrative timetable (see Table 4.4vi) matches these numbers approximately.