Mizoram shifts to experience-based learning

The Mizoram Government will introduce experience-based curriculum in schools to replace rote learning, in a major transition in the State’s pedagogical approach, an official said on Friday. The Government is also planning to introduce standardised annual exams for classes 5 and 8, in which students from various schools will be required to answer uniform questions, the official said.

The move is a departure from the traditional rote memorisation or learning by heart method and is designed to reform and modernise the State’s education system in line with the National Curriculum Framework, 2023 and the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, she said.

State Council of Educational Research and Training Director Caroline Zoramthangi said new textbooks will be rolled out from the 2026-27 academic session for classes 1, 2, 3 and 6.

The new textbooks have been finalised and are being printed by the State’s Printing and Stationery Department to be implemented in the upcoming academic session, she said.

She said that new textbooks for classes 4, 5, 7 and 8 will be rolled out from the 2027-28 academic year.

Caroline said the new model will prioritise illustration, drama and field trips, among others, over rote memorisation to educate students on critical thinking as well as direct experiential learning rather than abstract theory.

“In line with NEP 2020 and NCF 2023, education must be holistic. Instead of merely measuring a child’s knowledge level, the focus will shift to physical, emotional, moral and spiritual development. Learning will be child-centric and enjoyable for students, who will engage in project works,” she said.

She said subjects like Mathematics and Science will be taught in a way that relates directly to their daily lives.

The shift also aims to make the classroom environment more interactive and less burdensome for young learners, she added.

Apart from this curriculum shift, Caroline said the Government will also implement competency-based uniform question papers for students of classes 5 and 8 across 770 State-run and aided schools for standardised assessment.

Results from these exams will be centralised and analysed by the SCERT to monitor educational standards across the State, she said.

“The education minister aims to achieve quality education through assessment reform and has taken proactive steps in this direction. Questions will now be competency-based, developed entirely in accordance with the NCF 2023,” she said.

She said the shift is expected to improve the State’s performance in national-level competitive examinations.

Last month, School Education Minister Vanlalthlana announced that the Mizoram Board of School Education (MBSE) will cease to follow the traditional way of declaring results of classes 10 and 12 with merit list (Top-10) or rank, distinction and division in the result books from the current year.

The move was to prevent high-stakes competition among students through rote memorisation and to ensure quality and competency-based education, the minister had said.