Tamil Nadu will introduce a new learning approach called STEAM in its school curriculum as part of a broader shift towards child-centric education, School Education Minister Rajmohan said in Chennai. The move is aimed at reducing students’ textbook load as well as their mental stress.
The announcement was made during a meeting of the curriculum high-level expert committee and the curriculum design committee at the Anna Centenary Library. The minister said mathematics lessons will be taught through storytelling, with each class designed in a narrative format.
While many countries follow the STEM model—Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics—Tamil Nadu will move to STEAM by adding Arts. The minister said arts-based learning will be used to teach values and humaneness, and science classes will be conducted with an arts component.
As part of the changes, textbooks will carry fewer written passages and more colour visuals, along with QR codes that can be scanned to view related videos. Students will also be introduced to concepts and nuances of artificial intelligence, he said.
The minister added that similar curriculum elements had already been implemented up to Class 3, and will now be extended from Class 4 to Class 8. He also said schools should encourage newspaper reading by allocating dedicated time in every school, as students’ reading habits have declined.
