Madhyapur Thimi, July 20:

The Higher Secondary Education Board has made changes in the syllabus of few subjects and introduced new subjects in Grade XI and XII to be effective from 2008/09 for Grade XI and 2009/10 for Grade XII.

The HSEB has already prepared “Curriculum Implementation and Subject Selection Directives-1998 (Modified 2008)” to meet the pressing demands of the 21st century. It has modified the syllabus of six subjects - Linguistics, Biology, Physics, Sociology, Contemporary and Child Development and Learning -- all of which are taught in Grade XII.

Similarly, the HSEB has also introduced fifteen new subjects -- ten in Grade XI and nine in Grade XII. Among the 15 subjects, five are common in Grade XI and XII.

Dr Upendra Koirala, vice president of HSEB, said the introduction of new subjects and the modification in curriculum was the pressing need of the time.

“Tribhuvan University had not changed the curriculum of intermediate level for three decades,” he said, adding, “the world has changed drastically. To make students competitive, change in curriculum and introduction of new subjects was a must.”

The newly introduced subjects are Introduction to Education, Instructional Pedagogy, Physics, Biology, Rural Development, Elements of Finance, Co-operative Management, General Law, Library and Information Science, Environmental Education, Food and Nutrition, Gender Studies, Chemistry Education, General Concepts of Education and Introduction to Educational Psychology.