As part of its de-stressing efforts, NCERT has decided to slash the Hindi curriculum for classes I, III, VI, IX and XI. These students will no longer have a separate period for Hindi. Neither will they have to carry textbooks or exercise books to school.

Also, there will be no stress on memorising definitions and reproducing them. NCERT co-ordinator for language textbooks, Ram Janam Sharma, informs, “Concepts like ‘tatsam’ and ‘tadbhav’ words and ‘deshaj’ and ‘videshaj’ words have not been included as these are very old ideas. We feel there is no need to over-Sanskritise Hindi.”

Students may also be spared from learning by rote the definitions of ‘sangya’ (noun), ‘sarvanam’ (pronoun) and ‘kriya’ (verb). They will have to display their communication skills, for which 30 per cent marks have been set aside. There will be no separate textbooks to teach grammar.