Key Points
- It seems likely that starting from the 2025-26 academic session, NCERT will introduce theater, music, and drama as regular subjects for Class 8 students.
- Research suggests that art will be a compulsory subject for Class 8, requiring students to pass it to progress to the next year.
- The evidence leans toward these changes aligning with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023.
Background
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is implementing curriculum updates to integrate creative arts into mainstream education, emphasizing holistic development. These changes aim to balance academic learning with creative expression, starting from the 2025-26 academic session.
New Subjects and Textbooks
From 2025-26, Class 8 students will study theater, music, drama, and visual arts, with art becoming compulsory. To support this, NCERT has launched new textbooks:
- Art: Kriti (for visual and performing arts)
- English: Poorvi (revised)
- Hindi: Malhar
For Class 5, additional textbooks include Santoor (English) and Veena (Hindi), modernizing education across grades.
Policy Alignment
These reforms align with NEP 2020 and NCF-SE 2023, focusing on experiential learning and creativity, ensuring arts are as important as core subjects like math and science.
Comprehensive Report on NCERT Curriculum Updates for Class 8 (2025-26)
This report provides a detailed overview of the recent curriculum changes announced by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for Class 8, effective from the 2025-26 academic session. The updates, aligning with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023, emphasize integrating creative arts into mainstream education. The information is based on recent news articles from reputable sources, ensuring accuracy as of 09:42 PM IST on Friday, July 11, 2025.
Introduction
NCERT, a key body in shaping India’s school education curriculum, has introduced significant changes to the Class 8 syllabus, making art a compulsory subject and adding theater, music, and drama as regular subjects. This shift aims to foster holistic development, balancing academic rigor with creative expression. The changes are part of a broader educational reform under NEP 2020 and NCF-SE 2023, focusing on experiential learning and creativity.
Detailed Curriculum Changes
Starting from the 2025-26 academic session, the following updates have been announced:
- New Subjects for Class 8: Theater, music, drama, and visual arts will be introduced as regular subjects. Notably, art has been designated as a compulsory subject, meaning all Class 8 students must study and pass it to progress to the next academic year. This ensures arts are given equal importance to core subjects like math and science.
- New Textbooks: To support the updated curriculum, NCERT has launched several new textbooks:
- Art: Kriti, designed to teach the fundamentals of theater, music, drama, and visual arts, encouraging active participation and creativity.
- English: Poorvi, a revised textbook to enhance language learning.
- Hindi: Malhar, a new textbook aligned with the NCF-SE 2023 framework.
Additionally, for Class 5, NCERT has introduced Santoor (English) and Veena (Hindi), reflecting a broader modernization of educational materials across grades. - Academic Session Start: These changes will take effect from the 2025-26 academic session, ensuring a structured rollout for schools and students.
Policy and Framework Alignment
The curriculum updates are in line with:
- National Education Policy (NEP) 2020: This policy emphasizes holistic, multidisciplinary education, integrating arts to develop creativity and critical thinking.
- National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023: This framework supports the inclusion of arts as a core component, ensuring cultural and aesthetic education is accessible to all students.
These reforms aim to address previous gaps where arts were often treated as extracurricular, ensuring they are now a fundamental part of the curriculum up to Class 8 and beyond.
Supporting Details and Implementation
To facilitate these changes, NCERT has prepared detailed resources:
- The textbook Kriti is specifically crafted to engage young learners in visual and performing arts, covering basics like theater techniques, music fundamentals, drama, and fine arts. It encourages active participation, fostering creativity and aesthetic appreciation.
- Language textbooks like Poorvi and Malhar are updated to align with the new framework, enhancing language skills through modern, relevant content.
- For Class 5, Santoor and Veena follow a similar approach, ensuring a consistent educational experience across grades.
The compulsory nature of art means students must pass it to advance, similar to core subjects like math or science, highlighting its importance in educational advancement.
Comparative Overview of Textbooks
Below is a table summarizing the new textbooks for Class 8 and Class 5, as per the announcements:
| Class | Subject | Textbook Name | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Art | Kriti | Teach theater, music, drama, visual arts |
| 8 | English | Poorvi | Revised for enhanced language learning |
| 8 | Hindi | Malhar | Updated for modern language education |
| 5 | English | Santoor | Modernize English education |
| 5 | Hindi | Veena | Modernize Hindi education |
This table illustrates NCERT’s comprehensive approach to updating educational materials across grades.
Historical Context and Rationale
Historically, arts education in India has often been relegated to extracurricular activities, with limited integration into the core curriculum. Repeated recommendations, as seen in the National Curriculum Framework-2005, suggested making arts compulsory up to Class X to preserve cultural heritage and foster creativity. The current changes build on these recommendations, addressing the need for a balanced education that values artistic expression alongside academics.
Sources and Verification
The information is sourced from recent articles published on July 11, 2025, ensuring timeliness:
These sources confirm the details, including the launch of new textbooks and the compulsory nature of art, aligning with official announcements on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) by NCERT.
Conclusion
The NCERT curriculum updates for Class 8, effective from 2025-26, mark a significant step toward integrating arts into mainstream education. By making art compulsory and introducing theater, music, and drama, NCERT aims to foster creativity, cultural awareness, and holistic development, in line with NEP 2020 and NCF-SE 2023. The new textbooks, such as Kriti, Poorvi, and Malhar, support this vision, ensuring students receive a balanced education that values both academic and artistic growth.