New Delhi: India's top school education body is calling in experts from SAARC countries to devise a school curriculum that will help students imbibe the common ethos of the region.

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is inviting experts from Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the Maldives, Afghanistan and India to prepare the roadmap for a comprehensive school curriculum.

All these countries form part of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

"The whole idea is to inculcate a sense of cultural belonging among the children of neighbouring countries from the very beginning," a senior NCERT official told IANS.

"Southeast Asian countries share a common culture amidst their diversities. Education is an important tool that binds us in more ways than one. We share a common legacy directed by the colonial system of education," he said.

Around 50 experts from these counties are likely to participate in the deliberations, likely to be held in mid-February or March.

"It is going to be a four-day event, during which we will discuss the policies, practices and educational issues relating to the school curriculum among the SAARC nations. Going by the initial response, we expect at least 50 participants, including those from India," the official said.

The major topics to be deliberated upon at the event include innovation in school curriculum, reforming teacher education, assessment, evaluation and public examinations, and pedagogy in practice.

"The occasion would provide us a forum for sharing and exchanging the efforts addressed to improve the quality of school education for mutual learning. There is tremendous scope for mutual cooperation in the field of school education."

Bisnu Charan Patro, NCERT spokesman, said: "The deliberations would specifically focus on the instrumentality of curricula and their related policies and programmes to enhance quality education, and accordingly update SAARC curriculum."

"The sharing of seasoned and varied experiences in the education realm would help us in promoting the regional ethos through schoolbooks effectively. For this, we need to have broad educational networking among SAARC nations."

NCERT is India's top educational agency engaged in developing curricula and teacher-training programmes.

Source : IANS