Jamshedpur, Nov. 22: Principals and vice-principals of about 10 schools, affiliated to the ICSE and CBSE, met here today to evolve a strategy for a common syllabus for children between Classes I to V.

At the meeting held at the Jamshedpur Public School (JPS), some principals subscribed to the idea of a ?no-exam system? while others vouched for enjoyable and fun-filled learning process.

JPS principal Lalita Sareen informed that irrespective of the board affiliation, the schools are making an effort to bring about uniformity in the curriculum of the lower classes.

?About 15 like-minded schools have joined to give a logical conclusion to our plan of evolving a common curriculum for the lower classes. We are hopeful of framing a common syllabus following a series of such sessions,? added Sareen.

The principals were of the opinion that nowadays children are overburdened with information, but the concepts are not clear, thereby impeding practical application of such information.

?These are some of the issues which need the attention of the schoolteachers, who can properly guide them. Moreover, it was observed that children in lower classes are often reluctant to go to schools. This is probably because of the fear of teachers and the hectic study schedule. Children should want to go to schools on their own and for this we need to design the syllabus correspondingly,? explained one of the principals.

Some principals also emphasised the need of framing guidelines to assess the intelligence levels of children.

Besides JPS, the schools that have joined hands for evolving a common syllabus include Baldwin High School, Kerala Public School (Mango and Kadma), Kashidih High School, JH Tarapore (Dhatkidih and Bhalubasa), Motilal Nehru Public School, DBMS English School, River View School.