LUCKNOW, March 23 -- The Uttar Pradesh school education department has directed all districts to introduce a 'holistic progress card' for students of Balvatika to class 5 in government-run primary and composite schools from the 2026-27 academic session, in accordance with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. In an official communication, director general of school education Monica Rani said the new report card format-designed by NCERT and adapted by SCERT Uttar Pradesh-aims to evaluate students' overall development rather than focusing solely on academic performance. Notably, the new system will not assign marks. Instead, students' learning levels will be assessed on a three-tier scale depicted through star ratings. The holistic progress card will assess various aspects of a child's development, including cognitive abilities, behaviour, life skills, interests, attendance, academic progress, and teacher observations. It will also provide space for parental feedback and student self-assessment. Monica Rani said students' progress will be recorded twice during the academic session-at the end of September and March-while attendance will be updated on a monthly basis. For Balvatika students (aged 5-6 years), the report card will be a four-page document covering general information, health details, social and emotional development, language and cognitive skills, as well as artistic and physical growth. For classes 1 to 5, the progress card will be a six-page document detailing subject-wise competencies-Hindi, English, mathematics, and environmental studies-along with behavioural aspects, learning readiness, hygiene, co-curricular interests, and assessment outcomes. htc...