JNU VC on NCERT deletions: There is no conspiracy

Source– The post is based on the article “JNU VC on NCERT deletions: There is no conspiracy” published in “The Indian Express” on 12th June 2023.

Syllabus: GS2- Issues related to development and management of education

Relevance- Issues related to curriculum

News– Recently, there was controversy over textbook revision by the National Council of Educational Research and Training.

What is the rationale for recent changes in NCERT textbooks?

Some changes were made to reflect the changing realities. These include the incorporation of content related to information technology and computers.

The textbooks are revised in accordance with the reforms in the country’s educational system. The National Education Policy 2020 emphasises on reducing the content load and providing opportunities for experiential learning with a creative mindset.

The current process of rationalisation is motivated by the effects of the pandemic on the educational system. There was loss of learning and increased load on the students. This was also a concern expressed by the Parliamentary Standing Committee On Education.

What are arguments against the criticism of recent NCERT textbook revision?

The periodic table has not been removed from the school education curriculum. It has been reassigned to Unit 3 in the Class 11 textbook. Darwin’s theory of evolution is covered in “great detail” in chapter six of the Class 12 textbook.

The missing reference to Maulana Azad from the Class 11 Political Science textbook is not a part of the current process of rationalisation. The reference was dropped from 2014-15 onwards.

The major chunk of confusion is caused by the deletion of some items. The critics argued they were not included in the notification of the rationalisation.

This is part of the regular process of reprinting where minor deletions are not notified to avoid unnecessary confusion.

These textbooks are for this year alone. The textbooks are supposed to be revised regularly by the Textbook Development Committee constituted in 2005.

This committee is mandated to develop the syllabus in line with the 2005 National Curriculum Framework. Each proposed change is first sent to the Textbook Committee, which is tasked to analyse and recommend them.

These decisions were taken by the expert panel. The NCERT arrived at these decisions after consultation with “in-house” domain experts, as well as 25 external specialists.

Changes and revisions in textbooks, and controversies are nothing new. In 2006, a chapter on Sikhism had to be changed because of enormous controversy.