Lok Sabha Question No. 2286 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-08-05
Subject: Revision of NCERT Textbooks
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Subbarayan K, Shri V K Sreekandan, Com. Selvaraj V

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2286 ANSWERED ON 05.08.2024

## Revision of NCERT Textbooks

2286 Com. Selvaraj V: Shri Subbarayan K: Shri V K Sreekandan:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is true that the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is in the process of preparing new school text books in line of new National Curriculum Framework for School Education, 2023 as a part of the implementation of the National Education Policy, 2020, if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether it is true that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is also working on a bridge course classes, if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether it is true that the NCERT has made some revisions in the text books of History and Political Science for standards 9 to 12 since 2016, if so, the details of the changes made in these books; and

(d) whether these changes are carried out with unanimity of all the members of the Text Book Development Committee, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) As a follow-up of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, the National Council of Educational Research & Training (NCERT) has developed the National Curriculum Framework for  Foundation  Stage  (NCF-FS)  2022  and  the  National  Curriculum  Framework  for  School Education (NCF-SE) 2023. The textbooks for Grade I, II, III and VI have been developed and brought out (except mathematics textbook of Grade VI) in digital and print form and available for students and teachers. The National Syllabus and Teaching-Learning Material Committee (NSTC) has been constituted by the NCERT for development of textbooks for remaining grades.

(b) The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) prescribes textbooks developed by NCERT. NCERT has developed a month-long bridge course for grade VI students in 10 subject areas (Mathematics,  Hindi,  English,  Sanskrit, Urdu,  Science,  Social  Science,  Vocational Education, Art Education, Physical Education and Well-being) along with detailed guidelines for teachers and uploaded on the NCERT website to prepare them for their smooth transition from old curriculum to new curriculum. This programme has been designed in such a way that in each subject area, ample exemplar activities mapping with competencies and learning outcomes have been provided for teachers to understand pedagogy of competency-based education to motivate students to joyfully learn the concepts through activities. NCERT has also developed a 2-week Foundation  course  for  Grade  III  students  in  the  new  subject  areas  of  Art  Education,  Physical Education and well-being and The World Around Us with the objective to prepare children of grade III to get a pre-orientation about these areas before they formally study textbooks which are being introduced for the first time in Grade III.

(c) During  the  Pandemic  -  COVID-  19  outbreak,  students  across  all  the  stages  of  school education struggled a lot to continue their learning through online and other modes. The concerns related to curriculum load including the content load spread over syllabi and textbooks had been raised  from  different  corners.  Therefore,  NCERT  has  rationalised  and  updated  the  content  of textbooks, as per extant procedures, across the grades and subjects in the year 2021-22. Specific criteria were also developed for the rationalisation of content load, including overlapping content, high  difficulty  level,  etc.  These  textbooks  are  continued  from  2022-23  sessions  onwards. Subsequently,  some  updates  have  been  included  in  the  year  2023-24  due  to  evolution  of knowledge, facts and their interpretations.

Some deletions and modifications in History and Political Sciences for classes 9 to 12 have been necessitated by the need to harmonize understanding of different perspectives. The contents of textbooks  have  been  modified  to  help  students  build  a  positive  mindset  to  develop  an  innate understanding of the drivers of social changes which shapes our multi-ethnic and multi-lingual society.

The list of rationalised and updated contents is available on the NCERT website. The link of the same is as under:

https://ncert.nic.in/rationalised-content.php https://ncert.nic.in/pdf/Revised\_Content\_2024/Revised\_Updated\_Content\_Sociology-History.pdf

(d) During the year 2005-2008, Textbook Development Committees (TDCs) were constituted by the NCERT for development of textbooks in various subjects for all classes. These committees were purely academic in nature and existed until the textbooks were developed. After the textbooks were published by the NCERT, their copyright remained vested with the NCERT independent of the Textbook Development Committee (TDC). Despite the terms having ended, some of the old Textbook Development Committee members raised certain objections in the changes. However, NCERT has placed its clarification on the website and the changes were made as part of the annual revision process. The link of the clarifications is as under:

https://ncert.nic.in/pdf/notice/Textbook\_Development\_Committee.pdf

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