Lok Sabha Question No. 3273 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-16
Subject: NCERT New Textbooks
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Smt. Smita Uday Wagh, Dr. Rajesh Mishra, Shri Tejasvi Surya, Shri Praveen Patel

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3273 ANSWERED ON 16.12.2024

## NCERT New Textbooks

3273.   Dr. Rajesh Mishra:

Smt. Smita Uday Wagh:

Shri Tejasvi Surya:

Shri Praveen Patel:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has removed and added many chapters in the text books and if so, the rationale behind it;
- (b) whether it is being done on the recommendations of any Committee, if so, the composition and mandate of the committee;
- (c) whether NCERT is preparing new textbooks as per National Curriculum Framework (NCF) for School Education 2023 for new academic year;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (e)  whether  the  State  Governments  have  been  advised  to  adopt  the  NCF  for  school  education developed by the NCERT; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  &  (b) During  the  Pandemic  -  COVID-19  situation,  students  across  the  stages  of  school education have 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 have  been  raised  from  different  corners.  Parliament  Standing  Committee  has  also  raised  the concern about the content overload in the textbooks. The National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 also  states,  'The  reduction  in  content  and  increased  flexibility  of  school  curriculum  -  and  the renewed emphasis on constructive rather than rote learning - must be accompanied by parallel changes in school textbooks'. In view of facilitating speedy recovery in their learning continuous and compensating time loss, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) took a step towards the rationalization of textbooks, as per extant procedures, across the stages and  subject  areas  and  rationalized/updated  the  content  of  textbooks  across  the  grades  and subjects  in  the  year  2021-22.  These  textbooks  are  continued  from  2022-23  sessions  onwards. Some updates  have  also  been  included  in  these  textbooks  in  the  year  2023-24  on  account  of evolution of knowledge, facts and their interpretations.

(c) & (d) Yes, As a follow up of National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCFFS), 2022, NCERT has developed new Textbooks for Grade 1 and 2, which have already been introduced from 2023-24. NCERT has also developed new textbooks for Grades 3 and 6 as a follow-up of the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE), 2023, which have been introduced from 2024-25.

(e)  &  (f)  The  NEP,  2020  in  its  para  4.32  states  that,  'States  will  prepare  their  own  curricula (which may be based on the NCFSE prepared by NCERT to the extent possible) and prepare textbooks  (which  may  be  based  on  the  NCERT  textbook  materials  to  the  extent  possible), incorporating State flavor and material as needed. While doing so, it must be borne in mind that NCERT curriculum would be taken as the nationally acceptable criterion'.

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