School Textbooks

"Bharat" and "India" will be used interchangeably in NCERT textbooks as is the case in the country's Constitution, National Council of Educational Research and Training Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani has said. The comments assume significance in the wake of a high-level panel working on the social science curriculum recommending that "India" should be replaced with "Bharat" in school textbooks for all classes. In an interaction with PTI editors at the agency's headquarters here, the NCERT chief said both the words will be used in the books and the council has no aversion to either "Bharat" or "India". "It is interchangeable....our position is what our Constitution says and we uphold that. We can use Bharat, we can use India, what is the problem? We are not in that debate. Wherever it suits we will use India, wherever it suits we will use Bharat. We have no aversion to either India or Bharat," he said. "You can see both being used in our textbooks already and that will continue in n

There is a refreshing change from the environmental studies textbooks of yore that assigned children a to-do list of cautionary measures such as closing taps and switching off fans

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) will release a new syllabus and textbooks for Classes 3 to 6 while there will be no change in the curriculum and textbooks for other grades for the academic year 2024-25 commencing from April 1, according to CBSE officials. The NCERT has informed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) that new syllabi and textbooks for classes 3 and 6 are currently under development and will soon be released, the CBSE said in a communication sent to affiliated schools. "Consequently, schools are advised to follow these new syllabi and textbooks for classes 3 and 6 in place of textbooks published by NCERT till the year 2023," said Joseph Emmanuel, Director (Academics), CBSE. "Additionally, a bridge course for class 6, and concise guidelines for class 3 are being developed by the NCERT for facilitating a seamless transition for students to new pedagogical practices and areas of study aligned with new curriculum framework, 2023.

The NCERT panel recommends adding Ramayana and Mahabharata in textbooks. The committee also recommended to write the Preamble of the Indian constitution on the walls

Catch all the latest updates from across the globe here

Labelling the move as a "political decision", Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said, "It is unfortunate that an India Vs Bharat narrative is being put forward."

Recently, the state government decided to include chapters removed by NCERT in Classes 11, 12 books

To create awareness in young minds on the importance of keeping their surroundings clean, the Kerala government has decided to include lessons on scientific waste management, a serious challenge faced by the state, in textbooks from the next academic year. The decision was announced by State General Education Minister V Sivankutty on Tuesday at a function held at the SMV Government Higher Secondary School here on the occasion of the country's 77th Independence Day, a statement issued by the Kerala Solid Waste Management Project (KSWMP) said. The minister also honoured the Haritha Karma Sena (HKS) members at the function. In his speech on the occasion, Sivankutty said it was important to create proper awareness about scientific and sustainable waste management in young minds as it will have an enduring impact in the society. "This is why this topic is going to be included in textbooks," he was quoted as having said. He also lauded the efforts of the HKS members and said it was not

Days after political scientists Yogendra Yadav and Suhas Palshikar wrote to the NCERT, asking their names to be dropped from textbooks, 33 academicians, who were part of the Textbook Development Committee (TDC), have written to the council, saying their collective creative effort is in jeopardy. The academicians have also demanded that their names be dropped from the textbooks. The signatories to a letter sent to NCERT Director Dinesh Saklani include Kanti Prasad Bajpai, a former JNU professor who currently serves as the vice dean at the National University, Singapore, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, a former vice-chancellor of the Ashoka University, Rajeev Bhargava, a former director of CSDS, Niraja Gopal Jayal, a former JNU professor, Nivedita Menon, a JNU professor, Vipul Mudgal, the head of civil society watchdog Common Cause, K C Suri, a former professor at the University of Hyderabad who is now associated with the Gitam University, and Peter Ronald deSouza, a former director of the Indian

Newly appointed Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa on Tuesday indicated the possibility of revising school textbooks in the days ahead, in the interest of the students and to ensure that their minds are not "polluted". He however did not wish to make any comments on overturning te 'hijab ban', saying the matter was before court, and asked people to wait for answers on the new government's plans to scrap the National Education Policy (NEP). The Congress in its poll manifesto had promised to undo the changes made to school textbooks when the BJP was in power, and had also promised to scrap NEP. "I was the vice president of the Congress' manifesto committee, and in the manifesto we had said clearly that textbook revision will take place in the interest of the students' future. We don't want their minds to get polluted," Bangarappa said. Speaking to reporters here, he said, "We have already said that students come to schools to get educated and we don't

The recent changes in textbooks are purely based on the recommendations made by experts, said NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani.

The higher education department will soon include road safety in the college curriculum, chapters related to it will also be included at the secondary and primary level or in book of moral education

The NCERT will work towards bringing a balanced perspective of all genders in the new National Curriculum Framework (NCF) and in its textbooks, according to a parliamentary committee. The panel had earlier recommended that to address the under-representation of women and girls in school textbooks or them being depicted only in traditional roles, a thorough analysis from the view point of gender bias and stereotypes should be undertaken by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). It had also said efforts should be made to make content portrayal and visual depiction gender inclusive. On Monday, the report of the Reforms in Content and Design of School Text Books Committee on the action taken by the government on its recommendations and observations was tabled in Parliament. "The committee has been informed that the NCERT has taken note of all the issues raised by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports and will ..

NCERT's edits will distort learning outcomes

Amid controversy over textbook revisions in Karnataka, the Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday said the state government is open to revising the textbooks.

After the hijab controversy, the textbook revisions row has hit the state's education sector hard

Under 'Free Supply of Textbook supplies and Material 2020-2021', an additional recurring expenditure of ₹30.05 crore has been allocated

As public participation gains significance in the fight against coronavirus, the Centre on Friday asked the NCERT and state governments to include chapters on citizens' duties in school books

Says textbooks are not meant for making students activists but for educating them