An explainer on the process of how NCERT textbooks are prepared, in light of a recent controversy over a class 8 textbook chapter on 'judicial corruption' that led to a Supreme Court ban.
Delhi Police have arrested a Delhi University graduate and seized over 5,000 pirated NCERT textbooks from a godown in outer Delhi, dismantling a syndicate involved in the distribution of counterfeit educational material.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has expressed strong disapproval of a chapter in an NCERT Class 8 textbook addressing judicial corruption, prompting government action and a Supreme Court ban on the book's circulation.
The apex court ordered that the Centre and state authorities comply with its directions immediately, and warned of 'serious action' if directions are defied in any form.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday said the Preamble to the Constitution is very well there in NCERT textbooks of Class VI as he refuted charges made in this regard by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
The NCERT's class 8 textbook is under scrutiny for its content on judicial corruption, potentially leading to its removal after government concerns and objections from the judiciary.
IIT-Gandhinagar is reviewing Michel Danino's position as guest professor after the Supreme Court directed institutions to disassociate from him due to a controversy over a chapter on judicial corruption in a withdrawn NCERT textbook.
The Supreme Court has initiated suo motu action regarding an NCERT class 8 textbook that references corruption in the judiciary, raising concerns about potential defamation and the integrity of the judicial system.
A number of academicians as well as political scientists Yogendra Yadav and Suhas Palshikar, who were part of the textbook development committee of the NCERT, had asked the council to drop their names from textbooks over 'several substantive revisions of the original texts'.
The NCERT has issued a public apology and withdrawn a social science textbook for Class 8 after the Supreme Court objected to a chapter on judicial corruption. The court imposed a ban on further publication of the book.
The NCERT has apologised for 'inappropriate content' in a Class 8 textbook chapter discussing judicial corruption, following Supreme Court criticism. The textbook will be rewritten, and its circulation has been put on hold.
The Centre has directed the NCERT to review all textbooks after the Supreme Court raised concerns about 'offending' content on corruption in the judiciary in a Class 8 social science book.
RSS leader Sunil Ambekar says history textbooks have been revised, with titles like 'the great' removed from historical figures like Akbar and Tipu Sultan. He highlights the importance of India's ancient knowledge and the need to understand its history.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced that all high schools in India will have broadband internet connection within the next 2-3 years, with a focus on integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into education.
The suggestions have been part of the final position paper on social sciences, which is a key perspective document that helps in the development of new NCERT textbooks on the subject. The proposal has yet to get a final nod from NCERT.
A controversy has erupted after an NCERT Class 8 textbook depicted present-day Rajasthan as part of the Maratha Empire, drawing criticism from royal families and political leaders who call the depiction factually incorrect and misleading.
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has removed all references to the Mughals and Delhi Sultanate from its class 7 textbooks. The new textbooks, released this week, have been designed in line with the new National Education Policy (NEP) and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE) 2023, which emphasize incorporating Indian traditions, philosophies, knowledge systems, and local context into school education. The textbooks now include new chapters on ancient Indian dynasties, sacred geography, and government initiatives like Make in India and Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao. The revamp has been met with criticism from opposition parties who equate it with "saffronisation."
The six-page section, titled The Ghaznavid Invasions, states that Mahmud of Ghazni conducted 17 campaigns in India, returning each time with large quantities of treasure. The old NCERT class 7 history textbook had a paragraph on Mahmud of Ghazni.
The 19-member National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee (NSTC) will be headed by National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) chancellor MC Pant and develop textbooks for classes 3 to 12.
The change in the syllabus comes in the wake of the implementation of the National Curriculum Framework, which suggests that the textbooks should connect knowledge to real life situations.
The NCERT has dropped references to the demand for a separate Sikh nation of Khalistan from the class 12 political science textbook following objections from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), according to top education ministry officials.
The UGC chief said the NCERT is fully justified in carrying out rationalisation of its textbooks' contents.
Palshikar and Yadav, who were chief advisors for the original Political Science books for classes 9 to 12, said, "While the modifications have been justified in the name of rationalisation, we fail to see any pedagogic rationale at work here. We find that the text has been mutilated beyond recognition. There are innumerable and irrational cuts and large deletions without any attempts to fill the gaps created.
More than 1,800 scientists, science teachers and educators have written an open letter raising concerns about the chapter on 'Theory of Biological Evolution' being dropped from the NCERT textbook for Class 10.
'You can see both being used in our textbooks already and that will continue in new textbooks'
He hinted that the same hue and cry is not made about 1984 riots not being in textbooks.
The book, to be introduced in schools from the 2025-2026 academic year, marks a shift in tone in its portrayal of the Mughal emperors, offering detailed accounts of conquest, religious decisions, cultural contributions, and brutality.
The committee has also recommended highlighting 'Hindu victories' in various battles in the textbooks.
Certain references and subjects being quietly dropped from the new NCERT textbooks without any notification has kicked off a political controversy with the Opposition accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of 'whitewashing with vengeance'.
"We teach our students using NCERT books...whatever is there in the revised edition will be followed," Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said.
There are tweaks in references to B R Ambedkar's experience about the discrimination.
The SERT, an autonomous body of the general education department, is considering a decision by its curriculum steering committee to include these deleted portions in the state syllabus.
"A controversy is going on these days that Darwin's theory of evolution has been removed from science books by the NCERT and the periodic table has been left out, but I would like to state here publicly that nothing of this sort has happened," he said.
The National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), however, said the withdrawal of anyone's association is out of question as textbooks at the school level are developed on the basis of knowledge and understanding on a given subject and at no stage, individual authorship is claimed.
The signatories to a letter sent to NCERT Director Dinesh Saklani include Kanti Prasad Bajpai, a former Jawaharlal Nehru University 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 Institute of Advanced Studies.
References to freedom fighter and India's first education minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad have been removed from the new class 11 political science textbook by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
The Left leader said the NCERT, which was set up on the basis of the 2005 National Curriculum Framework, has been demolishing the very goals of the NCF through the removal of such passages from textbooks.
His comments come after the new NCERT textbooks hit the market and it was found that more contents than the ones notified in the curriculum rationalisation booklet last year are missing.
The issue of controversial cartoons in textbooks generated heat in the Lok Sabha with members demanding immediate action in the matter saying the sketch has hurt sentiments of a section of the society.
The textbooks themselves have not been finalised by the National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee (NSTC), he said.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances