NCERT revamps syllabus committee over Class 8 textbook issue
NCERT has reconstituted its curriculum committee after the Supreme Court criticised a Class 8 Social Science textbook section on the judiciary. The revised panel has 20 members, with three removed following court directions and changes aimed at strengthening the body
New Delhi: The NCERT has reconstituted its curriculum committee after being rapped by the Supreme Court over a section on “Corruption in Judiciary” in the now-withdrawn Class 8 Social Science textbook, officials said on Wednesday.
The high-powered, 20-member National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee (NSTC) of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) includes IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti; Indian Council of Historical Research Chairman Raghuvendra Tanwar; former Vice-Chancellor of the National Law School of India University R Venkata Rao; and Amarendra Prasad Behera, Joint Director-in-Charge, Central Institute of Educational Technology, NCERT.
Earlier, the panel had 22 members.
Following Supreme Court orders, three members have been removed from the NSTC. These are Michel Danino, former guest professor at IIT Gandhinagar; M D Srinivas, chairman of the Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai; and the late Bibek Debroy, former chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council.
“Reconstitution of the NSTC has been undertaken to strengthen it through necessary updates,” a senior official said.
The committee is empowered to develop school syllabi and teaching-learning material, including textbooks for Grades 3 to 12, and, if required, to appropriately revise the existing textbooks of Grades 1 and 2 to ensure a smooth transition from Grade 2 to 3.
In February, the Supreme Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the Class 8 Social Science textbook, which discussed a section on “Corruption in Judiciary”.
The court later imposed a “blanket ban” on the use of physical or online copies of the said textbook.
