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its curriculum committee after being rapped by the Supreme Court over a section on “Corruption in Judiciary” in the now-withdrawn Class 8 Social Science textbook, officials said on Wednesday.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.

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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.