The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) will develop new textbooks in line with the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) perspective on culture and language.
It has also been entrusted with the responsibility to provide a roadmap for the development of new syllabi and textbooks for the formulation of National Curriculum Frameworks (NCFs) as per the perspective of the National Education Policy (NEP 2020).
The Reforms in Content and Design of School Textbooks Committee on the action taken by the government on its recommendations and observations was tabled in Parliament on Monday. The committee, which examined inputs to improve NCERT books, tabled its first recommendations last year in November.
NCERT history textbooks
The parliamentary committee had earlier recommended that NCERT should ensure that contributions of many unsung freedom fighters from all corners of the country including the North Eastern region of the country get incorporated with equal emphasis in the textbooks.
The committee said that wrong portrayal of heroes of the freedom struggle should be corrected and they should be given due respect in our history textbooks. In its reply, the government denied the observation and said that the freedom fighters were not depicted incorrectly in textbooks.
“The present NCERT textbook of Classes 8, 10 and 12 (Part III) have portrayed freedom fighters by adopting an event oriented approach and they have not been depicted in an incorrect manner,” it said.
Regulatory mechanism for textbooks
Noting that the department has accepted that there is a need to have regulatory mechanism for scrutinizing the content of textbooks and other materials, the committee has recommended further action in this regard be initiated expeditiously.
The NCERT has initiated the development of the National Curriculum Framework for school education under the guidance of the National Steering Committee set up by the ministry of education. As a follow-up of the NCF, a task of new generation syllabi and textbooks taking care of representation related to North-East States will be undertaken, the government informed.
In view of providing inputs related to education for values for NCF, a separate focus group on Value Education has been constituted, it said.
Balanced perspective of all genders
The parliament committee stressed that local heroes, both men and women, who have been ignored over the years, should be highlighted with their contributions to the country’s history and unity in the school textbooks.
It had asked the department to ensure the women heroes from different regions and eras are given equal weightage highlighting their contributions in the history textbooks. It has asked NCERT to include reference not only to printed material but also to local oral traditions through the help of the elderly, and the study of folklore.
In addition to the inclusion of unsung heroes, the committee has also asked to address the under-representation of women and girls in school textbooks. It had also recommended that textbooks should have greater portrayal of women in new and emerging professions. The NCERT will work towards bringing a balanced perspective of all genders in the new NCF, the panel said.
