73 academicians launch assertion supporting NCERT over textbook row

73 teachers, together with vice-chancellors of main establishments, launched an announcement opposing the controversy over the substantial alteration of the unique curriculum of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks. It was printed late on Thursday night time and alleged that the council was made a goal of deceptive data.

They moreover acknowledged that efforts had been being made to impede the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020’s implementation to be able to additional political goals. “Through misinformation, rumours, and false allegations, they want to derail the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) and disrupt the updation of NCERT textbooks.”

They talked about that the varsity curriculum in India has not been revised for practically twenty years. “The last update of textbooks was undertaken in 2006. The current NCERT team has been making consistent efforts for reducing the burden on students and improving learning outcomes by rationalising the syllabus and making the content relevant according to current needs.”

“The scholars who have suggested the changes in the textbook have not suggested any epistemic rupture in the existing domain of knowledge but just rationalised the course content as per contemporary knowledge need. As regards the decision of who decides what is unacceptable and what is desirable it is argued that every new generation has the right to make additions or deletions to the existing knowledge base,” the letter argued.

It was signed by Professor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, Vice Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Professor Sanjay Srivastava, Vice Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Motihari, Professor Shambhu Nath Singh Vice Chancellor of Tezpur Central University, Dr Sushma Yadav, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Central University of Haryana and Professor Dhananjay Singh, Member Secretary, the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) amongst others.

Academicians famous that this time creator choice process, which happened all through the train in rationalisation, was way more open and morally sound than it had been prior to now. “The process of selection of the scholars for this task was thoroughly liberal, democratic and humanistic.”

“Their demand that students continue to study from 17-year-old textbooks rather than updated textbooks in sync with contemporary developments and pedagogical advancement reveals intellectual arrogance. In their quest to further their political agenda, they are ready to endanger the future of crores of children across the country. While students are eagerly awaiting updated textbooks, these academicians are continuing to create hurdles and derail the entire process,” they charged.

The joint assertion highlighted, “In the past three months, there have been deliberate attempts to malign the NCERT, a leading public institution, and disrupt the much-needed process for curriculum updation.”

It retaliated towards teachers who had withdrawn their names from consideration as NCERT advisors. It noticed that the “name-withdrawal spectacle” was simply supposed to “capture media attention” and so they “seem to have forgotten that textbooks are an outcome of collective intellectual engagement and rigorous efforts.” 

They additionally prolonged an invite to thinkers, teachers, and anxious individuals to signal their petition to be able to expose self-serving teachers who’re making an attempt to sabotage the implementation of NEP 2020 and the much-required and long-overdue upgradation of faculty curricula.

“NCERT has been revising textbooks from time to time in the past too. NCERT is fully justified in carrying out the rationalisation of its textbook contents. NCERT has repeatedly stated that the revision of textbooks originates from various stakeholders’ feedback and suggestions,” proclaimed University Grants Commission (UGC) chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar whereas endorsing the open letter.

He emphasised, “NCERT has also confirmed that it is developing a new set of textbooks based on the recently launched National Curriculum Framework for School Education and that current textbooks in which the contents have been rationalised to reduce the academic load are only a temporary phase. Given this, there is no merit in the hue and the cry of these ‘academicians.’ The objective behind their grumbling seems to be other than academic reasons.”

The assertion got here days after 33 academicians who served on the textbook growth committee for the presently used, 2006–2007 National Curriculum Framework (NCF)–based mostly textbooks wrote a letter to the council contending that their inventive collective effort had been jeopardised by the current syllabus rationalisation train. They additionally requested for the removing of their names from the present textbooks. Yogendra Yadav and Suhas Palshikar, two former NCERT consultants, then distanced themselves from the rationalised political science textbooks.