The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has formed an expert committee to review feedback received on its newly released textbooks that follow the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Officials said the new textbooks are based on the National Curriculum Framework for the Foundational Stage and School Education. These textbooks are updated regularly based on suggestions from teachers, subject experts, and other stakeholders.
A senior NCERT official said, “We have received feedback about content in a few textbooks. As per our established practice, a committee is being formed with senior experts to examine the feedback. The committee will review the suggestions with supporting evidence and submit its report at the earliest.”
NCERT clarified that whenever substantial feedback is received on the content or teaching methods of a textbook, it forms a committee. This committee usually includes subject experts from reputed institutions and faculty from the relevant field, led by the head of the curriculum department. It discusses the matter in detail and recommends appropriate changes.
Recently, NCERT’s new Class 8 social science textbook titled “Exploring Society: India and Beyond” came into focus. The book describes Babur as a “ruthless conqueror”, Akbar’s reign as a mix of “brutality and tolerance”, and Aurangzeb as a “military ruler” who reimposed taxes on non-Muslims.
This is the first book under the new curriculum that introduces students to the Delhi Sultanate, Mughals, Marathas, and colonial rule. Earlier, some of these topics were taught in Class 7, but the timeline has now been moved to Class 8 as per the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE) 2023.
