4 months on, Class 9 students at Chandigarh govt schools still await social science textbooks

Teachers alleged that the students went through nearly the entire first leg of the session, from April 1 until schools shut for summer vacation on May 23, attending classes without the textbook

Nearly four months into the 2026-27 academic session, which began on April 1, teachers at Chandigarh government schools have alleged that Class 9 students are still awaiting their social science textbooks.

This is not the first time the missing textbooks have been flagged by teachers. (HT Photo for representation)

With no physical copies in hand, teachers alleged that they had no way to bridge the gap. Furthermore, the digital version available online does not allow printing either, ruling out even photocopied handouts as a stopgap. “Even the books available online are in such a format that it doesn’t allow printing as an option either,” a teacher said, requesting anonymity.

Nitish Singla, director of school education, attributed the delay to National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). “The books were received a day before due to late printing from NCERT’s side. It will be distributed in two days to the students,” he said.

This is not the first time the missing textbooks have been flagged by teachers. The gap in availability had already emerged as a concern in the early weeks of the session, with Class 9 students reported to be continuing their studies without the revised NCERT books, even as the syllabus itself was being overhauled under the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 framework.

Teachers alleged that the students went through nearly the entire first leg of the session, from April 1 until schools shut for summer vacation on May 23, attending classes without the textbook.

The delay is tied to a larger overhaul at the national level. This is the first year the NCERT has replaced the earlier four separate Class 9 social science textbooks—covering history, geography, political science, and economics—with a single integrated volume titled Understanding Society: India and Beyond, under the NEP 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023.

Teachers alleged that four of the five new NCERT Class 9 textbooks for the 2026-27 session made it into print and onto DIKSHA by late May, but the social science volume remained in the final stages of development even as the academic year got underway across CBSE-affiliated schools.

However, the restructuring has not been without controversy either. The revised textbook has drawn criticism for omitting the Preamble to the Constitution and references to “secular” and “secularism”, while introducing for the first time a chapter on the 1975–77 Emergency—changes that sparked a political confrontation between the BJP and the Congress. A separate addition, along with a section on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, has also drawn scrutiny, alongside a new framing of the judiciary in the text.

The irony is that this year was meant to mark an expansion in government support for textbooks, not a shortfall. In June 2025, the UT administration decided to extend free textbooks to all students from Class 1 to 12 in government schools beginning the next academic session, up from the earlier cutoff of Class 8.

The move was aimed at supporting students from economically weaker sections and reducing dropout rates in higher classes, at a time when parents have increasingly been shifting children from private to government schools, particularly for Classes 11 and 12.

Nearly four months into that expanded scheme’s first year, Class 9 students are only now set to receive one of their core textbooks with barely a couple of months left before the final examinations in September.