Country moving towards uniform school education, reveals RTI reply

28 education boards, departments of 23 states adopted NCERT syllabus in 2020-21; 17 more embraced it in 2021-22

Various education boards across the country are fast moving towards imparting uniform education, reveals records of union education ministry. At present, teaching in 23 states is being done from books of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), the records show.

At present, teaching in 23 states is being done from NCERT books. (For Representation)

In Uttar Pradesh, U.P. Board had implemented NCERT based syllabus for class 9 to 12 from 2016. According to the information given under the Right to Information (RTI) Act filed with the Department of School Education and Literacy, Union Ministry of Education and then transferred to NCERT, a total of 28 agencies (state secondary, basic education boards and departments) of 23 states were granted the right to publish NCERT books in the academic session 2020-21.

In the reply given to a query filed under RTI Act by a Prayagraj-based journalist, public information officer, NCERT, Ranjana Arora said likewise, for academic session of 2021-22 also, 17 agencies of 16 states had taken copyright permission for publication of NCERT books.

These includes states of Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Goa, Tripura, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana and Mizoram that have implemented NCERT books right from class 1 onwards.

The maximum benefits of this will percolate down to the students of these states who have adopted the NCERT course and want to appear in competitive exams as question papers of most national level competitive exams like medical and engineering entrance tests to civil services exams are made on the basis of NCERT books.

The NCERT books have so far not been implemented in the primary and upper primary schools of the Basic Education Board of Uttar Pradesh. Two years back, the state government had decided to implement NCERT textbooks in a phased manner starting from the 2021-22 session but till now they have not been implemented, say state basic education department officials.

Resource person of NCERT Ashish Srivastava said NCERT books are of excellent quality and designed by a select team of experts. “The students of the states which have adopted these books will get an equal opportunity in the competitive examinations. Also, these students will not have the problem of changing the curriculum on shifting of their parents from one state to another,” he said while spelling out some of the benefit of having NCERT books in all schools across the country.