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NCERT Class 9 Social Science books to highlight indigenous knowledge, culture & history
NCERT’s new Class 9 social science syllabus focuses on indigenous knowledge, culture, philosophy, science, and history, promoting inquiry-based learning
New Delhi: The new NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) social science textbooks for Class 9, set to be released in March will focus on indigenous intellectual and cultural contributions across fields such as mathematics, philosophy, science and technology, medicine, architecture, agriculture, literature and art, according to the draft syllabus released Thursday.
Students will learn about Indian philosophy, Ayurveda, yoga, the “22 shrutis” of Indian music, horticulture, the use of herbs and spices, and etymology, and how these influenced the course of Indian history.
Students will also study the emergence of the modern Indian nation along with the “rich civilisational history of the Indian subcontinent” including early democratic traditions in various parts of ancient India. Students are expected to “understand and analyse social, cultural, and political life in India over time as well as the underlying historical Indian ethos and philosophy of unity in diversity,” while recognising past and present challenges and efforts to address them. Students will be enabled to “discuss forms of inequality, injustice, and discrimination” arising from internal and external forces, including colonisation, and to examine movements towards equity, inclusion, justice and harmony.
The new books will emphasise inquiry-driven learning rooted in “Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS),” “culturally rooted” perspectives and “lived realities,” with a focus on core concepts “rather than memorisation,” according to the draft syllabus.
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has released the draft syllabus for languages, science, mathematics and social science to support teachers’ academic planning for the 2026-27 academic session. Draft of NCERT Class 9 syllabus states that the new curriculum across all 10 subjects will be competency-based and experiential, aligned with the curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment guiding document National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023 and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Navneet Sharma, a faculty in department of education at Central University of Himachal Pradesh (CUHP), Dharamshala said that Indian Knowledge System (IKS) in syllabus should be replaced by indigenous knowledge systems . “Indigenous knowledge includes tribal, Dalit, minority and women’s perspectives, and their narratives should be reflected in textbooks to make them truly pan-Indian. There is no problem in teaching new government policies but students should be encouraged to critically analyse policies, question them and understand how policy documents are made, rather than only praise or accept them uncritically.” he said.
