NCERT consulted 25 experts, 16 teachers for changes in books

Among the changes was the removal of all references to the 2002 Gujarat riots, the Cold War, and Mughal courts, and the industrial revolution.

The National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) consulted as many as 25 external experts, and 16 CBSE teachers for the recent “rationalisation” of its textbooks, an exercise that led to the deletion of references to the 2002 Gujarat riots, Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, and some Mughal rulers.

Last year, the NCERT also removed chapters on Mughal Courts, the 2002 Gujarat Riots, the cold war, references to Mughal emperors, and Emergency (Representative Photo)

According to written response submitted by the Union ministry of education in Parliament on July 18, 2022, the consultations were with experts in seven subjects, including history, political science, economics, geography, commerce and business studies, sociology, and psychology.

In June last year, the NCERT rationalised the syllabi of Classes 6 to 12 to reduce the burden on students. Among the changes was the removal of all references to the 2002 Gujarat riots, the Cold War, and Mughal courts, and the industrial revolution.

Some Dalit writers were also dropped from a Class 7 textbook.

HT couldn’t ascertain whether all the changes made were suggested by the experts or whether all the changes recommended by the experts were made.

In the case of History, the five experts who were consulted are Umesh Kadam, professor of history at the Jawaharlal Nehru University and a member secretary at the Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR); Dr Archana Verma, an associate professor (history) at Delhi University’s (DU) Hindu College; Shruti Mishra, who heads the department of history at Delhi Public School RK Puram; and two Delhi-based Kendriya Vidyalaya teachers Krishna Ranjan and Sunil Kumar.

In the case of sociology, three rounds of consultation were held with four external experts: Manju Bhatt, a former professor with the Department of Education in social science, NCERT; Achala Pritam Tondon, an associate professor at DU’s Hindu College; Seema Banerjee who teaches sociology at Delhi’s Laxman Public School and Abha Seth, who also teaches the same subject at the DAV Public School at Vasant Kunj.

Four experts in political science were consulted for revisions in the domain. They included Vanthangpui Khobung, who is an assistant professor of political science at the NCERT’s Regional Institute of Education in Bhopal; Maneesha Pandey who teaches political science at Hindu College; and school teachers Kavita Jain and Sunita Kathuria.

The ministry said in case of psychology, one round of consultation happened with three experts –Neelam Srivastava, who teaches at Vasant Valley School; Gurjeet Kaur from DAV Public School, Vasant Kunj; and Shalini Prasad from DPS Vasant Kunj.