NCERT textbook revision: Over 100 academics write letter opposing the critics

A day after academics part of the NCERT’s Textbook Development Committee wrote to the curriculum body opposing changes to politics textbooks and demanded that their names be dropped from these textbooks, over 100 other academics have written an open letter in response, opposing the critics. In the open letter, over 106 academics said that the critical academics have “through misinformation, rumours and false allegations”, sought to “derail” the implementation of the NEP 2020. UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar, too, hit back at the critical academics and said that the objective behind the criticisms “seem to be other than academic reasons”.

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Kumar said that the NCERT is “fully justified” in carrying out the rationalisation of its textbook contents, and that the opposition to that is “unwarranted”. He said that the current textbook modifications are not the only ones carried out; NCERT has been revising textbooks from time to time in the past too.

He added that the school curriculum body has repeatedly stated that the revision of textbooks originates from various stakeholders’ feedback and suggestions. “NCERT has also confirmed that it is developing a new set of textbooks based on the recently launched National Curriculum Framework for School Education, and that current textbooks in which the contents have been rationalised to reduce the academic load are only a temporary phase. Given this, there is no merit in the hue and cry of these ‘academicians’,” Kumar said.

“The objective behind their grumbling seems to be other than academic reasons,” he added.

Signatories of the letter, penned by 106 academics which was released today, include JNU VC Santishree Dhulipudi, Tezpur Central University VC Prof Shambhu Nath Singh, Central University of Jharkhand VC Prof KB Das, VC of Berhampur University Prof Geetanjali Dash, Pro VC of Central University of Haryana Prof Sushma Yadav, VC of Ranchi University Dr Ajit Kumar Singh, among others.

In the letter, the academics said the oppositions to the NCERT’s move are “deliberate attempts” to “malign” the NCERT, and “disrupt” the process for curriculum updation.“Academicians trying to capture media attention through this name-withdrawal spectacle seem to have forgotten that textbooks are an outcome of collective intellectual engagement and rigorous efforts. The scholars who have suggested the changes in the textbook have not suggested any epistemic rupture in the existing domain of knowledge but just rationalised the course content as per contemporary knowledge need,” the letter states.

The academics also said that the process of selection of the scholars was “thoroughly liberal, democratic and humanistic”. They added that the school curriculum in India has not been updated for nearly two decades; the last updation took place in 2006.

“Their demand that students continue to study from 17 year old textbooks rather than updated textbooks in sync with contemporary developments and pedagogical advancement reveals intellectual arrogance,” the letter states.

Recently, psephologist Yogendra Yadav and political scientist Suhas Palshikar asked the NCERT to drop their names as chief advisors, after the school curriculum body made key changes.