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The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has reconstituted its curriculum committee after being rapped by the Supreme Court of India over a section on "corruption in the judiciary" in a now-withdrawn Class 8 Social Science textbook, officials said on Wednesday.
The high-powered, 20-member National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee (NSTC) includes V Kamakoti, Director of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras; Raghuvendra Tanwar, Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research; former Vice-Chancellor of the National Law School of India University R Venkata Rao; and Amarendra Prasad Behera, Joint Director-in-Charge, Central Institute of Educational Technology, NCERT. The reconstitution follows the Supreme Court's March 11 order in the matter, with NCERT issuing a notification on April 2 to revamp the panel. The earlier committee had 22 members. The NSTC was first constituted in July 2023 to develop school syllabi and textbooks in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE) 2023. The reworked panel does not include some members of the previous committee, including Professor Michel Danino, former guest professor at IIT Gandhinagar, Bibek Debroy, former chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, and MD Srinivas of the Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai. Earlier, the Director and Members of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) tendered an "unconditional and unqualified apology" for the chapter IV in its now-withdrawn Class 8 Social Science textbook, "Exploring Society: India and Beyond" (Part II). In a statement issued via X, NCERT stated that the entire book has been withdrawn, making it unavailable. "The National Council of Educational Research and Training [NCERT] has recently published a social science textbook, "Exploring Society: India and Beyond," Grade 8 (Part II), which contained Chapter IV titled "The Role of Judiciary in our Society." The Director and Members of NCERT hereby tender an unconditional and unqualified apology for the said Chapter IV. The entire book has been withdrawn and is not available," NCERT wrote in the post. The council expressed regret for the inconvenience caused, reiterating its commitment to accuracy and sensitivity in educational materials. "NCERT remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of accuracy, sensitivity, and responsibility in educational content," the post said. The apology follows concerns raised regarding the chapter's portrayal of the judiciary in the chapter IV 'The Role of Judiciary in our Society; with a sub-chapter titled "Corruption in the judiciary". (ANI)
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