The National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) has announced the removal of several chapters from Class 10 textbooks as part of a “rationalisation” exercise based on expert recommendations. The revised textbooks, reflecting these changes, have now been released.
One significant omission is the entire chapter on the Periodic Table from the Class 10 Chemistry textbook, although it remains part of the syllabus for Class 11. The NCERT acknowledged the importance of this topic, quoting American chemist Glenn T Seaborg in the Class 11 Chemistry textbook to highlight its significance in understanding chemistry’s fundamental building blocks.
The NCERT justified the changes by citing the need to reduce content load on students due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the National Education Policy 2020’s emphasis on experiential learning. The council also considered the Learning Outcomes developed by the NCERT in this exercise. In addition to the Periodic Table chapter, other deletions from the Class 10 Science textbook include passages on “Evolution.” Several topics, such as Fibre and Fabrics, have been struck off the Science textbooks for Classes 6, 7, and 8. Notably, the chapter on “Why do we fall ill” has been removed from the Class 9 Science textbook. The NCERT cited reasons such as overlapping content, irrelevance or outdated information, difficulty level, and accessibility for self-learning or peer-learning as factors behind the deletions.
The decision to drop several topics and portions from NCERT textbooks has sparked controversy, with opposition parties accusing the government of attempting to whitewash certain aspects. The controversy arose because while the changes were notified, some of the controversial deletions were not mentioned, leading to allegations of surreptitious removal. The NCERT initially described the omissions as a possible oversight but later defended them, stating that they were based on expert recommendations. The council also noted that the textbooks are scheduled for revision in 2024 when the National Curriculum Framework is implemented. However, the NCERT later revised its stance, stating that “minor changes need not be notified.” Among the references dropped from the Class 12 History textbook were sections discussing Mahatma Gandhi’s pursuit of Hindu-Muslim unity and the ban on the RSS. References to the Gujarat riots were also removed from the Class 11 Sociology textbook, following the removal of references to the 2002 communal violence from two Class 12 textbooks earlier.
