Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty wrote a letter to the Centre on Wednesday, April 27, seeking a review of the recent controversial omission of certain portions from Class XI and XII NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) textbooks. Prior to sending the letter, he had indicated that the deleted portions would be taught in the state schools.
Sivankutty's letter is addressed to Prime Minister Modi and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. In it, he emphasised that the provision of a comprehensive and balanced education through textbooks should be ensured for children, as that is necessary to mold them into responsible citizens and future leaders, as mentioned in a report by PTI.
Sivankutty pointed out that serious interventions were necessary to uphold the integrity of the education system and make the country's rich and diverse history accessible to the younger generation. Expressing concern over the NCERT's decision to drop key chapters and portions from the textbooks in the name of rationalisation, he said it should be reviewed at the earliest.
Can't consider omissions as academic
Taking a hit at the Centre's statement that the syllabus changes are based on the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the unprecedented situation due to COVID-19, Sivankutty pointed out that he could not consider the reason for the exclusion of key chapters from the textbooks as academic. The omission of significant topics like peace, development, the rise of people's movements and Mughal history was an injustice to the children, denying them an opportunity to learn, he added.
The State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT), an autonomous body of the General Education Department of Kerala, is considering a decision by its curriculum steering committee to include these deleted portions in the state syllabus. The committee, which met on Tuesday, April 25, entrusted Sivankutty with taking a final decision on the matter after consulting with the government and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, as per PTI.
Recently, the NCERT as a part of its syllabus rationalisation drive, dropped from its Class XII history textbook certain portions on Mahatma Gandhi. It also left out the portion where the government placed a ban on the RSS after Gandhi's assassination. Meanwhile, the Theory of Evolution was dropped from the Class IX and X textbooks. This revision has triggered a row.
