'No shortage of NCERT books; syllabus revised to compensate for lost time': Minister

Edu Ministry revised curriculum: In a written question asked in Lok Sabha, Ministry of Education responded regarding the revised rationalised curriculum and NCERT book distribution in the 2022-23 academic year. Union Minister of State for Education Annapurna Devi said that the rationalized syllabus which has been released is to compensate for students' time loss which happened due to Covid-19. The outbreak and waves of COVID led to school closure.

In April, Ahmedabad schools raised an issue regarding the shortage of NCERT books. To which the minister informed that there is no shortage of NCERT books this year. She also said that more than 4 crore books have been distributed for the 2022-23 academic year.

Union Minister of State for Education said "They have informed that 4.25 crore textbooks for the academic Session 2022-23 have already been distributed through 950 impaneled vendors all over the nation.

PTI report quotes Minister Annapurna Devi's response in Lok Sabha, "During the COVID-19 pandemic situation, students across the stages of school education have struggled a lot to continue their learning through online and other modes. Also, concerns related to curriculum load including the content load spread over syllabi and textbooks have been raised from different corners."

NCERT took a step towards the rationalisation of textbooks

"During the COVID-19 pandemic situation, students across the stages of school education have struggled a lot to continue their learning through online and other modes. Also, concerns related to curriculum load including the content load spread over syllabi and textbooks have been raised from different corners," Union Minister of State for Education said.

"Further, National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 states that the reduction in content and increased flexibility of school curriculum and the renewed emphasis on constructive rather than rote learning must be accompanied by parallel changes in school textbooks. With a view to facilitate speedy recovery in students learning continuum and compensating time loss, NCERT took a step towards the rationalisation of textbooks across the stages and subject areas," the minister Devi added.

Topics removed from Class 6 -12 syllabus

The Gujarat Riots of 2022, the Cold War, and Mughal courts have all been removed from the Class 12 textbook. The industrial revolution has been dropped from the Class 11 textbook, while a few Dalit writers have been removed from the Class 7 textbook.

Class 7 History textbooks have also had some pages connected to the "Delhi Sultanate" removed (Our Past- II).
Other Class 12 topics that appear important but were removed in the process include selected sections of 'The Story of Indian Democracy,' 'Social Movements,' 'Patterns of Social Inequality and Exclusion,' and 'Ecosystem,' as well as full chapters of 'Environmental Issues,' 'Human Development,' and 'Developing Psychological Skills,' among others.