NCERT issues warning against pirated textbooks, factually incorrect content

The NCERT on Monday issued a warning against pirated school textbooks, flagging possibilities of factually incorrect content.

It also warned against copyright infringement of its educational materials, cautioning the public against unauthorised printing and commercial sale of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) school textbooks.

"A few unscrupulous publishers were printing NCERT school textbooks available on its website under their own name, without obtaining permission from the NCERT. Anyone found publishing NCERT textbooks, either in whole or in part, for commercial sale or using NCERT textbook content in their publications without obtaining explicit copyright permission, will face legal repercussions under the Copyright Act of 1957," a senior council official said.

"The general public is requested to kindly stay away from such textbooks or workbooks as their content may be factually incorrect as well as against the basic philosophy of NCF (National Curriculum Framework for School Education) 2023. We also urge individuals who come across such pirated textbooks or workbooks to immediately report it to the council," the official added.

The NCERT last week announced that textbooks for Class 3 will be available by the last week of April and for Class 6 by mid-May.

It had said that 12.1 million copies of the 2023-2024 editions of textbooks for classes 1, 2, 7, 8, 10 and 12 have been released nationwide.