NCERT revamps curriculum committee after SC rap over Class 8 textbook

The NCERT has reconstituted its curriculum committee after being rapped by the Supreme Court over a section on "Corruption in Judiciary" in the now-withdrawn Class 8 Social Science textbook, officials said on Wednesday.

The high-powered, 20-member National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee (NSTC) of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) includes IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti; Indian Council of Historical Research Chairman Raghuvendra Tanwar; 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. 

Earlier, the panel had 22 members.

 

Following Supreme Court orders, three members have been removed from the NSTC. These are Michel Danino, former guest professor at IIT Gandhinagar; M D Srinivas, chairman of the Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai; and the late Bibek Debroy, former chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council.

"Reconstitution of NSTC has been undertaken to strengthen it through necessary updates," a senior official said.

The committee is empowered to develop school syllabi and teaching-learning material, including textbooks for Grades 3 to 12, and if required, to appropriately revise the existing textbooks of Grades 1 and 2 to ensure a smooth transition from Grade 2 to 3.

In February, the Supreme Court had taken up suo motu cognisance of the Class 8 Social Science textbook, which discussed a section on "Corruption in Judiciary". 

The court later imposed a "blanket ban" on the use of physical or online copies of the said textbook.