New Delhi, April 8: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has overhauled its curriculum committee following criticism from the Supreme Court of India over a controversial section in a now-withdrawn Class 8 Social Science textbook. The offending chapter, titled "Corruption in the Judiciary," was part of the book Exploring Society: India and Beyond(Part II).
In response to the court's reprimand, the NCERT reconstituted the National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee (NSTC), which now comprises 20 members, including prominent figures like V Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras; Raghuvendra Tanwar, Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research; R Venkata Rao, former Vice-Chancellor of the National Law School of India University; and Amarendra Prasad Behera, Joint Director-in-Charge at NCERT’s Central Institute of Educational Technology.
The restructuring of the committee was mandated by the Supreme Court’s March 11 ruling, prompting NCERT to issue a notification on April 2. The previous committee, which had 22 members, has seen some of its members replaced. Notably, figures such as Professor Michel Danino, Bibek Debroy, and MD Srinivas, who were part of the original panel, have not been included in the revamped version.
The controversy stemmed from Chapter IV of the withdrawn textbook, which focused on the judiciary’s role in Indian society and included a sub-chapter addressing corruption in the judiciary. This content led to widespread concerns about its potential bias and the inappropriate framing of judicial corruption in an educational resource for young students.
In the wake of the controversy, NCERT issued an "unconditional and unqualified apology" for the content, acknowledging the mistakes in the textbook. "The entire book has been withdrawn and is no longer available," NCERT said in a statement on social media. The Council reiterated its commitment to ensuring educational materials uphold the highest standards of accuracy, sensitivity, and responsibility.
