Written by Sridhar Srivastava, Gouri Srivastava, Seema Shukla Ojha, Ranjana Arora
The recent debate on the rationalisation of the content of textbooks, developed by the NCERT around 17 years ago, specifically in history and political science, has led us to take a critical look at the objectives of the curriculum, and its constantly evolving nature. A curriculum is not just about the experiences it intends for the learner; it must also factor in content alignment, learning activities, assessment, physical environments and ways of thinking and practising. Many theorists also underline the importance of the socio-epistemic context in which the curriculum is put to use. Moreover, in times of digital learning and the availability of a variety of teaching and learning materials, it is important to use materials beyond textbooks.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the NCERT undertook several initiatives to help students cope with stress and anxiety and facilitate learning. These included online sessions on subject-based learning, the Alternative Academic Calendar and Sahyog sessions. Students have learned many more skills that schools are not able to teach. However, studies have revealed that learning gaps have developed and various stakeholders, including the Parliament Standing Committee, have raised concerns about the curriculum load. The National Education Policy, 2020, endorsed the need for reducing content and increasing flexibility in school curricula and textbooks. The NCERT took a step towards rationalising textbooks across stages and subject areas to compensate for time loss and facilitate the speedy recovery in students’ learning curves. In the rationalisation exercise, NCERT faculty members and experts took the following into account:
One, the overlapping of content amongst different subjects in the same class. Two, similar content in the lower or higher class in the same subject. Three, difficulty levels. Four, content that is easily accessible to children and does not require much intervention from the teachers — it can be learned through self-learning or peer learning. Five, content that is not relevant in the present context.
NCERT rationalised textbooks across subjects using this criterion. This exercise took place in 2020-2021 and the details were made public for the benefit of schools in 2022-23. Schools accepted these changes and modified their curricula and assessment policies. Students also expressed satisfaction. After the books were released in the market for the year 2023-24, the content that was rationalised drew media attention, especially the portrayal of the Mughals in history textbooks and the coverage of Mahatma Gandhi in history and political science textbooks.
NCERT took care of the connection among concepts/themes and no learning outcome was missed. Allegations about deleting the Mughal period are wrong. Those who hold this view need to go through all textbooks from Classes 6-12 to ensure that whatever is removed or rationalised has been included – either in the same subject in different classes or in a different subject in the same class. For instance, content about Mahatma Gandhi finds adequate space in the history textbook, even if some aspects have been removed from the political science textbook. Given the multidisciplinary focus as per the NEP 2020, teachers are expected to deal with themes while taking care of their connections in other subject areas.
It is worth noting that the Class XII History textbook, “Themes in Indian History Part-II”, has another theme on the Mughals, ‘Peasant, Zamindars and the State, Agrarian Society and the Mughal Empire (16th and 17th centuries)’. This chapter covers important facets related to the society and economy of the medieval period. Additionally, the theme rationalised in this textbook, “Kings and Chroniclers: The Mughal Courts (c. 16th and 17th centuries)”, and the one that was retained covers the Mughal period based on sources of history such as the Ain-i Akbari, Baburnama, and various travel accounts. The Class XI textbook, “Themes in World History”, also makes a reference to the Mughal ruler Babur. Timeline III in the same book refers to Babur, Akbar, and the construction of the Taj Mahal as well. Mughal rule is also covered in the History textbook for Class VII, “Our Past -II”, under the themes of “Introduction: Tracing Changes Through a Thousand Years”, “The Mughals (16th to 17th Century)”, and “The 18th Century Political Formations”.
During the analysis of content, it was observed that some statements were not presented as historical facts but as interpretations. For example, the mention of Nathuram Godse’s caste in the Class XII History textbook, “Themes in Indian History Part III”, was deemed inappropriate by the expert committee. Some statements were rephrased using the same criteria. However, minute details were not included in the rationalisation list to avoid cluttering. Moreover, the Class VIII History textbook had statements on Godse without mentioning his caste.
Regarding the dropping of content in political science, experts suggested that the major portion of the box item with a heading “Mahatma Gandhi’s Sacrifice,” mentioned in the Class XII textbook “Politics in India Since Independence,” was sufficient in depicting Gandhi’s significant contribution. The section “Controversies regarding Emergency” was dropped from the same textbook. The committee considered the developments related to the imposition of the Emergency, retained in the reprinted version, sufficient to give students the basic knowledge about the crisis of democratic order and abuse of power.
The NCERT took feedback from teachers from KVS and other schools and CBSE practitioners on the rationalised content across subject areas. The Ministry of Education has uploaded a pre-draft of NCF for School Education on the website. This will provide the roadmap for new-generation syllabi and textbooks. Suggestions from the public and media have been sought. The weblink for NCF-SE is https://ncf.ncert.gov.in/webadmin/assets/b27f04eb-65af-467f-af12-105275251546
The writers are part of the NCERT’s textbook team