NCERT Director says chapters are removed to reduce work and content load on students

The National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) has faced criticism for removing a number of chapters from textbooks for classes 11 and 12, particularly the chapters dealing with the Mughal Empire.

The director of NCERT says that the chapters were removed to lessen the amount of work and content that students must learn. Top NCERT officials have defended their decision, saying that it was made to reduce the workload for students. They have removed some chapters and revised the syllabus.

Director of NCERT Dinesh Prasad Saklani told reporters that this textbook revision was carried out as a “professional exercise” to lighten the load for students who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision by NCERT to omit some chapters, including Kings and Chronicles, Mughal Courts, US Hegemony in World Politics, Cold War Period, and other chapters of a similar nature, has drawn a lot of criticism. Many people have claimed that this choice was motivated by a hidden political agenda.

The NCERT Director has clarified that the removal of these chapters was done as part of a professional exercise and that there was no ulterior political objective.

The NCERT director stated that the COVID 19 pandemic has caused significant trauma for students. In order to lessen the stress on students and prevent learning loss, the chapters have been removed, and the syllabus has been revised.

“To help stressed students, and as a responsibility to society and the nation, it was felt that the content load in textbooks should be reduced,” stated Saklani.