Several media reports had widely speculated that the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has amended its publications, notably the 12th-class History book, and removed certain chapters on the Mughal empire. After the rumour gained traction, the director of NCERT Dinesh Prasad Saklani addressed the issue and refuted the claims that were being spread by various news outlets.
The NCERT director told ANI that the chapters on the Mughals had not been removed. He stated that only the overlapping chapters had been dropped, alleviating the additional strain on children’s shoulders.
#WATCH | Dinesh Prasad Saklani, Director of NCERT says, “It’s a lie. (Chapters on) Mughals have not been dropped. There was a rationalisation process last year because due to COVID, there was pressure on students everywhere…Expert committees examined the books from std 6-12.… pic.twitter.com/647wdsPSSR
— ANI (@ANI) April 4, 2023
“It’s a lie. (Chapters on) Mughals have not been dropped. There was a rationalisation process last year because due to COVID, there was pressure on students everywhere”, he said.
Calling the debate unnecessary, the NCERT director said the expert committee recommended that if the chapter was dropped, it will not affect the knowledge of the children and an unnecessary burden can be removed. “The debate is unnecessary. Those who don’t know can check the textbooks…”, Saklani added.
“We are working as per NEP (National Education Policy) 2020. This is a transition phase. NEP 2020 speaks of reducing the content load. We are implementing it. NCF (National Curriculum Framework) for school education is being formed, it will be finalised soon. Textbooks will be printed in 2024 as per NEP. We have not dropped anything right now”, the NCERT chief added.
Saklani asserted that there are no new books and that the revisions made last year, which the advisory body justified at length last year, will continue this academic year as well. “A process was adopted, which was totally professional,” he added.
OpIndia reported earlier in the day how the mainstream media widely speculated that the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has amended its publications, notably the 12th-class History book, by removing certain chapters on the Mughal empire.
Though until that time, there was no official confirmation from NCERT about the news, it was amusing to see, how, as soon as this rumour gained traction, several so-called liberals and Islamists rushed to Twitter to either mock the Rajputs, who had actually started the resistance to Mughal brutalities in India.
