NCERT textbook's rationalization is fully justified: UGC Chief

NCERT textbook's rationalization is fully justified. There is no merit in hue and cry over it, said University Grants Commission (UGC) chief Jagadesh Kumar on Friday in remarks to the academicians objecting to the rationalisation of NCERT textbooks. Kumar's comments come a day after a number of academicians, who were a part of the textbook development committees of the NCERT, wrote a letter to the council demanding their names be removed from books as their "collective effort is in jeopardy".

A couple of days ago also, political scientists Yogendra Yadav and Suhas Palshikar and a number of academicians asked the NCERT to remove their names from textbooks over "several substantive revisions of the original texts".

"In the recent past, the attacks by some 'academicians' on the NCERT for revising the textbooks are unwarranted. There is no merit in the



hue and cry of these academicians. The objective behind their grumbling seems to be other than academic reasons," University Grants Commission (UGC) chief Kumar said.

He said the NCERT is fully justified in carrying out rationalisation of its textbooks' contents.

"The current textbook modifications are not the only ones carried out. The NCERT has been revising textbooks from time to time in the past too. The NCERT has repeatedly stated that the revision of textbooks originates from various stakeholders' feedback and suggestions, Kumar added,

"The NCERT has also confirmed that it is developing a new set of textbooks based on the recently launched National Curriculum Framework for School Education and that current textbooks in which the contents have been rationalised to reduce the academic load are only a temporary phase," he said.