Revised NCERT textbooks as per NEP likely in 2024-25, to be updated regularly: Education Ministry

Education ministry officials announced on Monday that revised NCERT textbooks aligned with the new National Education Policy (NEP) will be introduced in schools from the 2024-25 academic session. The new textbooks will be developed based on the National Curriculum Framework (NCF).

The aim is to revise the textbooks as per the new NCF, which is already being worked on, to ensure that they are up-to-date and comprehensive.

According to a senior MoE official, "The new textbooks are likely to be introduced from 2024-25 academic session. It is a tall task but we are aiming for that. The textbooks will be revised as per the new NCF, work on which is already going on. Developing textbooks is a laborious task."

To address the shift towards digital learning during the Covid-19 pandemic, all NCERT textbooks developed according to the revised NCF will be available in digital format.

"Since Covid-19 has taught us that there is an appetite for digital learning, all the new textbooks will simultaneously be made available digitally so anybody can download them," he added.

The official noted that textbooks should not be "static," and an institutional framework will be established to ensure that they are regularly updated. The NEP 2020 proposes a "5+3+3+4" curriculum pedagogical structure, where children will spend five years in the foundational stage, three years each in the preparatory and middle stages, and four years in the secondary stage.

To develop a new National Curriculum Framework (NCF), the Centre appointed former Indian Space



Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K Kasturirangan as the head of a 12-member steering committee in 2020.

The four NCFs being prepared are NCF for Early Childhood Care and Education (NCFECCE), NCF for School Education (NCFSE), NCF for Teacher Education (NCFTE), and NCF for Adult Education (NCFAE).

The process includes states and union territories preparing their State Curriculum Frameworks (SCFs) by passing through district-level consultations, mobile app surveys, and development of position papers by the State Focus Groups in 25 areas or themes identified as per the NEP 2020, including ECCE, teacher education, and adult education.

The draft SCFs will provide inputs to the development of NCFs, and recommendations of NEP 2020 will be kept in view during the whole process. Drawing insights from these position papers and draft SCFs, four NCFs are being prepared.

Draft NCFs will be translated into 22 languages given in the eighth schedule of the Constitution and shared with the states and UTs for their comments. After approval, the documents will be disseminated to states for revising the draft SCFs and also for implementation.

The NCF for the foundational stage (FS) was launched by the Ministry of Education last year, and according to the curriculum framework, the NCERT has developed and collected the learning-teaching material (LTM).

Toys, puzzles, puppetry, posters, flashcards, worksheets, and attractive storybooks are part of the 'Jaadui Pitara' launched by the Ministry of Education for learning at the foundational stage.