The fuss over evolution theory & periodic table: Know why NCERT dropped key chapters

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) grabbed headlines last year after reports emerged that it has dropped a few important chapters from the Class 10 syllabus.

Hence, those who have reached class 10th this year will find it a bit different to what their seniors read — a change that will impact some 134 million 11–18-year-olds in schools across the nation.

A report, first published by Nature, stated that a chapter on evolution would be cut from the syllabusafter people protested last month, but in addition to that the periodic table has also been dropped from the syllabus of class 10th. The report also mentioned that topics such as sources of energy and environmental sustainability have also been dropped.

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In recent months, NCERT has focused on the rationalisation of syllabito bring about necessary changes. The process means the board removes certain topics from its textbooks.

In June 2022, NCERT deleted certain topics from Class 10 textbooks, saying, "In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative to reduce the content load on students."Reports saythat the changes were announced last year, but the books with updated chapters are only now circulating in the market.

Initially, it was meant for children studying online, but nowNCERT has decided to continue with the deletions of topics.

Why did NCERT remove those topics?

In a document, titled "List of Rationalised Content in Textbooks for Class X", the government organisation gave an explanation for the action.

On its website, NCERT also stated that it considered whether content overlapped with similar content covered elsewhere, or in the higher class. They also considered the difficulty of the content, and whether the content was irrelevant. The government organisation also noted that the change will help provide opportunities for experiential learning and creativity.

The move means those who would opt for science as a subject in class 11, will study the periodic table in Chemistry in NCERT books.

Read the document here

The NCERT document mentioned that "it is imperative to reduce the content load on students" in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. "The National Education Policy 2020, also emphasises reducing the content load and providing opportunities for experiential learning with creative mindset," it added.

"In this background, NCERT has undertaken the exercise to rationalise the textbooks across all classes. Learning outcomes already developed by the NCERT across classes have been taken into consideration in this exercise," he further said.

NCERT drops references to Khalistan

The NCERT has dropped references to the demand for a separate Sikh nation Khalistan from the class 12 Political Science textbook following objections from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), according to top education ministry officials.

The SGPC had last month alleged that the NCERTmisrepresented historical details about Sikhs in its Class 12 political science textbook.

The Sikh body's objection pertained to the mention of the Anandpur Sahib resolution in the book "Politics In India Since Independence".

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