Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed his government’s concern over the exclusion of chapters by NCERT under the pretext of rationalization for the 2023-24 academic year. He emphasised that the omitted chapters were deemed crucial and should not have been removed. “For the year 2023-24, in the name of rationalisation, some important changes were made in the books prepared by NCERT. Change means some chapters were fully excluded. Our state and government views it very seriously as we believe those chapters excluded are chapters that should have never been excluded,” said Vijayan.

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The Chief Minister pointed out that in classes 11 and 12, students receive 44 textbooks for 12 subjects from NCERT. He raised concerns that students were being exposed to textbooks influenced by vested interests.

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Pinarayi Vijayan voiced the potential dangers of these changes, suggesting that they could impact how children perceive society and history. He warned against moulding a generation with biases and a lack of humanity, which could threaten secular thinking and a harmonious society.

The state government’s alternative approach aims to address these concerns. While NCERT stated that its textbook alterations aimed to reduce the academic burden and rationalise content based on expert opinions, Chief Minister Vijayan expressed doubts about the undisclosed identity of these experts. “They say that such opinions are put forward by experts. But, who are these experts is not even revealed,” the Chief Minister further added.

(With inputs from ANI)

Updated: 24 Aug 2023, 03:55 PM IST