A section of academics has raised concern about the opacity surrounding the textbook-writing process after the NCERT claimed in the Supreme Court that the experts' body had never approved a contentious book before its publication.
The academics alleged that other textbooks released in the past two years have serious content issues and they must be thoroughly examined.
NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Saklani on March 11 told the Supreme Court through an affidavit that the now-withdrawn textbook Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part-II) was released last month without approval by the 19-member National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee (NSTC), which is supposed to scrutinise every textbook.
"I state and submit that the said chapter was to be looked into by the members of NSTC…. As informed, I have perused the record and it has emerged that the social science textbook for Grade 8 (Part II), which includes Chapter IV, was not placed before the said committee and the members of the textbook development team had circulated the same only among a few members digitally. I state that this is a major unpardonable lapse and it shall be ensured that the same is not repeated hereafter," said the affidavit.
Prof. Anita Rampal, former dean of the faculty of education at Delhi University and former chairperson of the NCERT’s textbook development committees for elementary classes, said the textbook development process during 2005-2008 was consultative, with serious debates at various levels.
A national monitoring panel also reviewed the manuscripts and participated in discussions with the committee convenors, approving each textbook after a thorough content examination, she said.
"It should never happen in the NCERT that a textbook is released for schools without due scrutiny and approval by the apex expert committee. Also, it is disturbing to know that the textbook was digitally circulated only among a few members of the expert committee before being released to students.
"Indeed, it needs to be asked on what basis it was decided that these few members have the authority on behalf of the NSTC to approve the textbook. The entire process needs to be made clear by the NCERT," Rampal said.
She said she had learnt from some of the academics currently involved in the writing of textbooks that the process was opaque. When they write a chapter, they often may not even know who made the changes and why. After layers of additions and subtractions, without open consultation, sometimes the chapters cannot be recognised by the writers themselves, leading to questions on accountability and collective responsibility, she said.
"What we are unofficially hearing from some contributors is that working on or reviewing textbook chapters happens mostly on screens. When the writers knew the people and could identify their personal markings and comments, they found it reassuring and helpful. But now this level of personal communication is often not ensured. This makes it less transparent and participatory, while the identity of some editors is never disclosed," she said.
Rampal said the problematic content was not limited to Chapter IV of the Class VIII social science book that has been withdrawn on court orders. Other textbooks of different subjects published in the last two years have inappropriate and unfounded content, she said. All the textbooks need to be thoroughly examined by an independent committee of eminent scholars, Rampal said.
Another academic said: "There should be an investigation into how this textbook was allowed to be released without a go-ahead from the NSTC. The director and other administrative authorities should not be allowed to escape by blaming a few content writers."