“In Bharat’s heartland, a grand sight to behold, The National War Memorial, honours brave stories retold...”
The lines are from a poem titled National War Memorial by an anonymous writer that has found a place in the English language textbook Poorvi, published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for students of Class VI.
The English language textbooks brought out by the NCERT in the last two years include several poems, plays and stories that are written by members of the council’s textbook team and glorify militarist patriotism, prompting experts to question the use of contrived texts instead of authentic content to teach English.
Poorvi for classes VI, VII and VIII and the recently released Kaveri for Class IX, contain several pieces that are not credited to any author. The textbook for Class VI carries content on the theme of yoga and “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat”. Similarly, the Class VII textbook has incorporated content that reads like a tribute to soldiers, while the Class VIII book contains a story on militarist nationalism.
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 council had in 2005 decided to do away with the practice of getting stories and poems written by committee members because they were not literary experts on children's literature. Moreover, it was noted that such content was not effective in helping students understand, analyse and gain knowledge about specific topics.
Authentic texts, written and published by well-known authors, were being consciously identified and selected to expose children to good literature and help them learn better and develop an appreciation of literary genres.
Rampal said that from 2005-06, the textbook team started preparing lessons or chapters based on authentic texts. By creating appropriate exercises, tasks and questions around the texts, they encouraged teachers and students to discuss and analyse the stories, while developing an appreciation of literature, she said.
"In science and social science textbooks, mostly the textbook committee members create the texts. But in language, the team uses authentic texts to prepare lessons or chapters appropriate for children of a certain age group. In the present books, the stories or poems written by textbook teams are didactic and sermonising in nature. They lack literary value, while being focused on themes such as militaristic valour, martyrdom and praising government schemes," Rampal said.
The NCF for School Education (NCFSE) 2023, which is the guiding document for the new textbooks, is silent on avoiding texts created by the textbook team in language subjects. Though some content from British, American and Indian authors has been used in the new textbooks, certain stories and poems blatantly promote government schemes or its agenda.
Rampal said the chapters on Major Somnath Sharma (the Class VIII book), homage to soldiers (Class VII) and the poem on the National War Memorial (Class VI) contained language and information inappropriate for children.
“The content on government programmes and projects uses language that children of 10-14 years would not understand or relate to. The text should have some literary value that can encourage critical thinking. The contrived adult themes and language do not help students develop language skills or critical appreciation," Rampal said.
The Telegraph sent an email to NCERT director Prof. Dinesh Prasad Saklani seeking his comment on concerns about contrived texts. His response is awaited.