The English language textbook introduced by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for Class VIII students this year contains lengthy sentences and Hindi and Sanskrit words, which academics believe will hinder learning.
Professor Anita Rampal, former dean of the faculty of education at Delhi University and former chairperson of the NCERT’s primary textbook development committee, said the new textbook Poorvi didn’t prioritise learning of English.
"The main objective of a language textbook is to help children learn the language. These books have used sentences that are dense and the language is not suitable even for adult readers. The vocabulary and the structure of the long sentences used in the book feel more like an imposition of an incomprehensible language on young children," Rampal said.
Poorvi is also taught in classes VI and VII.
A chapter titled “A Tale of Valour” in the Class VIII book uses terms such as “beacon of inspiration”, “conspicuous bravery”, “tenacity and valour”, “resolute”, “eerily silent”, “valorous tales”, “filling magazines”, “serve the nation with distinction” and “testament to discipline and dedication”.
"At every intersection of patriotism — whether through the National War Memorial, soul-stirring patriotic songs, books, and stories recounting acts of valour, or the celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav — his memory is honoured," reads a sentence from the same chapter.
According to Rampal, children learn a language through small sentences that use familiar terms.
“Sometimes children themselves try to guess the meaning of new words from the context. These language books use words that even many adults will find unfamiliar or difficult to understand. Children learn to derive the meaning by engaging with the textbook. These books do not allow that," she added.
Rampal said the use of complex terms and sentences containing a series of Sanskrit texts or characters would make students lose interest and encourage rote learning.
Moreover, repeated mention of the National War Memorial in the textbooks of elementary classes has “a problematic agenda, which tends to reduce 'patriotism' to a violent and aggressive act of crushing the enemy or 'infiltrators'”, she said.
Harvest Hymn, which is not counted among the best poems of Sarojini Naidu, has apparently been selected to distance children from the real lives and struggles of farmers, Rampal said.
“The choice seems motivated to rob farmers of their agency and depict them as praying in utter gratitude and servitude to 'Brahma', the Hindu deity," Rampal added.
She said she was intrigued by how the apex textbook-preparing body had edited and “replaced the word ‘Brahma’ in the original poem with 'Lord' in what it has printed under the name of Sarojini Naidu" in the Class VIII textbook without any explanation.
The book uses Hindi text in Roman script like “Mera desh, mera desh re, Mera desh hua re roshan le qurban kiya tujh hee pe ye tan man…”.
It also uses a Sanskrit hymn from the Atharva Veda to suggest “earth is my mother and I am her child”.
Linguist Ganesh Devy said: "It is a universal norm to keep the text in the same language in which it is taught unless the book is meant for bilingual or multilingual purposes."
An email has been sent to NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Saklani requesting his comment on the use of complex terms and Hindi and Sanskrit sentences in the English textbook. His response is awaited.