The NCERT, which publishes textbooks, has kept crores of students and parents in the dark about the new class-wise syllabus while schools are finding it difficult to make their annual academic plans.
The NCERT refused to share copies of the revised class-wise syllabus sought by The Telegraph under the RTI Act, saying it could lead to piracy and increased competition.
The NCERT revises the textbooks following a revision in the curriculum and syllabus for different classes. In 2005-06, the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) and syllabi were prepared by experts chosen by the NCERT. All these documents and the textbooks were uploaded on the NCERT website.
In 2021, the education ministry set up a national steering committee headed by former Isro chairman K. Kasturirangan to prepare the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE). It was released in August 2023.
The NCERT was expected to prepare the syllabus based on the NCFSE, publish the textbooks and release them to the public.
However, the NCERT published the new textbooks for Classes I and II in May 2023 before the release of the NCFSE.
It introduced new books for Classes III and VI in 2024-25 but did not come out with the syllabus. The NCERT is currently preparing new textbooks for Classes IV, V, VII and VIII to be introduced in 2025-26. The new books are available on the website.
The Telegraph had filed an RTI in September 2024 seeking copies of the syllabus for each class. The NCERT did not respond till another appeal was filed in January.
On January 31, Ranjana Arora, public information officer of the NCERT, cited the exemption provision that allows the denial of information considered commercial confidence, trade secret or intellectual property.
“As the NCERT also has a commercial role of printing textbooks as per the approved syllabus, sharing the desired information has the potential of being misused by pirates and competitors of NCERT textbooks,” Arora wrote.
Rajeev Kumar, a retired faculty member of Jawaharlal Nehru University and an expert on RTI law, termed the NCERT’s argument “frivolous” and said the exemption provision did not apply to media houses as they were not its competitors.
“The applicant is an individual working in a media organisation having no competition or conflict of interest with the NCERT and its
associated printers or curriculum syllabus-making committee. This exemption clause is not applicable,” Kumar said.
Anita Rampal, former dean of education at Delhi University and former chairperson of the NCERT’s textbook development committee, said a syllabus is supposed to be a public document that is meant to guide the NCERT authors and private publishers.
“The curriculum framework provides broad guidelines while the syllabus gives the specifics of themes and topics and the process of teaching-learning activities such as explorations, experiments, paintings, excursions or surveys to be conducted by students,” Rampal said.
“Withholding the syllabus means the private publishers have no guidelines to prepare textbooks,” she said.
A parent and a school principal expressed concern about the secrecy over the syllabus, which, they said, was impeding academic activities. The principal said textbooks were not enough for proper planning of academic activities.
“The syllabus gives objectivity, expected competencies and pedagogical processes. It is essential for schools to prepare the annual academic plan. It helps in changing the sequence of themes depending on the requirement,” said the principal on the condition of anonymity.
Prakash Kumar, a parent, said the syllabus was essential to understand the correlation and progression in the content and the gaps, if any. “If the syllabus is available for every class, parents and students will have a clear idea if they need to study anything extra,” Kumar said.
An email was sent to NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Saklani to understand his perspective on the concern over the absence of a syllabus and its refusal to share information on the issue. His response is awaited.
