Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, Mar 10: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on Tuesday issued a public apology for including a chapter discussing alleged “corruption” and “backlogs” in the judiciary in a Class 8 social science textbook.
The apology comes a day before the Supreme Court of India is scheduled to hear a suo motu case related to the chapter. Earlier, on February 26, the court had issued show-cause notices to the NCERT Director and the Secretary of the School Education Department, asking them to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated.
In a formal statement, NCERT acknowledged the issue and apologised for publishing the chapter in the textbook.
“NCERT has recently published a social science textbook titled Exploring Society: India and Beyond for Grade 8 (Part II), which contained Chapter IV titled ‘The Role of Judiciary in our Society’,” the council said.
“The Director and Members of NCERT hereby tender an unconditional and unqualified apology for the said Chapter IV. The entire book has been withdrawn and is not available,” it added.
The council further clarified that the book has been removed from circulation and is no longer accessible through official channels.
The apex court had earlier criticised the inclusion of references to corruption and case backlogs in the judiciary in a school textbook, describing it as a “deep-rooted and well-planned conspiracy”.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, had sought an explanation from the NCERT Director and the School Education Secretary over the controversial content.
The court also directed authorities to immediately remove all physical and digital copies of the textbook from circulation.
“The NCERT, in coordination with the Union and state education departments, is directed to ensure that all copies of the book, whether in storage, retail outlets or educational institutions, are seized and removed from public access,” the bench ordered.
It further said that the responsibility to ensure compliance would lie with the NCERT Director as well as principals of schools where the book had reached, directing them to seize and seal all copies and submit compliance reports.
The court also instructed principal secretaries of all states to ensure that no teaching or instruction is carried out based on the withdrawn textbook.