National Council of Educational Research and Training

National Council of Educational Research and Training

Motto	Sanskrit: विद्यया अमृतमश्नुते Life eternal through learning
Type	Autonomous body
Established	1 September 1961 (1961-09-01)
Founder	Government of India (Ministry of Education)
Parent institution	Bharatiya Janata Party
Religious affiliation	Hinduism
Budget	₹510 crore (US$53 million) (FY2022–23 est.)1
President	Minister of Education, Government of India
Director	Dr. Dinesh Prasad Saklani2
Location	Sri Aurobindo Marg , Delhi , India
Campus	Urban
Acronym	NCERT
Website	www.ncert.nic.in

National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Education, Government of India. Its headquarters are located on Sri Aurobindo Marg in South Delhi.³. Prof. Dinesh Prasad Saklani has been serving as the Director of NCERT since February 2022.²

In 2023, NCERT constituted a 19-member committee to review curriculum and learning materials for classes 3 to 12.⁴

The Indian Ministry of Education established the NCERT on 27 July 1961, and the council began formal operation on 1 September 1961. It was formed through the merger of seven government organisations:

• Central Institute of Education
• Central Bureau of Textbook Research
• Central Bureau of Educational and Vocational Guidance
• Directorate of Extension Programmes for Secondary Education
• National Institute of Basic Education
• National Fundamental Education Centre
• National Institute of Audio-Visual Education⁵

It is a separate organization from the National Council for Teacher Education.

The objective of NCERT is to design and support a common system of education for the country that is national in character, as well as to enable and encourage diverse cultural practices across the country. Based on the recommendations of the Education Commission (1964–66), the first national policy statement on education was issued in 1968. The policy endorsed adopting a uniform pattern of school education across the country, consisting of 10 years of general education followed by 2 years of diversified schooling.

The NCERT is also responsible for the formation of the National Science Talent Search Scheme (NTSS) in 1963. The program was aimed at identifying and nurturing the talented students in India, and rewarding them with scholarships. The National Science Talent Search Scheme (NTSS) underwent a major change in 1976 with the introduction of the 10+2+3 education pattern. The program was renamed the National Talent Search Scheme, and the NTSE examination is now conducted for classes X, XI, and XII. Currently, the NTSE exam is conducted only for 10th-class students in India in two phases, with subjects related to the Mental Ability Test and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), each worth 100 marks.⁶⁷

This framework came in 1975.⁸ It emphasized that a curriculum based on the principles laid out in the framework has to be developed based on research. Thus, for NCERT, the 1970s were a decade marked by extensive curriculum research and development aimed at aligning educational content and processes with Indian realities.

This revised curriculum framework was implemented in 1988⁸ following the 1986 National Policy on Education. It encompassed 12 years of schooling and suggested reorienting curricular and instructional materials to be more child-centered. It advocated carrying out examination reforms and implementing CCE at all stages of education.

This framework came in 2000.⁸ It stressed the need for a healthful, agreeable, and stress-free adolescence and reduction of the curricular contents. Thus, a multicultural thematic approach was recommended, environmental education was emphasized, and language and mathematics were integrated in the first two years of education.

National Curriculum Framework: The council came up with a new National Curriculum Framework in 2005, drafted by a National Steering Committee.⁸ This exercise was based on 5 guiding principles:

1. Connecting knowledge to life outside school.
2. Shift from the rote method of learning.
3. Enriching the curriculum for the overall development of children so that it goes beyond textbooks.
4. Making examinations flexible and integrating them with classroom life.
5. Nurturing an identity informed by caring concerns.⁵

In 2021, the Government of India initiated the NCERT textbook revision process by setting up a committee, headed by former ISRO chief K. Kasturirangan, to prepare guidelines for changes to the council's curriculum.⁸

The NCERT logo was designed by Manubhai Chhaganlal Gajjar in 1961 at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.⁹¹⁰ The design is taken from an Ashokan period relic of the 3rd century BCE which was found in excavations near Maski in Raichur district, Karnataka. The motto has been taken from the Isha Upanishad and means 'life eternal through learning'. The three intertwined swans symbolize the integration of the three aspects of the work of NCERT, namely research and development, training, and extension.⁵

Textbooks published by NCERT are prescribed by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)⁸ from classes I to XII, with exceptions for a few subjects, especially for the Class 10 and 12 Board Examination. Around 19 school boards from 14 states have adopted or adapted the books.¹¹ Those who wish to adopt the textbooks are required to send a request to NCERT, upon which soft copies of the books are received. The material is press-ready and may be printed by paying a 5% royalty, and by acknowledging NCERT.¹¹

The textbooks are in colour-print and are among the least expensive books in Indian bookstores.¹¹ Textbooks created by private publishers are priced higher than those of NCERT.¹¹ According to a government policy decision in 2017, the NCERT will have the exclusive task of publishing central textbooks from 2018, and the role of CBSE will be limited to conducting examinations.¹²

National Council of Educational Research and Training had designed the books digitally in the Indian Sign Language from the year 2021 for students with hearing disabilities from classes 1 to 5.¹³¹⁴

In 2022, the NCERT undertook the task of removing content from its textbooks, calling it "rationalisation". The official reason for the rationalisation of the textbook's content was to reduce stress among students following the COVID-19 pandemic. Contents of the textbook had been rationalised in the view of the following:

• Difficulty level
• Similar content included in lower or higher classes in the same subject
• Content, which is irrelevant in the present context
• Content, which is easily accessible to students without much intervention from teachers, and can be learned by children through self-learning or peer-learning

However, the rationalisation has sparked controversy. Some teachers felt that removing the chapter on the Periodic Table from the Class X Science textbook was unnecessary, as it helps build a foundation for Class XI. Also, the removal of the evolution part from the Chapter "Heredity and Evolution" from the Class X Science textbook faced backlash for the same reasons.¹⁵¹⁶

The Regional Institute of Education (RIE, formerly known as the Regional College of Education) is a constituent unit of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) in Delhi. The RIEs were established in 1963 by the Government of India across different parts of the country. The Regional Institutes were established to improve the quality of school education through innovative pre-service and in-service teacher education programs and relevant research, development, and extension activities. The Regional Institutes of Education (RIEs) are located at Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Mysore, and Shillong.

RIE Nellore: The Regional Institute of Education (RIE) Nellore is currently operating from a temporary location at V.R. College in Nellore. Its permanent location is under construction at Chowtapalem, Venkatachalam mandal, SPSR Nellore district.¹⁷

NCERT has a comprehensive extension program in which the departments of the National Institute of Education, the Regional Institute of Education, the Central Institute of Vocational Education, and field coaches' offices in the states are engaged in activities. Several programs are organized in rural and backward areas to reach out to functionaries there.

The council acts as the Secretariat of the National Development Group for Educational Innovations. It has been offering training facilities to education workers of other countries through attachment programs and workshops.¹⁸ The council publishes textbooks¹⁹ for school subjects from classes I to XII. NCERT publishes books and provides sample question papers that are used in government and private schools across India that follow the CBSE curriculum.²⁰

An online system named ePathshala, a joint initiative of NCERT and the Ministry of Education, has been developed for broadcasting educational e-schooling resources including textbooks, audio, video, publications, and a variety of other print and non-print elements,²¹ ensuring their free access through mobile phones and tablets (as EPUB) and from the web through laptops and desktops.²²

The National Council of Educational Research and Training launched a new one-year Diploma course in Guidance and Counselling, starting on 1 November 2021.²³²⁴

The National Council of Educational Research and Training had partnered with Microsoft's global training partner, Tech Avant-Garde (TAG), to facilitate a Connected Learning Community (CLC) to improve digital skills among its teachers.²⁵

Ever since its establishment, the organization has faced controversy regarding the content of its textbooks. The disagreement centers on accusations of, on the one hand, the leftist bias of books pre-2014, and on the other, of suppressing the cultural and heritage history of India and attempted saffronising of Indian history post-2014. Allegations of historical revisionism with a Hindu nationalist agenda arose in two terms: under the Janata Party government from 1977 to 1980 and again under the Bharatiya Janata Party government from 1998 to 2004. In 2012, under the Congress-led UPA government, the organization was blamed for publishing 'offensive' cartoons against B. R. Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, and thus insulting the Constitution in its textbooks.²⁶ The controversy led to the resignation of NCERT chief advisors Yogendra Yadav and Suhas Palshikar and an apology from the government.²⁶²⁷

In 2022, a new controversy arose when both the CBSE and NCERT removed topics on Islamic empires from the class 12 history textbook and chapters such as "Challenges to Democracy" from the class 10 political science textbook. The organization stated that it was necessary to rationalize the syllabus to reduce examination pressure on students by removing repeated concepts and lessons already covered in earlier classes.

Between 2023 and 2024, the NCERT faced criticism from the All India Peoples Science Network (AIPSN) and scientists for introducing supplementary modules on Chandrayaan-3 that allegedly mixed mythology with space science, including claims that the Vedas contained advanced aeronautical knowledge.²⁸ Further criticism arose over the inclusion of Ayurveda in biology and science textbooks, with experts flagging overstated claims regarding its antiquity and scientific validity, labeling some content as pseudoscience.²⁹