NEW DELHI: Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday called upon the National Council of Educational Research and Technology (NCERT) to pay attention to the mental well-being of students. He also directed it to meet the deadline for releasing the revised Class X to XII books currently being prepared.
Taking part in the 66th Foundation Day celebrations of NCERT in Delhi, Joshi said, “Even Class VI, VII and VIII students are committing suicides. This is because children are being put under pressure to score high marks. They should not face any stress.”
Calling upon NCERT to pay attention to the mental well-being of students, Joshi called for creating a supportive system for students. “It can be done through appropriate curricular interventions, psychosocial support and teacher training.”
The revised NCERT books for Class X to XII were being prepared on “a mission mode, " he said. Calling for meeting the deadline for releasing them, Joshi said, “Do it within time and ensure it reaches every student in time.”
Stating that NCERT has offered a major push to multilingual education, the Minister said, “For the first time, textbooks for Grades 1 to 8 have been published in 22 languages. A total of 122 Primers have been released in different Indian languages, including 93 tribal languages.”
Lauding the high-quality books published by NCERT, the Minister said there was a huge amount of trust associated with NCERT books. “This has been built over a period of six decades,” he said. Aspirants for numerous competitive exams and even the UPSC exams study NCERT books, he added.
NCERT has made significant advances in digital education. Its education programmes were reaching lakhs of learners and teachers through 200 DTH television and YouTube channels, as well as 400 radio stations, Joshi stated.
He also called upon NCERT to further strengthen the research ecosystem, with greater emphasis on evidence-based practice and international collaboration.
Joshi declared open a Robotics Learning Centre, Translation Lab and an upgraded Television Studio to mark the occasion.
Chairman of Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti Chamu Krishna Shastry and Director, NCERT, Prof Dinesh Prasad Saklani, were among those present.