NEW DELHI: The National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has come under fire for dropping the Preamble to the Constitution from Class III and VI textbooks.
In response, Professor Ranjana Arora, Head of the Department of Curriculum Studies and Development at NCERT, defended the revisions. She emphasised on Monday that the new textbooks give significant importance to various aspects of the Indian Constitution, including the preamble, fundamental duties, fundamental rights, and the national anthem.
Arora argued that it is a misconception to view the Preamble as the sole representation of constitutional values, advocating for a broader approach to instilling these values in children.
"We give equal importance to all of these for the holistic development of children, following the vision of NEP 2020," she stated.
The NCERT, which oversees the publication of textbooks for all grades, is revising them following the introduction of the National Education Policy (NEP) by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in 2020. New textbooks for Class III and VI have been issued this year, aligned with the new National Curriculum Framework.
Previously, the Preamble was included in the initial pages of several Class VI textbooks but has now been selectively incorporated into only a few books.
This decision has been criticised by the Congress, with party spokesperson Dr Shama Mohammed claiming that the BJP government is trying to dismantle the Constitution.
She urged parents to object to this change, stating, "the Preamble to the Constitution has been dropped from several Class III and Class VI textbooks issued by the NCERT this year. The BJP government has launched a full-scale assault to destroy India’s Constitution. All parents must come together and object to this blatant attempt to erase our history."