NEW DELHI: Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday informed the Lok Sabha that the theory of evolution proposed by Charles Darwin continues to be part of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) school curriculum.
He was responding to a query from MP Dr. Kalanidhi Veeraswamy on whether the government had removed the theory from the Class 10 NCERT science syllabus. The MP had also asked for the reasons, if such a move had been made, and whether experts and research institutions were consulted before taking the decision.
Pradhan said, “The teaching-learning process in Science is a continuum from the middle to the secondary stage, and the theory of evolution propounded by Charles Darwin is part of the school Science curriculum. However, during the COVID and post-COVID periods, concerns related to curriculum load, based on multi-stakeholder participation, including that of the Parliamentary Standing Committee, were raised.”
In view of inputs from various stakeholders, including the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), as well as experts from colleges, universities and research institutions, the NCERT undertook an exercise to rationalise textbooks across stages and subject areas in the larger interest of students and teachers, he said.
Following allegations and media reports in April 2023 about the removal of the theory from textbooks, more than 4,000 researchers and scientists had signed an open letter protesting the move. The Minister had earlier also clarified that the theory had not been dropped.