NEW DELHI: New textbooks for classes 3 and 6 under the revamped syllabus will be available in April and May, respectively, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) Chief Prof. Dinesh Prasad Saklani said on Wednesday.
Speaking with this paper, Saklani said textbooks of other classes will only be updated and revised, keeping new developments in mind.
NCERT has also prepared a 15-day foundation course for Class 3 and a month-long bridge programme for Class 6 so that children affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) can adjust to the new syllabus.
“New books for Classes 3 and 6 under the new syllabus will be available in April and May, respectively. We will also upload these books. As children will see a transition in their syllabus, we have introduced a bridge course so there is no gap in their learning when they start studying from the new books. Teachers will also be given training before they start teaching,” he said.
“The plan to release the books for the two classes under the new syllabus was made as Class 3 marks the start of preparatory, while Class 6 marks the beginning of the middle stages,” the NCERT Director said. Books for other classes will be brought out next year.
In Class 3, three new subjects have been introduced. They are art education, physical education and World Around Us. “Books of these three new subjects will be out by April 15-20; the rest of the revised books are already ready,” he said.
Earlier, Class 3 students were studying English, Hindi, Maths and Environmental Studies. Now, Environmental Studies have been removed, and instead, World Around Us has been introduced.
For Class 6, vocational education has been made mandatory in line with the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
He said these books needed revamping to align with the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE), developed based on the vision of the NEP 2020. “The new books are based on holistic learning, technology and innovation, and are totally rooted on the idea of Bharat. It is in line with NEP 2020,” he added.
Updated books for other classes will also be available by this month, he said.
“NCERT every year revises or updates books keeping new information or development in mind. We want children to read updated information. Now, we have a new parliament, which has been introduced in the books. Sometimes, we are informed about a mistake, then we correct it,” he said.
NCERT will be rolling out new textbooks in a phased manner. Last year, the centre had brought out books for the foundational years in the age group of 3 to 8 years. Now, books for Class 3 and 6 are being rolled out.
The NCERT also said that it is making efforts to provide school books on time, and about 33 lakh books of Classes 1, 2, 7, 8, 10 and 12 have been printed and delivered to bookshops so far.
NCERT's decision to launch the textbooks comes after the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) recently directed all its affiliated schools to adopt the new syllabi and textbooks for Classes 3 and 6 from the upcoming academic year.
India has 14.86 lakh schools, of which 10.5 lakh are government-owned or government-aided, and the remaining are privately owned. Student enrolment is close to 26 crore.