GUWAHATI: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has drawn flak by wrongly depicting the Indian rhinoceros in the Class 4 maths textbook.
Conservationists and wildlife experts say the textbook not only carries an inaccurate illustration but also features misleading facts.
At the centre of the controversy is a “Did you know” section in the “1000s Around Us” chapter. Alongside the erroneous illustration, the statement reads: “The Indian rhinoceros is found in the foothills of the Himalayas in Northeast India. Floods and the medicinal value of their horns have led to a reduction in their population. In the early 1900s, their population was driven to near extinction with as little as 200 rhinoceroses. But with recent conservation measures, there are now around 4000 (four thousand) rhinoceroses.”
The errors have sparked criticism from several quarters.
“In the recently published NCERT Class 4 Math textbook, an Indian rhino is shown to have two horns (Pg 45). Such mistakes are not acceptable in an NCERT textbook,” an X user, Udoy Bhaskar Borah, wrote.
Conservationist Bibhav Kumar Talukdar, Secretary General and CEO of Assam-based wildlife NGO Aaranyak, called the misinformation “worrying.”
“Greater one-horned rhino itself reflects it is a one-horned rhino. Further, greater one-horned rhinos are also found in the floodplain ecosystem of Brahmaputra valley in Assam, besides the foothills of Eastern Himalayas,” he said.
He added that stating rhino horn has medicinal value could provoke many to seek it for such purposes, potentially leading to increased rhino poaching. Talukdar also reminded the author and NCERT that floods in Assam are a natural phenomenon and essential for the floodplain ecosystem.
Environmental activist and animal lover Apurba Ballav Goswami said, “The world knows the Assam rhinos have one horn. It is unfortunate that children are being misinformed.”
In response to the outrage, Assam’s Education Minister Ranoj Pegu has instructed the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) to investigate the matter.
“I have not seen the NCERT textbook. I have directed the SCERT to look into the matter. If it is indeed erroneous, the SCERT will inform the NCERT,” Pegu told the media.
“We know Indian rhinos have one horn while African and Sumatran rhinos have two horns,” he added.