The controversy over the withdrawn Class 8 social science textbook has highlighted the inadequacies of the three-stage process followed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to approve new books.
HT's reporting shows that the members of the 19-member apex National Syllabus and Teaching-Learning Material Committee (NSTC) did not explicitly approve the book, with many ignoring the draft of the text sent to them over WhatsApp and email.
The preparation of the new textbooks in line with the National Curriculum Framework- School Education (NCF-SE) 2023 follows a three-stage process: the Textbook Development Team (TDT), Curricular Area Groups (CAGs), and NSTC.
Each chapter of a NCERT textbook is written by contributors and finalised by the CAG of that particular subject. The draft of the chapters in the controversial social sciences textbook was placed before the 35-member CAG of social science in a hybrid meeting in September 2025 for finalisation.
However, the meeting was attended by NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Saklani, who raised concerns and objections to the controversial chapter on judicial corruption. But, the suggestions and objections were ignored citing academic freedom and other justifications.
The book still had to be approved by NSTC, but the process was not followed, and the draft was shared with the members over email and WhatsApp without calling a meeting.
The last meeting of NSTC was in June 2025, and the education ministry official claimed that the reason NSTC did not meet is because its members are very busy.
The panel includes academics such as Princeton professor Manjul Bhargava and Sujatha Ramdorai of University of British Columbia who live and work out of India. All three did not respond to HT's email seeking comment.
The shared drafts elicited no objections from NSTC, and according to the first officer HT spoke to, some members even endorsed the book in its entirety.
