Two weeks after the Supreme Court banned a social science textbook, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) issued a public apology today.
NCERT Apologizes and Withdraws Textbook
The apology, published in newspapers, said, “NCERT recently published a social science textbook ‘Exploring Society: India and Beyond’ Grade 8 (Part-II), which contained Chapter IV titled ‘The Role of Judiciary in our Society.’ The Director and Members of NCERT hereby offer an unconditional and unqualified apology for Chapter IV. The entire book has been withdrawn and is not available.”
Issue of corruption topic in books
This apology follows a chapter in NCERT’s textbook for Class 8 that sparked controversy and drew strong criticism from the Supreme Court. The chapter included a section on “corruption in the judiciary.” Media reports about this received pointed remarks from Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. “I will not allow anyone to damage the integrity of the institution and defame it. At any cost, I will not permit this. Regardless of who it is, the law will take its course. I know how to deal with it,” he said.
In an effort to manage the fallout, NCERT stopped distributing the Social Science textbook. Officials indicated that certain “inappropriate” material and an “error in judgment” had unintentionally found their way into the chapter. Court took action and imposed a ban on the book. It orders the seizure of all physical copies and the removal of digital versions.
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