Member of Rajya Sabha, Birendra Prasad Baishya, questioned the Centre on whether the Government is considering the inclusion of the history, culture, and heritage of the North Eastern States in the NCERT curriculum to provide students across the country with a more comprehensive understanding of the region.
Reacting to this, Jayant Chaudhary, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, claimed that the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) conducted district-level consultations across States/UTs, including the North-Eastern States, as a follow-up on whether NEP 2020 is being followed, and if lacking, then how it can be implemented.
He further added that these state focus groups developed Position Papers, which contributed to and informed the development of the National Curriculum Frameworks (NCF).
“The guiding principles of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023 focus on inclusive and equitable quality education for all. The policy document also mentions respect for diversity and respect for local context in all curriculum, pedagogy, and policy,” he explained.
He also exaplined that the policy states “Knowledge of India” will include knowledge from ancient India and its contributions to modern India and its successes and challenges, “and a clear sense of India’s future aspirations with regard to education, health, environment, etc.”, and all of this will be incoporated in “accurate and scientific manner” in the school curriculum.
Chaudhary also added that “Indian Knowledge Systems, including tribal knowledge and indigenous and traditional ways of learning, will be covered and included in mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, yoga, architecture, medicine, agriculture, engineering, linguistics, literature, sports, games, as well as in governance, polity, and conservation.”
The Minister further added that “NCERT has developed new textbooks that incorporate references to the history, culture, traditions, art, heritage, and contributions of the North-Eastern States, especially for Grades 1 to 8, thereby promoting awareness of the region’s rich cultural diversity among students across the country. NCERT has also brought out Grade 6 R3 Language textbooks and Grade 9 age-appropriate learning material in 22 languages, including Assamese, Bodo, Manipuri, etc., which reflect the culture of the North-Eastern States.”
“NCERT has also been conducting capacity-building programmes across States and UTs, including the North-Eastern States, to promote awareness regarding cultural rootedness, Indian Knowledge Systems, and the curricular perspective of NEP 2020 and NCF-SE 2023. The National Syllabus and Teaching-Learning Material Committee and the Curricular Area Groups include representation from experts and scholars, including NCERT faculty members, from the North-Eastern States,” he further added.