What changes have been made by NCERT?
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is a group that makes and shares educational materials for school students.
Last month, the NCERT decided to remove the topic of evolution from the lessons for students aged 15 to 16. This made a lot of people upset. The NCERT also removed chapters about the Mughal Empire, which was criticised by historians.
Recently, the NCERT removed chapters about the periodic table, pollution, and other climate-related topics. They also removed topics like challenges to democracy and popular movements, which include the Narmada Bachao Andolan.
During the Narmada Bachao Andolan, people living near the Narmada River protested against the government's plans to build dams. The movement was led by Medha Patkar.
What are experts saying about the changes?
Experts are unhappy with the changes made by NCERT. They think the topics that were taken out are important and should be studied. This is especially true for topics like air and water pollution, renewable energy, climate change, etc., which are very important today.
Some teachers say that teaching biology without talking about evolution is not the right way to teach. Evolution is a big part of biology, and students need to learn about it. Other teachers say that learning about the periodic table is important because it helps us understand how elements behave.
What has the NCERT said about these changes?
According to the NCERT, they made changes to the content by thinking about how hard it was, how important it was, and the extra stress on students because of COVID-19. If students want, they can learn about these things in Classes 11 and 12.
Over 4,500 scientists, teachers, and people who talk about science have asked the NCERT to put back the stuff about evolution that they took out.
Now it's up to the NCERT to choose what they will do about this.
