The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has set up a new committee to finalize curriculum and textbooks for classes 3 to 12. The 19-member high-powered committee, named the National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee (NSTC), will be led by National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) Chancellor Mahesh Chandra Pant.
The committee will also include Philanthropist and Chairperson of the Infosys Foundation, Sudha Murthy, Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister(EAC-PM), Bibek Debroy, EAC-PM Sanjeev Sanyal, RSS ideologue Chamu Krishna Shastry and musician Shankar Mahadevan.
NSTCs will be empowered to develop the school syllabus, as well as teaching and learning materials for classes 3 to 12. It will also work on “appropriately revising” the existing textbooks of classes 1 and 2 to ensure a smooth transition to NCF. “The textbooks and other learning material developed and finalised by NSTC shall be published and distributed by the NCERT,” reported HT.
To enable a seamless transition to NCF, it will also work on "appropriately revising" the current textbooks for classes 1 and 2. A senior ministry official stated that the committee's members were chosen from specialists in many fields, and that the committee's chairwoman will now form numerous Curriculum Area Groups (CAGs) by consulting with various topic experts.
In accordance with the National Education Policy 2020, the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE), which specifies the general framework for curriculum revisions in schools, was sent to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on July 28.
Shastry, a member of the NSTC, also serves as the head of the Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti, a powerful group at the Centre for the Promotion of Indian Languages. In order to assist NSCT in its operations, NCERT has also established a National Oversight Committee (NOC), which will be presided over by Jagbir Singh, Chancellor of the Central University of Punjab.
