The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) released a statement on Twitter concerning the ongoing debate surrounding alterations made to the science curriculum for Class 10, particularly regarding the modifications of the periodic table.
NCERT on June 1 said that chapters on Periodic Classification of Elements, challenges to democracy, political parties and some other topics will be removed from the syllabus for Class 10 to "reduce the content load" considering the pressure in Covid pandemic. They called this removal of chapters a "rationalisation" exercise.
However, students still have the option to study these subjects in Class 11 and 12 if they opt for it.
This decision of the NCERT was widely criticised by scholars, teachers and other experts across the nation.
A similar backlash was observed regarding the removal of The Theory of Biological Evolution from Class 10.
Through a series of tweets, NCERT provided clarification on their decision to, what they call, 'rationalise' the content of textbooks.
NCERT said that due to students and teachers being confined to their homes during pandemic, alternative methods of studying were adopted, "A considered opinion emerged based on the feedback received from various stakeholders, including practicing teachers, that children may not have to study same concepts at different stages and it needs to be done at appropriate stage."
The rationale behind the 'rationalisation':
Based on these facts, NCERT says it decided to cover the concepts of the periodic table and evolution in appropriate depth in Classes 11 and 12.
"The content placed in the periodic table again have been made more age appropriate, more so considering the Covid pandemic situation... Discussion about basic concepts such as elements, symbols, formation of compounds, atoms and molecules have been dealt with in Class 9," tweeted NCERT.
ALSO SEE: How NCERT Class 10 book will teach evolution and periodic table now on