The National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) will soon release the remaining eight newly-developed textbooks for classes 3 and 6, according to a statement from the Union Ministry of Education (MoE) on Thursday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan conducted a comprehensive review of the progress of the new textbook development process with senior officials from the school education department and the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) chairperson on July 4. The NCERT is developing new textbooks for all classes from 1 to 12 as part of the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE), aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Earlier this year, NCERT announced that for the current academic session (2024-25), new textbooks would be released only for classes 3 and 6, with revised books for other classes to follow in the next two academic sessions. Textbooks for classes 1 and 2 have already been released.
‘Textbook development work is in the final phase, and nine textbooks for classes 3 and 6 are already available. The remaining eight will be available very soon,’ the ministry posted on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle.
Minister Pradhan also reviewed the capacity-building initiatives for teachers of classes 3 and 6, who will be using the new textbooks. The NCERT is introducing new pedagogical tools through bridge courses and has launched a bridge course for middle school teachers to prepare them for the new curriculum.
The NCF-SE, released in August 2023, incorporates the principles of the NEP 2020. It emphasizes various educational concepts including art and play-based learning for foundational stages, competency-based learning for higher classes, introduction of vocational skills from class 6, no regimented streaming of commerce, science, and humanities, and the option for board examinations for classes 10 and 13 to be taken twice a year.
