Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan slammed NCERT after the judicial corruption chapter row in the class 8 Social Science textbooks. On Thursday, Dharmendra Pradhan said, the Supreme Court’s observation “very agreeable to us.”
Education Minister’s remarks came in the backdrop of recent backlash over the inclusion of a chapter based on Corruption in the judiciary in NCERT class 8 social science textbooks.
Earlier today, the Supreme Court ordered a ban on the circulation of the book andthe Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant ordering deeper probe, and taking firm stance on strict accountability.
Union Education Minister Pradhan said, “The mention of the Supreme Court and India’s judicial system in the NCERT is a matter of concern. When this came to our knowledge, we made NCERT review the books. The observations by the Supreme Court today are very agreeable to us. I express regret over this. Action will be taken against the NCERT officials concerned. Govt will see to it that this situation does not occur again.”
He also labelled the incident as ‘unfortunate’ and highlighted the prompt steps taken by the Ministry of Education in the course of the event. Pradhan said, “As soon as I came to know 2 days back, I directed the NCERT to withdraw and cancel all books. We have no intention for contempt of our judicial system. Whatever the Supreme Court orders will be followed. I have given responsibility to my department secretary that action be taken against whoever added such an irresponsible chapter in the NCERT book. We are taking this very seriously.”
Calling the NCERT’s move irresponsible and promising strict action against those responsible.
Supreme Court bans NCERT class 8 textbook
Earlier today, the Supreme Court bench headed by CJI Suryakant said accountability would be fixed, calling the issue a possible “deep conspiracy,” and warned that those responsible would be brought to justice, while banning the book.
The Supreme Court also issued show-cause notices to the Secretary of the Department of Education & Literacy (Ministry of Education) and NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani, seeking reasons why contempt or other legal action should not be taken.
The Supreme Court directed NCERT to submit detailed records of the Teaching-Learning Materials Committee that approved the chapter, including names, qualifications, and credentials of all development team members.
NCERT’s apology
In the wake of the controversy, NCERT apologised, calling the corruption reference an “error of judgment,” and pledged to review and revise the chapter after consultations. The Council also halted distribution of the new Class 8 Social Science textbook amid the row.
