The government’s attempts to create a National Textbook Council, a proposal aimed to create a first-of-its-kind body that will monitor the content of school textbooks, including those taught at schools run by religious organisations, hasn’t found support amongst the state governments.
Less than half the states and Union territories have responded to the proposal, despite almost an year after it was sent to various state governments for seeking their opinion. The proposal was first put forth during the last UPA regime to ensure that school books in the country were in line with constitutional values after complaints were received against books being taught in several Sangh affiliated schools. Official sources stated that though the then HRD minister Arjun Singh had first asked for the establishment of the council, the proposal was renewed under present incumbent Kapil Sibal took office.
Official sources stated that several states have opposed the Central government for creation of such a body stating that it encroaches upon their jurisdiction. “Only 15 states and a few Union territories have bothered to send their replies to the opinion sought by the ministry,” sources added.
The creation of a NTC has been fraught with controversy ever since it was first mooted. The states led by BJP and other Opposition parties have been vehemently opposing the creation of the council stating that it would infringe on the rights of state governments. The proposal has also been opposed by several minority run institutions. The proposal for an NTC is based on the recommendations of the Central Advisory Board of Education (Cabe)’s committee on “Regulatory Mechanism for Textbooks and Parallel Textbooks Taught in Schools Outside the Government System”.
The panel, co-chaired by Professors Zoya Hasan and Gopal Guru, was mandated to study textbooks in government schools not using the CBSE syllabus, and those outside the government system and suggest an appropriate regulatory mechanism for monitoring curricula content.