New guidelines issued by CBSE on NCERT textbook usage

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued a new set of guidelines on NCERT textbook usage in schools. In accordance with the Affiliation Bye-laws 2018, stress the necessity of utilising NCERT/SCERT textbooks and review the supplementary materials carefully to prevent any potentially objectionable content.

Under the current bye laws schools are recommended to prescribe NCERT textbooks, provided they are available for the particular subject. Although if a school opts to use books from a private publisher, they should make sure that the materials used are devoid of content that might be objectionable, insensitive, discrimination towards any class groups, religions,gender.

Additionally, it's mandatory for all schools to publish the list of all prescribed books on their official websites, along with a signed declaration from both the manager and the Principal, confirming the contents have been thoroughly reviewed. If any objectionable content is found, the school will be held responsible and the Board will take suitable corresponding action.

The proposed amendments are tailored according to the grade level. For students from class 1 to 8 , it is directed to solely rely on NCERT/SCERT textbooks. Any other supplementary materials used should align with the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCS-FS).  The material should be thorough and inclusive; it should provide a complete learning package including core content as well as discussions, analyses, examples and suggestions.

For students from class 9 to 12, schools are obligated to adhere to the CBSE curriculum by using NCERT textbooks. In cases where NCERT textbooks are not available, schools must opt for the CBSE alternatives from the official website. To enhance the learning experience, supplementary materials and digital content can be utilised provided they align with the NCF-SE.