V Sivankutty, education minister of Kerala has called for a reconstitution of the NCERT board with representatives from all states, in response to the recent controversy over NCERT’s decision to remove certain portions from the school syllabus, according to an official statement. He has alleged that this decision was made to saffronise Indian history on behalf of the RSS, the statement mentioned.
“The decision to exclude certain key portions from NCERT textbook can’t be the decision of NCERT alone, it can only be seen as the decision of BJP govt. They have the same ideologies as the RSS and BJP government is implementing the visions of RSS. The NCERT should be reconstituted with representatives from all states,” V Sivankutty alleged.
Sivakutty accused NCERT of imparting a ‘communal’ history to students and affirmed Kerala’s commitment to upholding constitutional values in its educational policies. The minister emphasised that Kerala prioritises academic interests and recognises India’s diverse historical perspectives recorded by many. However, she expressed concern about NCERT’s approach to teaching a new history based on communalism to the younger generation, the statement said.
He accused the central government of prioritising their own political agenda over academic interests and declared that Kerala would not be utilising NCERT textbooks for 11th and 12th standards, stating “We will not be using NCERT textbooks in these grades as the central government seems to be prioritising vested interests rather than academic interests,” Sivakutty stated.
The decision to drop certain portions, especially relating to Mughal history caused political controversy with several opposition parties alleging it was part of a saffronisation agenda of the BJP government. But NCERT says that it was done as part of the rationalisation, the statement added.
With inputs from ANI.