The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered all central and state government institutions receiving public funds to fire the head of social science curriculum of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and two other members from finalizing textbooks for the next generation.
This decision comes after the recent controversy over a sub-chapter titled “Corruption in the Judiciary” in the NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook.
News agency ANI reported that a judicial panel led by Chief Justice Suriya had directed the institutions to dismiss President Professor Michel Danino and his assistants from providing any service that might involve paying them from public funds.
While announcing this directive, the court also noted that “we know how to deal with these people. They must also know how to deal with the current ICJ.”
The controversy relates to a section on “Corruption in the Judiciary” in the NCERT textbook. The physical and digital copies of the textbook were later removed and NCERT also issued an apology for the same.
The court also added on Monday that the direction will be subject to the three individuals who approach the court to seek modification of the order after submitting their explanation.
In this direction, the court said that they had no reason to suspect that Professor Danino, along with his associates, either lacked reasonable knowledge or had deliberately misrepresented the facts.
“There is no reason to associate these persons in any way with preparing school curricula or finalizing textbooks for the next generation,” the court was quoted as saying.
The bench also took issue with NCERT’s affidavit stating that the controversial chapter had already been rewritten. Even if the chapter is rewritten, it cannot be included in the syllabus without the approval of a committee of domain experts, the court said. The court said that this committee will be formed by the central government.
Also read: Class 9 English syllabus trimmed, contains texts by Sudha Murti, Tagore
The court expresses disappointment with the current approval committee
Speaking about the current composition of the approval committee, the court said that it was “somewhat disappointing” that no prominent jurist was not included in it.
He said the chapter should be published after approval by a panel of industry experts consisting of a former senior judge, a prominent academic and a renowned practitioner.
The court also directed the Center to form a committee of experts within one week.
Also Read: NCERT apologizes for controversial class 8 judicial dismissal, withdraws bookConcerns about NCERT syllabus approval process
During the hearing, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta informed the bench that the NCERT director had tendered an unconditional apology through an affidavit.
Mehta informed that a one-line unconditional apology has been published and the government has directed NCERT to review textbooks of all standards.
While the court accepted the apology, it also expressed concern over the process by which the NCERT syllabus was approved. The bench said it would have preferred the central government to oversee the process rather than leaving it entirely to NCERT.
Responding to the court’s concerns, Mehta said the government was aware of how to handle the situation.
Also Read: Why has NCERT withdrawn Social Science textbook for Class 8? Judiciary separation class explained
Earlier, on February 26, the court had issued show-cause notices to the director of NCERT and secretary of the school education department, asking why a criminal contempt case had not been filed against them.
The bench noted that while the chapter discussed the role of the judiciary, it focused on complaints against judges and alleged inaction, without sufficiently highlighting the role of the judiciary in upholding constitutional morality.
(With inputs from Annie)
