SCERT told to debar textbook development team over errors

Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty has directed the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) to debar the members of the textbook development team responsible for errors in the draft of the teacher text for the new class IV Environmental Science textbook from further academic activities.

As soon as inaccuracies about freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose came to his attention, instructions were given to the SCERT to make corrections by including historical facts and only then print the teachers’ handbook. The corrected portions were available on the SCERT website, the Minister said in a social media post on Monday.

The Minister said that the State government position on the issue was different from that of the Union government that distorted historical facts for political gains. The State had tried to pass on to students historical truths that upheld Constitutional objectives during the entire curriculum revision process and it would continue to do so.

Meanwhile, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) Kerala unit shot off a letter to Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) Director alleging that distorted history was being published in the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) textbooks.

The letter said the Class IV Social Science textbook contained grave errors and its content demeaned the nation. Chapter II of the textbook mentioned that Subhas Chandra Bose fled to Germany fearing the British regime, the letter pointed out.

It pointed out further inaccuracies in the same lesson. The names of Assam and Jharkhand had been deliberately omitted from the national map, the letter alleged, pointing out that Subhas Chandra Bose was a valiant freedom fighter while Assam and Jharkhand were an integral part of the country.

The textbook errors were very serious and would misguide the young generation, the letter to the Union Minister said, calling for an inquiry and action against those responsible.

The SCERT, however, denied that the nation’s integrity was under question. The map of the country was intact with all States represented; only the name of two States had been left out.

“Directives for correcting the errors on the SCERT website had already been given. It may not be possible to ensure that everything is 100% accurate in the textbooks published by us. Factual errors should be pointed out; only then can these be corrected. Even the NCERT recently said it was ready to examine feedback on textbooks and take appropriate action in the wake of the row over the map of the Maratha empire,” SCERT Director Jayaprakash R.K. said.