Two months on, but books missing; class 9 students await NCERT textbooks

Indore: More than two months into the new academic session, thousands of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 9 students continue to study without the newly prescribed NCERT textbooks for social science and computer education introduced under the revised curriculum aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP).The delay has left schools, teachers and parents grappling with uncertainty even as periodic tests have already begun in many of the city schools.With the prescribed books still unavailable, schools have adopted stop-gap arrangements to keep classes on track. Teachers are using notes based on the previous curriculum, worksheets and online reference material to cover the syllabus. But students remain unsure about the exact content they should rely on while preparing for examinations.A CBSE school principal, Manoj Bajpai, said schools have had to be flexible in their teaching approach. “The NCERT books for Class 9 are not yet available in the market. We are managing Sanskrit by beginning with the basics from lower-grade textbooks. For social science, we are following the new syllabus, the new topics are being taught using reliable online content available on those subjects, while we are covering topics that overlap with the previous books.

I believe the books should reach the market within a month,” he said.Parents say the situation has created unnecessary stress for both students and families. Mansi Solanki, whose son studies in Class 9, said, “The school is doing its best, but children feel insecure because they don’t have the actual textbooks. They keep asking what they should study for tests and we have no clear answer.”Another parent, Viren Agarwal, said, “We have visited several bookstores over the past few weeks, but everywhere we are told the books have not arrived.

It is frustrating because the academic session is already well underway.”Booksellers also say they are receiving daily enquiries but have no stock to offer. A local book distributor, Rajesh Jain, said, “Parents are coming every day asking for the new Class 9 books, especially social science. We have not received supplies from NCERT yet, nor have we been given a confirmed delivery date.”The lack of official digital copies has further complicated the situation.

The NCERT website still displays a “Coming Soon” message for the revised textbooks, leaving students with limited access to authentic study material.Meanwhile, NCERT has issued a warning against fake and pirated versions of the new Class 9 social science textbook circulating online. It has urged students, parents and teachers to rely only on official sources for study material.With schools already conducting assessments, educators and parents hope the revised textbooks reach the market soon so students can complete the remainder of the academic session without further disruption.