CBSE Class 9 students in Chennai yet to get textbooks for this year
Two weeks into the new academic year, CBSE Class 9 students continue to wait for their textbooks. Some schools have received English and Science textbooks
Two weeks into the new academic year, CBSE Class 9 students continue to wait for their textbooks. Some schools have received English and Science textbooks while most are still waiting for textbooks for subjects such as Social Studies, Mathematics, and History. The Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has been rolling out the new curriculum under the Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and the Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023, in a phased manner. This year, Class 9 students will have the new curriculum. The NCERT has made the digital versions of the textbooks available. Though the new academic year began in April, schools reopened after the summer vacation in early June.
Schools in Chennai city note that it has now become the norm with the NCERT, and they have come up with a system in anticipation of this every year since the rollout of the new curriculum. “We display the PDF of the textbook on our smart boards and have also given hard copies of key notes to students so that they can prepare. The e-book of the textbook has also been uploaded on the school app,” said Lakshmi Prabha, senior principal, Prasan Vidya Mandir schools. Reopening of schools Schools in the northern part of the country reopen only in July, while schools in the southern region reopen in June, leaving many students here without textbooks in time for the new academic year.
Krishna (name changed), a parent, pointed out that the delay has been extremely stressful for her daughter. “The schools have no clarity on when the textbooks will arrive. Apart from the PDF being displayed on the board, how can any educator ensure that the child is learning like this? There are no gadgets allowed in school and my child has to rely on the PDF,” she said. So far, Krishna’s daughter has not received any new textbook. An NCERT book supplier pointed out that English and Science books were available but the stock of Mathematics textbooks is currently low. “We have placed orders for more, but it might take some more time.
The situation will ease by next week mostly,” he added. N. Vijayan, senior principal of Zion and Alwin Group of schools, stated that the NCERT must plan better. “The delay is causing hardship to teachers as a textbook is a major tool to teach students. If new textbooks can’t be rolled out in time for the new academic year, then roll it out next year,” he added.
The BriefWire