The NCERT has undertaken a “rationalization” exercise and removed the chapter on the Periodic Table from its Class 10 Science textbook, as per media reports.

This decision was made in June 2022 to reduce the content load on students due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, passages on topics such as ‘Evolution’ and chapters on ‘Fibre and Fabrics’ in lower classes have also been deleted. The rationalization process involved the input of both in-house and external experts, aiming to eliminate overlapping, outdated, and easily accessible content.

In June 2022, the NCERT made deletions from the Class 10 Science textbook, citing the need to reduce content load on students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the removed topics were passages on ‘Evolution’, including the Darwinian theory on natural selection. However, it is important to note that ‘Evolution’ remains a part of the curriculum in NCERT’s Class 12 Biology textbook, where it has a dedicated chapter. Additionally, chapters on ‘Fibre and Fabrics’ in Classes 6, 7, and 8 have also been eliminated from the Science textbooks. The revised textbooks, incorporating these changes, have now been released in the market.

One of the notable deletions from the NCERT Science textbooks includes a reference to Mahatma Gandhi in the context of the charkha in the Class 6 chapter. The passage highlighted the use of the charkha, popularized by Mahatma Gandhi during the Independence movement, encouraging people to wear clothes made of homespun yarn instead of imported cloth from British mills.

In a surprising move, the NCERT has removed the chapter titled “Why do we fall ill” from the Class 9 Science textbook, despite its relevance in understanding viruses and air-borne diseases like Covid-19. The chapter explained how disease-causing microbes can spread through the air, highlighting the transmission of infections through sneezing and coughing.

Ironically, the chapter was updated after the pandemic broke out, providing valuable information on common illnesses such as the common cold, Covid-19, pneumonia, and tuberculosis. However, the entire chapter was axed as part of the NCERT’s rationalization exercise, aimed at reducing the content load due to disruptions in learning caused by Covid-19.

The decision to remove the chapter was supported by in-house experts as well as 25 external experts from prestigious institutions such as Delhi University, ICHR, Kendriya Vidyalayas, and private schools. The NCERT cited various factors, including overlapping content, irrelevance or outdated information, difficulty, and the accessibility of the content for self-learning or peer-learning, as reasons behind the deletions.