New Delhi: The Central government has directed the schools to take the onus on the textbooks they prescribe to students — other than those approved by the national or state councils (NCERT or SCERTs) — and also told them to upload a list of books on their website or put up the same on the notice boards, certifying that the content has been “thoroughly checked”.
The directions to the schools are part of the education ministry’s guidelines on “school safety and security” published earlier in October. The schools have been asked to follow a “whole school safety approach” covering all aspects of the school community and can impact holistic development, the guidelines were quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
In the guidelines, it has been said that both private and public schools should take additional caution while prescribing books other than those that are recommended by the NCERT, SCERTs, or the concerned education boards.
“It is the responsibility of principals/school heads and teachers to carefully analyse syllabi and textbooks selected by the school (in case school is not following textbooks prescribed by NCERT/SCERTs). It should not promote any kind of discrimination based on caste, class, religion, gender, ethnicity, or language,” added the guidelines.
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