The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on Tuesday issued an “unconditional and unqualified apology” over a controversial chapter on the judiciary in its Class 8 Social Science textbook and announced that the entire book has been withdrawn.
The textbook, titled “Exploring Society: India and Beyond” (Part II), had included a chapter discussing the role of the judiciary and highlighted challenges faced by the judicial system, including corruption, a massive backlog of cases, and an insufficient number of judges.
In a post on X, NCERT stated that the book contained Chapter IV titled “The Role of Judiciary in Our Society” and acknowledged the concerns raised over its content. The council said the Director and members of NCERT have tendered an unconditional apology for the chapter and confirmed that the book has been withdrawn and is no longer available.
The issue had also drawn strong reactions from the Supreme Court of India. Last month, the apex court imposed a complete ban on further publication, reprinting, or digital circulation of the Class 8 textbook, calling certain portions of the chapter “offending.” The court had remarked that “a gunshot has been fired and the institution is bleeding.”
Following the court’s observations, the Ministry of Education wrote to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to stop the dissemination of the controversial textbook across digital platforms.
NCERT expressed regret over any inconvenience caused and reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining the highest standards of accuracy, sensitivity, and responsibility in educational content.
