APPENDIX I :
ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL BOARD
 OF SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS
 

The problem of school textbooks came up for discussion at the meeting of the National Integration Council held at Srinagar in June 1968. The Council attached great significance to the proper use of textbooks for purposes of national integration. It was of the view that education from the primary to the post-graduate stage should be re-oriented (a) to serve the purpose of creating a sense of Indianness, unity and solidarity ; (b) to inculcate faith in the basic postulates of Indian democracy ; and (c) to help the nation to create a modern society out of the present traditional one, and that the textbooks used in the schools should be specially designed to serve these purposes. It also recommended that the State Governments should create an appropriate machinery at the State level for the improvement of school text-books in general and for using them effectively for purposes of national integration in particular and that, in consultation with them a National Board of School Textbooks which will co-ordinate the efforts of the State Governments should be set up by the Government of India.

2. In this connection, the earlier history of the problem deserves a brief recapitulation. The problem of improving the quality of school textbooks first came under the active consideration of the Government of India and the State Governments after the Report of the Secondary Education Commission (1952) and efforts made in this direction have broadly been in two directions :-

(1) The State Governments have set up some organisations at the State level for improving the quality of textbooks, either through State production, or by improving the machinery for approving text books produced in the private sector ; and

(2) The Government of India has tried to develop, at the national level, a programme for helping the State Governments to improve textbooks, first under the Central Buareau of School Textbooks and later on under the National Council of Educational Research and Training.

3. The Education Commission reviewed these efforts, and after examining this problem in all its aspects, made several recommendations regarding the manner in which the machinery for scrutiny, production and approval of school textbooks at the State level could be improved, how the national programme for production of textbooks could be strengthened and how the State and national level programmes could be developed to support and supplement each other.

4. After taking into consideration the experience so far gained in the national and State level programmes for the improvement of school textbooks the proposal made by the Education Commission and especially the recommendations of the National Integration Council, the Ministry of Education has formulated the following proposals for developing an intensive programme for the improvement of school textbooks and for their effective utilization for the purposes of national integration.

229

5. Objectives of the Programme of improving School Textbooks : The broad objectives of the programme of improving school textbooks which will have to be developed over the next few years should be the following :-

(1) To ensure that textbooks promote national integration by creating a sense of Indianness, unity and solidarity, by inculcating faith in the basic postulates of Indian democracy, and by promoting the processes of modernisation;

(2) To ensure that continuous efforts are made to improve textbook standards in subject-matter content, in presentation of material in accordance with the best pedagogic principles, and in production; and to this end to evolve appropriate criteria for the production of textbooks, especially for those in history, languages and social studies ; and

(3) To ensure that textbooks are priced as low as possible consistent with the maintenance of essential standards and that arrangements for their production, distribution and also for sale are continually improved so that every student has reasonable access to all his textbooks.

6. Three Aspects of the Programme : For the development of this programme, action will have to be taken on the following lines :-

(1) Improvement of the machinery for the production and prescription of School textbooks at the State level ;

(2) Strengthening of the machinery for the production of school textbooks at the national level ; and to strengthen the relationship between the machinery at the national level and those at the State level ; and

(3) The establishment of a National Board of School Textbooks to advise the Government of India and the State Governments on all matters relating to the production and prescription of school textbooks.

7. Improvement of the Machinery for Production and Prescription of School Textbooks at the State Level : The State is the primary unit for production and approval of school textbooks. The existing arrangements in the States for the discharge of both these responsibilities are far from satisfactory. Efforts, will, therefore, be made on the broad lines recommended by the Education Commission, to improve the existing machinery for the production and approval of textbooks. In particular, efforts will be made to establish autono- mous corporations at the State level for producing textbooks in the public sector and for properly scrutinising the privately produced books to deter-mine their suitability for use in school.

8. Strengthing of the National Programme and its co-relation with the State Lavel Programmes : The programme of producing textbooks at the national level which is being developed in the NCERT will be expended on the followings lines :

(1) Emphasis will also be placed on the production of textbooks materials, such as can be more easily adopted/adopted by the State Governments for use in their textbooks.

230

(2) Academic assistance will be offered to the State Governments desiring to improve curricula and the procedures for production and approval of textbooks.

(3) On requests made by the State Governments textbooks will be scrutinised from academic and national points of view and suitable advice will be made available to the State Government concerned.

(4) A central library of all school textbooks used in the contry will be built up; and there will be a more intensive programme of evaluating selected textbooks and making these reviews available to the State Governments Concerned for information and necessary action.

(5) There will also be a programme under which a random sample of textbooks used in different parts of the country will be continuously made from the point of view of their suitability far bringing about national integration and the suggestions to make them more effective from this point of ,view will be brought to the notice of the State Governments and the Government of India.

(6) Close working relationships will be established between professional persons engaged in textbooks production at the national and State levels both in the public and private sectors ; and to this end there will be an advisory committee in the NCERT which will include the representatives of the Departments of the NCERT, organisations for textbooks production functioning in the public sector at the State level, and organisations interested in the print- ing and publication of textbooks in the private sector.

9. Establishment of a National Board of School Textbooks : As a result of this academic and professional exercise suggested at the national and State levels with regard to production and improvement of textbooks, a large number of matters calling for policy decisions at the highest level will be thrown up from time to time. To decide these as well as to co-ordinate and guide the activities of the National and State organisations for production and improvement of textbooks, the Government of India proposes to establish a National Board of School Textbooks as recommended by the National Integration Council.

(1) The composition of this Board will be as follows

(a) Union Minister of Education Chairman

(b) All Education Ministers in States and Union Territories having legislatures and the Chief Executive Councillor of Delhi.

(c) Sixteen educationists and experts in the field of textbook production representing various interests and expertise.

(d) An officer of the Ministry of Education Member Secretary

(2) The functions of the Board will be as follows:

(a) To provide a forum for a continuous dialogue between the Centre, the States and other agencies interested in the production of textbooks, on all matters relating to qualitative improvement, production, distribution and sale of textbooks.

231

(b) To adopt criteria for textbooks for different subjects and a different levels and especially for textbooks in history, languages and social studies.

(c) To advise the Central and State Governments on all matters relating, to qualitative improvement, production, distribution, pricing and sales of textbooks; and in particular, to recommend measures which would promote national integration through textbooks.

10. The National Board of Textbooks shall meet at least once every year, preferably at the time of the meetings of the Central Advisory Board of Education or the State Education Ministers, Conference.

11. The NCERT will provide the necessary academic services to the Board , both in bringing up problems for discussions as well as in helping the national and State level organisations engaged in the scrutiny, approval and production of textbooks to implement the decisions taken.

12. The matter is placed before the Central Advisory Board of Education for consideration and advice.

232