'Preamble has not been removed': NCERT rejects reports over Class 9 textbooks

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has dismissed reports suggesting that the Preamble to the Constitution and references to "secular" and "socialist" have been removed from the new Class 9 Social Science textbook, saying the claims are "misleading" and fail to reflect changes made under the revised curriculum.

The clarification comes after reports pointed out that the new Class 9 Social Science textbook introduces a section on the Emergency but no longer includes a standalone chapter on the Preamble or explicit explanations of the terms "secular" and "socialist", both of which featured in the previous edition.

NCERT says curriculum has been reorganised

Sources in NCERT told ANI that reports claiming the Preamble has been removed from the new Class 9 Social Science textbook are "misleading".

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According to the sources, the curriculum has been redesigned under the new National Curriculum Framework, with topics redistributed across different grades instead of being taught within a single textbook.

They said the Preamble continues to appear in the opening pages of all new NCERT textbooks across all grades, including every Social Science textbook.

Preamble shifted to Class 10

NCERT sources said that, as part of the redistribution of themes, a detailed discussion on the Preamble to the Constitution has now been moved to the Class 10 syllabus.

They also said constitutional values such as secularism, justice, liberty and socialism are introduced in Classes 6 to 8, particularly in the Class 7 Social Science textbook, and will be covered in greater detail in Class 10.

Comparisons with old textbooks are unjustified

NCERT sources further said the new textbooks adopt an integrated approach to teaching different disciplines within Social Science.

"As such, comparing them item-by-item with previous textbooks is unjustified, as the approach as well as content in the two will vary considerably," the sources added.

The clarification comes amid a political row over changes to the revised Class 9 Social Science textbook and concerns raised over the absence of a separate chapter on the Preamble and explicit references to the words "secular" and "socialist".