NCERT: Down the Memory Lines of 50 Years

Background

It is a matter of great privilege and honour for me to be a part of this great event when we have assembled here to celebrate the completion of fifty fruitful years of NCERT.Completion of a half century in the life of any public institution is an important event.It is more so in case of an apex body like NCERT. And that’s why we are all set to cherish its golden Jubilee celebrationsand finally reach the box where sweets compacted lie (Herbert). On this occasion, on my personal behalf and on behalf of NCERT, I salute the founders of this great institution and congratulate the entire NCERT family -- former as well as present --and wish them a great future.

I have been asked to present an overview of NCERT, an important institution of the country whose canvas of functions and activities are so vast and varied that it seems to be very difficult for me within a few minutes to touch each and every aspect of its rich tradition and achievements of the fifty years. What I could do is that in stead of travelling in the realms of gold in the long life of NCERT, I would try to focus on only some of the remarkable roles and responsibilities which distinguish it from other institutions in the country.

As a matter of fact, NCERT needs no introduction. It is functioning as a lighthouse in the field of school education. It is committed to improve the quality of school education in the country. It has a proud past, a preserving present and a promising future. NCERT is a very huge institution and under this national umbrella there are five RIES situated in Ajmer, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal, Mysore and Shillong; NIE and CIET in New Delhi and PSSCIVE at Bhopal. These are the constituent Units of NCERT through which it performs its multifaceted activities and reaches the length and breadth of the entire country.

NCERT Logo

The logo of NCERT is very significant and it reflects and symbolizes its different roles and responsibilities. The crest/logo of the NCERT shows hamsa, the swan, a symbol of the pursuit of knowledge. The three intertwined swans symbolize the three major aspects of the Council: Research & Development, Training and Extension (dissemination). The design has been adapted from an Ashokan period relic of the third century B.C., found in excavations near Maske in the Raichur district of Karnataka. The motto in Sanskrit has been taken from the Isavasya Upanishad and it means Life eternal through learning.

Objectives of NCERT

Major objectives of the NCERT and its constituent Units are to:

  • Undertake, aid, promote and coordinate research in areas related to school education;
  • Prepare and publish model textbooks, supplementary material, newsletters, Journals and other related literature;
  • Organise pre-service and in-service training of teacher;
  • Develop and disseminate innovative educational techniques and practices;
  • Collaborate and network with state educational departments ,universities, NGOs and other educational institutions;
  • Act as a clearing house for ideas and information in matters related to school education; and
  • Act as a nodal agency for achieving goals of universalisation of elementary education.

In addition to research, development, training, extension, publication and dissemination activities, the NCERT is an implementation agency for bilateral cultural exchange programmes with other countries in the field of school education. The NCERT also interacts and works in collaboration with the international organization, visiting foreign delegations and offers various training facilities to educational personnel from developing countries.

The RIEs located at Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubneswar and Mysore cater to the educational needs –pre-service and in-service education- of teachers/teacher educators in the states and UTs under their jurisdiction. These are regional resource institutions for school and teacher education and they extend assistance in implementing the policies of the states/UTs and help in monitoring and evaluation of the centrally sponsored schemes.

So far as RIE Ajmer is concerned, it looks after educational needs of Northern Region comprising the states of Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand and the UT of Chandigarh.

A Demonstration Multipurpose School (DMS) is attached to each RIE at Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar and Mysore as a laboratory for trying out innovative practices in school education and teacher education. These are also used for practical training for the teacher- trainees of the institutes.

It is a matter of great pleasure and pride for us that Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) was first of all introducedat Primary Section of Demonstration Multipurpose School of RIE Ajmer in 2009 and the Course is running very smoothly. It has added a feather to the cap of our Institute and we feel honored and elevated.

Activities and Achievements

The NCERT since its inception has been the country’s top policy-making agency on school education, research and pedagogy. The significant activities which have made NCERT popular in the states/UTs include: preparation of several generations of textbooks and instructional materials for children, innovative Pre-service teacher education courses like 4-year B.Sc. B.Ed.; 2-year B.Ed.(secondary); M.Ed.(elementary), International Diploma course in Guidance and counseling, National Talent search Scheme, Jawaharlal Nehru National science exhibition for children- National and state level, National Prize Competition for Children’s’ Literature, National Awards for Innovations in Teacher education , National Award for Innovations in school education , National Awards for Promotion of Vocational Education, Community Singing Programme,Tranmission of ETV and Audio Programmes for School Children on DD-1 and Gyan Darshan Channel and Gyan Vani on All India Radio(AIR) and dissemination of educational information through various Journals and Surveys of Educational Researches, Teleconferencing through EDUSAT,etc.

In order to establish meaningful linkages and partnerships with the states, NCERT has provided its academic inputs in several central projects/schemes such as Vocationalisation of Secondary Education, Non-Formal Education Programmes for children of 6-14 year age group, Educational Programmes of Mass Orientation Programme for School Teachers (SOPT), Programmes of Mass Orientation of Schools, and Environmental Orientation of School Education, Computer Literacy and Studies in Schools, Operation Blackboard, Scheme for Integrated Education of the Disabled, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Promotion of Yoga in Schools and Pre-service and In-service Teacher Education Programmes.

Some of the major initiatives of NCERT in recent years include Implementation and Dissemination of National Curriculum Framework (NCF-2005); National Centre for Computer Education; Publishing of Journals—Peace Education and Educational Abstracts; Launching of Eighth All India School Education Survey; National Consultative Meet on Education for Life; International Diploma Course in Guidance and Counseling through Distance/Online Mode in Collaboration with Commonwealth of Learning; Diploma Course in ECCE and Development of Training Course on Peace Education. Recently NCERT has started a new initiative of making its textbooks available on the internet for the benefit of teachers and students. Online textbooks are available for Classes- I, III, IV, IX and XI. All these textbooks are based on the National Curriculum Framework 2005. NCERT has prepared a special manual on 'Inclusive Education' whose objective is to guide the schools for inclusion of special need students into the mainstream education. In all these years NCERT has been known for many remarkable activities but most notably for our curriculum frameworks, low-cost quality textbooks and for helping the nation adopt the 10+2 system. NCERT is committed to address issues of great contemporary relevance, the Right to Education Act and the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan.

Challenges and Promises

Taking a square view of things, we come to this conclusion that NCERT is an island of excellence in the ocean of mediocrity in the field of teacher education in our country. It has come to stay because it has survived the test of time. But the world we are living in the task of creating beautiful minds (as Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam says about teacher) is very challenging. In this age of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization, NCERT has to compete with the world globally in the field of education. What would a 21st century school look like and should there be a different methodology of teaching; we need to brainstorm on these issues. Hence, we should not only rejoice our excellences and achievements but this is also a high time for introspection and self-examination. Keeping in view of the fast changes in the educational needs of the society along with people’s high aspirations from NCERT, we have to update and adapt ourselves as per the pace of time in order to live up- to the expectations of the people and the nation. The NCERT has the potential to become a top research and training institute. Let us put our hands, heads and hearts together to elevate the stature of NCERT as a viable institution so that it can rub its shoulders with its international counterparts, I think that this would be a perfect golden jubilee gift for NCERT.

-Dr. Saryug Yadav

Associate Professor of English

DESSH, RIE, Ajmer