NCERT gives Hindi names to English textbooks, sparks criticism from Kerala
The National Council of Educational Research and Training has assigned Hindi titles to several of its new English-medium textbooks, including books meant to teach the English language, India Today reported on Monday.
The NCERT is an autonomous organisation that advises the government on programmes and policies for improving school education.
The council’s decision to change the titles of the textbooks was criticised by Kerala’s General Education Minister V Sivankutty. The state minister on Monday said that the decision was “irrational” and demanded a review, The Indian Express reported.
Earlier, the English textbook for Class 6 was titled Honeysuckle, India Today reported. It has been renamed Poorvi – a Hindi language word that means “eastern” and is also the name of a raga in Hindustani classical music.
Additionally, English textbooks for Class 1 and Class 2 are now named Mridang and the one for Class 3 has been titled Santoor. Mridang and Santoor are names of Indian musical instruments.
The NCERT also used different titles for textbooks in different languages earlier, India Today reported. The Class 6 mathematics textbook was called Mathematics in English, Ganit in Hindi, and Riyazi in Urdu.
However, according to the new list, the English and Hindi versions of the mathematics textbook are named Ganita Prakash. It is unclear what the Urdu version of the textbook is titled.
Kerala criticises NCERT’s decision
On Monday, Sivankutty said that the NCERT’s decision to rename the textbooks in Hindi went against “federal principles...
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