NCERT Orders Return Of Banned Class 8 Textbook

The NCERT on Friday issued an advisory asking anyone with copies of the banned class 8 textbook that had a chapter on "judicial corruption" be returned to the council headquarters.

In a strongly worded advisory, the the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) also called for all social media posts that carry the chapter's content be deleted.

The Union Ministry of Education on Thursday wrote to the ministries of information and broadcasting, and electronics, asking them to stop the dissemination of a controversial NCERT textbook through digital platforms and electronic media after the Supreme Court imposed a ban on the social science book.

"Any individual or organisation in possession of the NCERT textbook 'Exploring society: India and Beyond', may return it to the (NCERT) headquarters. Any content related to the chapter 'role of judiciary in our society' if posted on social media or any digital platforms be deleted at the earliest possible," the advisory said.

The directive comes after the Supreme Court on Thursday imposed a "complete blanket ban" on any further publication, reprinting or digital dissemination of the NCERT's class 8 book as it contained "offending" contents on corruption in the judiciary, saying “a gunshot has been fired and the institution is bleeding”.

The NCERT's Social Science textbook for class 8 states that corruption, a massive backlog of cases and the lack of an adequate number of judges are among the challenges faced by the judicial system.

The NCERT has also apologised for "inappropriate content" after facing the Supreme Court's ire over the chapter and said the book will be rewritten in consultation with appropriate authorities.