Thiruvanthapuram: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has made the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) the sole agency for textbook publishing after facing criticism over delay in textbook distribution.
This was following complaints that with many private agencies also engaged in printing and distribution of textbooks, there was a delay in their distribution Moreover, there was also no uniformity in the curriculum due to the decision allowing various agencies also to distribute CBSE schools.
However, the CBSE has not taken steps to reduce the weight of school bags by printing textbooks in volumes. There were demands from various quarters asking education authorities to take steps to reduce the weight of school bags. This was because carrying heavy bags were causing health problems to students. In state syllabus schools, efforts have been made to reduce the weight by printing textbooks in three volumes.
As per the decision, from the year 2018, the CBSE school textbooks will be published only by NCERT, with the role of CBSE restricted to its original mandate of holding examinations and affiliation.
The NCERT will have to gear up its operations for the expected increase in volume as more schools are likely to use its textbooks from the next academic session. This was because schools now using textbooks of private agencies will also have to use NCERT textbooks.
