Concern as India cuts back on school science teaching
4 Jun 2023
India’s education training authority has caused alarm with its decision to remove some key elements of science teaching from textbooks for students aged 14-16.
An article in Nature highlighted the changes which it says have resulted in the deletion of references to evolution, electromagnetism, the periodic table and sustainable approaches to natural resources..
The country’s state-funded National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), which is responsible for producing books for 134 million secondary schoolchildren, described the move as ‘syllabus rationalisation’.
This move has taken most observers by surprise, given the importance of STEM industries in India’s economic growth strategy. India recently overtook China as the world’s most populous country with an estimated 1.425 billion people.
Among its undergraduate and postgraduate cohort, large numbers are pursuing STEM studies with many opting for colleges abroad. In the UK, Indians comprise the second largest group of international students after the Chinese and the vast majority are pursuing STEM studies.
The limitations on scientific study in schools have been accompanied by similar limitations on social sciences and humanities teaching, reports Nature. Coverage of democracy, diversity, political parties and the industrial revolution have also reduced, it points out.
While NCERT operates autonomously, parallels are likely to be drawn with the increasingly authoritarian stance of the Modi government and its support for a conservative, majority-Hindu agenda.
Pic: Canva
