NCERT reconstitutes syllabus panel after SC flags ‘judiciary corruption’ content in Class 8 textbook

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has reconstituted a 20-member National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee (NSTC) to prepare syllabus and teacher learning material for Class 8 and above, following the Supreme Court’s intervention on a section of “corruption in the judiciary” in the discontinued Class 8 Social Science textbook.

V Kamkoti, director of IIT Madras; Raghuvendra Tanwar, chairman, Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR); R Venkata Rao, former vice-chancellor of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) and Amarendra Prasad Behera, joint director-in-charge, Central Institute of Educational Technology, NCERT, are now part of the high-powered committee.

The committee, constituted to oversee content on legal studies, comprises Justice (Retd.) Indu Malhotra as chairperson, KK Venugopal, senior advocate and Prakash Singh, VC of Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University as members.

NCERT Book Row: Govt submits affidavit to SC

Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Education has submitted a detailed compliance affidavit to the Supreme Court, detailing steps taken to implement the court’s March 11, 2026, order in the suo motu writ petition concerning the NCERT Social Science textbook “Exploring Society, India and Beyond” of Class 8, part 2.

In the affidavit, dated April 6, 2026, Sanjay Kumar, IAS, and secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), confirmed full adherence to the directions issued in paragraphs 8 to 12 of the March 11 order.

According to the official order, the government has also removed three Textbook Development Team (TDT) members – Michel Danino, Suparna Diwakar and Alok Prasanna Kumar from all curriculum and textbook work.

DoSEL also issued a directive to all states and UTs, directing schools, colleges, universities and funded institutions to comply immediately, as per the affidavit.

NCERT has also been directed to apprise the committee of the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE), it added.

“The committee will collaborate with the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, for finalising curricula on legal studies for Class 8 and higher grades,” the affidavit reads.

DoSEL on March 14, 2026 also issued an order to the Ministries of Information & Broadcasting, Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and Department of Telecommunications, directing them to identify social media accounts and individuals who acted irresponsibly after the February 26, 2026 order and furnish full details to the court, the affidavit states.