HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank slams critics for portraying false narrative over revised CBSE syllabus

Amid the ongoing row over the reduction of the syllabus of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) due to coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Thursday (July 9) slammed the critics for alleging a conspiracy behind CBSE's decision.

It is to be noted that CBSE has slashed the syllabus up to 30 per cent for nearly 190 subjects from Classes 9 to 12 . The reduction in syllabus is only for board exams of the 2020-21 session. 

"There has been a lot of uninformed commentary on the exclusion of some topics from #CBSESyllabus. The problem with these comments is that they resort to sensationalism by connecting topics selectively to portray a false narrative," Nishank tweeted.

There has been a lot of uninformed commentary on the exclusion of some topics from #CBSESyllabus. The problem with these comments is that they resort to sensationalism by connecting topics selectively to portray a false narrative.

— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) July 9, 2020

"The exclusions are merely a one-time measure for exams, due to the #COVID19 pandemic. The only aim is to relax the stress on students by reducing the syllabus by 30 per cent. This exercise has been carried out following the advice and recommendations of various experts and considering the suggestions received from educationists through our #SyllabusForStudents2020 campaign," he added.

The CBSE has dropped several key topics, including Democratic Rights, Food Security in India, Federalism, Citizenship and Secularism from school courses. 

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has slammed the move claiming that it has been done to suit a certain narrative. "Shocked to know that the central government has dropped topics like citizenship, federalism, secularism and partition in the name of reducing CBSE course during the COVID-19 crisis," she said.

A clarification was also issued by the CBSE on Wednesday (July 8) saying that "each of the topics that have been wrongly mentioned in media as deleted have been covered under Alternative Academic Calendar of NCERT, which is already in force for all affiliated schools of the board".

On June 6, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had pitched for a 30 per cent reduction in syllabus for all grades to make up for the loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and advocated reopening of schools with reasonable precautions. Sisodia wrote a letter to Nishank asserting that since people need to learn to live with coronavirus now, it would be better if the already existing learning spaces like schools, take up that role.