A controversial chapter in the Class 8 NCERT social science textbook mentioning corruption in the judiciary was written by a committee including a lawyer but was not reviewed by any legal experts, officials said on Thursday. The Supreme Court has called for action against those who wrote the chapter, and Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan has promised strict measures.
Officials from the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) stated that the controversial chapter in the Class 8 social science textbook, which mentions corruption in the judiciary, was written by a committee of members including a lawyer, but it was not reviewed by anyone from the legal fraternity. "There was a lawyer among the members who wrote that particular chapter which has created controversy and others were from social science backgrounds. There was no one from the legal fraternity to review the book," an NCERT official said, requesting anonymity.
The officials also pointed out that the previous Class 8 social science textbook, in use until 2024, did not mention corruption at all. The textbook in question was written between 2023 and 2025 and introduced into the curriculum in 2026. NCERT has rolled out new textbooks for Classes 1 to 8 in phases between 2023 and 2025, in line with the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023 and the New Education Policy 2020.
Corruption appears in both the new Class 7 and Class 8 textbooks, each with two parts. The Class 7 textbook mentions corruption in the legislature and during the election process, but not in the judiciary. It discusses the government's key roles as protector, provider, and regulator through the Constitution, laws, elected representatives, bureaucracy, and judiciary. It questions why cases of bribery and corruption occur in public office and explains grievance redressal mechanisms, including vigilance commissions for reporting corruption.
The first part of the Class 8 textbook addresses political corruption, depicting violations of the model code of conduct during elections with a cartoon showing bundles of ₹500 notes in a candidate's car. It highlights challenges like the growing influence of money in elections, candidates with criminal records, and voter apathy, particularly in urban areas.
The textbook preparation follows a collective, multi-stage process without a single author for chapters. For each subject, a Curricular Area Group (CAG) sets up a development team, with drafts reviewed by the team, external experts, teachers, the full CAG, NCERT faculty, and the National Syllabus and Teaching-Learning Material Committee (NSTC). The contents align with the NEP 2020's pedagogy, encouraging students to investigate real-world challenges.
Former NCERT director JS Rajput said the controversy "dented" the council's image. "The new textbooks do mention corruption in the executive and legislature, and students should learn about such issues to become informed citizens. Many in the legal fraternity may not have read the books fully. Given time, NCERT could have shown in court that the judiciary was not being singled out," he said.
