The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has released a new English textbook for class 6 called "Poorvi". Unlike the old book, which mainly had stories by non-Indian authors, "Poorvi" includes nine prose pieces by Indian authors and five poems by non-Indian authors, reported Indian Express.
This new textbook follows the National Curriculum Framework 2023 and the National Education Policy 2020, with most chapters revised to reflect an Indian context. The previous textbook, "Honeysuckle," featured eight poems (seven by non-Indian authors) and eight prose pieces (five by non-Indian authors), along with stories by Munshi Premchand and Ruskin Bond, the news agency reported.
For the first time, the word "Bharat" is used in an NCERT textbook, appearing 19 times in a chapter called "Culture and Tradition," compared to "India," which is mentioned seven times. This chapter also includes a section called "Hamara Bharat, Incredible India!" highlighting India's identity as "Bharat."
Additionally, the new textbook has chapters on the uses of spices beyond cooking and on yoga and its benefits, the report stated.
NCERT had planned to release new textbooks for classes 3 and 6 earlier this year but faced delays. The class 3 textbooks are now available.
“Consequently, schools are advised to follow these new syllabi and textbooks for classes 3 and 6 in place of textbooks published by NCERT till the year 2023," Joseph Emmanuel, Director (Academics), CBSE told PTI.
