NCERT clarified the title and contents of the Grade 6 Kannada R3 textbook, which were raised in certain media sections on Thursday. In a press release, NCERT said that the name of the textbook 'Krishna' is chosen due to the fact that it is a river located in Karnataka and that the naming pattern has been adopted for all language books.
According to NCERT, its language books have been named according to famous rivers in India and that the textbook for Hindi has been named "Ganga", for English "Kaveri" and for Urdu "Jamuna" (Yamuna). In the same way, the name of the Kannada textbook has been taken as "Krishna".
As per the council, the nomenclature system reflects the vision stated in the NEP 2020 and the NCF-SE 2023, which highlight the need for locally contextualised and culturally relevant experiences of learning for the students.
Chapter on food and diet answered by NCERT
The council further clarified the concerns raised about how food habits have been handled in the textbook, especially the one of promoting vegetarianism. NCERT has clearly said that the textbook does not promote vegetarianism and also does not discourage non-vegetarianism.
According to the council, Chapter 6 of the book is entitled "Health is Wealth" and it deals with having a balanced diet, exercises, and cleanliness for better health.
There is a special section on balanced nutrition in this chapter and it has been made clear that children should include items like milk, fruits, vegetables, green leafy vegetables and other items that provide good nutrition in their diets on a regular basis.
It is important to mention here that the NCERT informed that the illustrated figure used along with the lesson contains items which are both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. The chapter talks about the traditional foods that contain good nutrition and come from different parts of the country.
The council stated that the purpose of the lesson is to make the students aware of the concept of healthy eating and balanced nutrition. This topic has been covered using class-room exercises and question answers sessions.
Open to suggestions from stakeholders
As part of its dedication to quality educational literature, NCERT reiterated that it is open to any constructive criticism or suggestions by teachers, parents, educationists, and other such stakeholders.
It also pointed out that it will continue to strive for improvement of the textbooks as per the objectives of the NEP 2020 and NCF-SE 2023, while also making sure that the educational literature is accurate and inclusive.
These clarifications came after the public debate over the naming and content of the Class 6 Karnataka R3 textbook, where NCERT was trying to correct any misunderstanding or confusion.
