Curriculum Body in India Decided To Drop Evolution and Periodic Table From School Science, Sparking Protest From Educators and Researchers

In April 2023, it was widely reported in India that the topic of evolution would be cut from the curriculum for students aged 15-16. The extent of changes became clearer when the National Council of Educational Research & Training (NCERT) released a textbook for the new academic year that started in May. NCERT is the public organization in the country that developed curriculum and textbooks in Indian schools.

In response, the campaign group Breakthrough Science Society based in Kolkata, India, organized an appeal that reinstated the axed content on evolution. It was signed by over 4,500 scientists, teachers, and science communicators.

NCERT has not yet responded to the appeal. Even if it relies on expert committees to oversee the changes, it has not yet communicated with parents, teachers, and researchers to explain the reason behind the proposed changes, affecting more than 38 million students.

Closing Important Chapters

The syllabus for class-10 students composed of 15-16 years olds does not include an entire chapter on the periodic table of elements. Meanwhile, whole chapters about sources of energy and environmental sustainability have also been removed. The changes also include eliminating a small section of Michael Faraday's involvement in studying electricity and magnetism in the 19th century.

For younger students, they will no longer be taught certain topics about pollution and climate while older school students will experience cuts to subjects such as biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, and geography. Changes in other subjects include the removal of chapters on democracy and diversity and political parties. For older students, a chapter on the industrial revolution has been removed.

The announcement was made by NCERT in 2022, claiming that the changes would ease pressure on the students as they study online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Science teachers and researchers expected the content to be restored once the students returned to classrooms. Instead, they were shocked when NCERT printed textbooks for a new academic year and the statement that the changes would be implemented in the next two academic years. The organization claims it was made in line with the country's revised education policy approved by the Indian government in July 2020.

The Reason Behind the Changes

NCERT explains that it considered some factors such as overlapping of similar content, the content's difficulty, and the lessons' relevance. It also follows the 2020 National Education Policy, which seeks to provide experiential learning and creativity opportunities by advocating less memorization.

NCERT also wants to promote the country's pride and maintain the richness of its ancient and modern culture and traditions. Some people interpret this as a way to learn more about the precolonial history of science in the country.

Alternative teaching practices are promoted to explain scientific concepts using visual methods instead of rote learning. Educators also believe that scientific development and the promotion of culture can go hand in hand as students boost critical thinking while exploring the country's rich history. Moreover, learning fundamental scientific concepts and science's local and global history does not need to be done in isolation.