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Business Standard
a day ago
- Health
- Business Standard
5 years of NEP 2020: Time for a bold leap in school health and wellness
As the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 completes five years, there is much to appreciate. The policy has boldly reimagined Indian education for the 21st century, emphasizing flexibility, foundational learning, critical thinking, and holistic development. It also recognises the importance of health, nutrition, mental well-being, hygiene, and life skills in shaping capable and compassionate citizens. But five years on, new realities have emerged, ones that demand urgent attention. And the time has come to revisit the policy's implementation with courage and clarity. A recent Aiims study paints a worrying picture: obesity among Delhi's school children has jumped from 5 per cent in 2006 to 24 per cent in 2025. Hypertension affects over 7 per cent of them. Private school children are at greater risk, but the trends are rising even in government schools. India's malnutrition story is shifting from undernutrition to over-nutrition and lifestyle disorders. Meet Ami, age 12. She skips breakfast, snacks on chips, stays up late, wakes up tired, and spends hours glued to her screen. She's too exhausted to play and struggles to focus in class. Sadly, Ami is not alone; this is becoming the norm. Behind these everyday habits are rising cases of constipation, fatigue, anxiety and mental health issues, poor immunity, and early signs of diabetes and heart conditions across cities and villages alike. While we know the solutions: healthy food, hydration, good sleep, physical activity, mental calm, limiting screen time; they are not reaching children in meaningful ways. Good health is not only about nutrition but also about habits. What NEP 2020 Says and Where It Falls Short? NEP 2020 deserves credit for recognising the importance of health, nutrition, and wellness in education. It speaks of 'capabilities and dispositions that promote wellness,' not just knowledge. It also refers to mental health, physical activity, nutrition, hygiene, and prevention of substance abuse. However, in practice, these elements remain fragmented and loosely integrated across subjects. The National Curriculum Framework (NCF), while establishing a dedicated area for 'Physical Education and Well-being,' ends up prioritizing physical activity. Structured time is allocated to movement and sports. But topics like food, mental health, hygiene, and emotional health are diluted into textbooks or co-curricular modules without structured periods, trained teachers, or experiential learning. As a result, we continue to rely on occasional campaigns or awareness drives like sugar boards, campaigns to reduce edible oil (which are great), instead of cultivating the real-life skills and lifelong habits children truly need. We Need Two Separate Subjects: One Cannot Substitute the Other To correct this imbalance, we need to treat Physical Education and Health Education as two distinct subjects. Physical Education should continue to focus on movement, fitness, and sports, delivered by trained PE teachers through outdoor, activity-based learning. Health Education should be taught inside the classroom. Health is a web of daily choices. Food and nutrition must work alongside sleep, physical activity, and hygiene, especially during puberty. Health education should not only focus on food and nutrition but also include mental well-being, hygiene, social relationships, and safety, with the goal of building lifelong habits. Environmental awareness is equally important, helping children understand that their health is closely linked to the planet's well-being. Preventing addictive behaviours, such as tobacco and substance use, is another vital component. A strong health education curriculum must connect all these threads to help children make informed and confident choices every day. A structured and science-backed curriculum can bring health to life through three key habit areas: Smart Routine – daily structure, restful sleep, hydration, and screen balance. Choosing Healthy Foods – building skills in choosing to eat a variety of foods maintaining nutrient balance, and reading labels. Eating Wisely – avoiding food waste, embracing local and seasonal foods, practicing mindful eating, and ensuring food safety. Simple habits like hydration, movement, and rest, can lay the foundation for lifelong wellness. The Time is Now: Turning Vision into Reality We must move beyond one-off campaigns and complement them with a structured subject that has dedicated time, trained educators, and thoughtfully developed learning resources. Schools should allocate two periods per week for health education in the preparatory and middle stages, and one period per week in the secondary stage. This is not just about delivering content; it is about pedagogy. Teaching health means enabling behaviour change, not merely sharing facts. It involves helping students make everyday decisions that support their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. This calls for a new vision of Health Education, one that reflects the web of daily choices children must navigate. To achieve this, teachers need dedicated training, and over time, a cadre of certified health coaches can support schools. Japan offers a compelling example, where trained school nutritionists also serve as dietitians, combining nutrition education with meal planning to promote lifelong healthy habits. As India looks toward Viksit Bharat 2047, we must recognise that health is not a peripheral concern; it is the foundation of learning and life. Schools must commit to systemic change. A dedicated health subject, properly timed and resourced, can prepare every child to thrive especially in a world of AI-driven content and digital overload. We must equip students not just to cope with these challenges, but to meet them with confidence, clarity, and care.
India.com
3 days ago
- Politics
- India.com
Class 8 NCERT Book Skips Tipu Sultan, Anglo-Mysore Wars; Centre Explains Decision
The exclusion of Tipu Sultan, Haidar Ali, and the Anglo-Mysore wars from the updated NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook has sparked debate in Parliament. The central government clarified that individual states have the freedom to add content related to regional figures and historical events to their school syllabus. According to media reports, Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary said, 'Education being a subject in the Concurrent List of the Constitution and the majority of schools being under the jurisdiction of the State Governments, the respective State Government may adopt or adapt NCERT textbooks or develop their own textbooks based on the National Curriculum Framework. The states have flexibility to provide more coverage about regional personalities and events in their textbooks." Trinamool Congress MP Ritabrata Banerjee raised the question, asking whether the new Class 8 textbook leaves out references to Tipu Sultan, Haidar Ali, and the Anglo-Mysore wars of the 1700s in the chapter on India's colonial history, and sought reasons for their exclusion. NEP 2020 Policy In a written response, Minister Jayant Chaudhary stated that the updated Class 8 Social Science textbook (Part 1) was created based on the guidelines of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE) 2023. 'The new textbook comprises four themes: India and the World: Land and the People; Tapestry of the Past; Governance and Democracy; Economic Life Around Us," he added further. Pedagogical approaches in textbooks Jayant Chaudhary said, 'Personalities featured in these themes have been included contextually and in accordance with curricular objectives. The textbook introduces new pedagogical approaches, emphasizes refined classroom practices, and presents a focused syllabus. These textbooks encourage students to explore more through experiential learning, undertake fieldwork, and focus on evidence-based understanding. The approach adopted for the Middle Stage (Grades 6 to 8) is to provide only a broad survey of Indian civilization from prehistoric times all the way to Independence.' The revised textbook, released last month, includes a section on early resistance movements against British colonial rule before the 1857 revolt. It highlights events like the Sannyasi-Fakir rebellion, the Kol uprising, the Santhal rebellion, and several peasant revolts from the 1800s. However, the new edition does not mention the four Anglo-Mysore wars or the resistance led by Tipu Sultan and Haidar Ali against the East India Company — topics that were previously included in the chapter on the expansion of British rule in India.
News18
3 days ago
- Politics
- News18
No Tipu Sultan, Anglo-Mysore Wars In Class 8 NCERT Book; Govt Explains Why
Trinamool MP Ritabrata Banerjee asked if the new NCERT Class 8 book omits Tipu Sultan, Haidar Ali, or the Anglo-Mysore wars in its colonial-era chapter, and why. The omission of Tipu Sultan, Haidar Ali, and the Anglo-Mysore wars from the new NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook has drawn attention in Parliament, with the Centre stating that states have the flexibility to include more content on regional personalities and events in their curricula. Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary said, 'Education being a subject in the Concurrent List of the Constitution and the majority of schools being under the jurisdiction of the State Governments, the respective State Government may adopt or adapt NCERT textbooks or develop their own textbooks based on the National Curriculum Framework. The states have flexibility to provide more coverage about regional personalities and events in their textbooks." The question was raised by Trinamool Congress MP Ritabrata Banerjee, who asked whether the new Class 8 textbook omits mention of Tipu Sultan, Haidar Ali, or the Anglo-Mysore wars of the 1700s in the chapter on India's colonial era and the reasons behind such exclusions. NCERT Textbook Reworked Under NEP 2020 In his written reply, Chaudhary explained that the revised Class 8 Social Science textbook (Part 1) has been developed in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE) 2023. 'The new textbook comprises four themes: India and the World: Land and the People; Tapestry of the Past; Governance and Democracy; Economic Life Around Us," he said. 'Personalities featured in these themes have been included contextually and in accordance with curricular objectives. The textbook introduces new pedagogical approaches, emphasizes refined classroom practices, and presents a focused syllabus. These textbooks encourage students to explore more through experiential learning, undertake fieldwork, and focus on evidence-based understanding. The approach adopted for the Middle Stage (Grades 6 to 8) is to provide only a broad survey of Indian civilization from prehistoric times all the way to Independence," Chaudhary added. The updated book, released last month, contains a section on early resistance movements against British colonialism leading up to the 1857 revolt. It mentions the Sannyasi-Fakir rebellion, the Kol Uprising, the Santhal rebellion, and various peasant uprisings of the 1800s. However, the new edition makes no reference to the four Anglo-Mysore wars or the resistance mounted by Tipu Sultan and Haidar Ali against the East India Company — events that were part of the earlier textbook's section on the expansion of British rule in India. First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
No Tipu Sultan, no Anglo-Mysore wars in Class 8 NCERT book: Why the Centre says that's okay
On the new NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook omitting the mention of Tipu Sultan, Haidar Ali, and the Anglo-Mysore wars of the 1700s, the Centre said in response to a question in Parliament on Wednesday that states have the 'flexibility to provide more coverage about regional personalities and events in their textbooks.' 'Education being a subject in the Concurrent List of the Constitution and the majority of schools being under the jurisdiction of the State Governments, the respective State Government may adopt or adapt NCERT textbooks or develop their own textbooks based on the National Curriculum Framework. The states have flexibility to provide more coverage about regional personalities and events in their textbooks,' Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary said in response to a question in the Rajya Sabha. Ritabrata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress had asked whether the new book skips the mention of Tipu Sultan, Haidar Ali, or the Anglo-Mysore wars of the 1700s in its chapter on India's colonial era, and the reasons for this. In his response, Chaudhary said that Part 1 of the new Class 8 Social Science textbook has been developed in alignment with the curricular goals and competencies under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE) 2023. The new textbook comprises four themes: *India and the World: Land and the People; Tapestry of the Past; Governance and Democracy; Economic Life Around Us.* 'Personalities featured in these themes have been included contextually and in accordance with curricular objectives. The textbook introduces new pedagogical approaches, emphasizes refined classroom practices, and presents a focused syllabus. These textbooks encourage students to explore more through experiential learning, undertake fieldwork, and focus on evidence-based understanding. The approach adopted for the Middle Stage (Grades 6 to 8) is to provide only a broad survey of Indian civilization from prehistoric times all the way to Independence,' Chaudhary's response stated. The new NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook was released last month. The chapter on the colonial era contains a section on early resistance movements that challenged British colonialism in the run-up to the 1857 rebellion. Here, there are references to the 'Sannyasi-Fakir rebellion' of the 1700s, the Kol Uprising, the Santhal rebellion, and 'peasant uprisings' of the 1800s. The book, however, does not mention resistance to the East India Company from the rulers of Mysore — Tipu Sultan and Haidar Ali — or the Anglo-Mysore wars of the 1700s. The earlier Class 8 history textbook referred to Mysore under Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan, and the four Anglo-Mysore wars, as part of a section on the expansion of the East India Company's rule.
The Print
01-08-2025
- Politics
- The Print
‘Honest history, not ideology'—NCERT social science panel chief on changes in Class 8 textbook
Critics have described these changes as an 'ideological move' that selectively glorifies or vilifies historical figures. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has recently released the Class 8 social science textbook, in line with the National Curriculum Framework and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The book, Exploring Society: India and Beyond, highlights instances of 'brutality' and 'religious intolerance' during the rule of the Mughals and the Delhi Sultanate. The Marathas, in contrast, are portrayed in a more positive light. New Delhi: India has tended to present a 'very gentle' and 'sanitised' version of history, avoiding unpleasant aspects, but 'we took a different and more honest approach by introducing students to the 'darker chapters' of history as well', Michel Danino, the head of the NCERT committee behind the drafting of the new social science textbooks, told ThePrint in an interview. In an interview with ThePrint Tuesday, Michel Danino, however, denied any ideological interference in the drafting of the new textbooks. 'No political leader came to us saying, 'You have to include this, or mention this particular figure or fact'. No ideological group of any kind contacted us to say, 'You must include this chapter', and so on,' he said. Danino said that so far in India, there had been a tendency to make a 'very gentle' and 'slightly sanitised' version of history, 'where we avoid all unpleasantness, thinking perhaps that this is going to, you know, traumatise the student and so on'. 'We took another approach. First of all, we made an honest one—disclaimer, if you wish to call it that, to the student—that there are darker chapters in history. And we were not, some commentators in the media said that we spoke of the dark ages in the medieval period; we never use this phrase,' he said. In a 'Note on some darker periods in history', the disclaimer reads: 'No one should be held responsible today for events of the past.' Michel Danino explained that the textbook addressed the brutality of some historical events, particularly warfare. He noted that while warfare always existed, there are different types—some with limited impact on civilians, and others that involve significant cruelty and suffering. The committee intended to highlight the distinction because it represented a valid historical approach, he said. Danino also said the textbook did not focus solely on violence or negativity. 'Contrary to media reports, we did not simply state that Akbar was brutal in his youth. That perspective comes from his admission in his memoir, Akbarnama, where he recounts his military campaigns. You can sense, he is not entirely proud of his past, but he is honest about it.' 'There is nothing wrong with mentioning this—it helps us understand the different sides of a historical figure. We aimed to reflect the complexity of such personalities and to avoid extreme characterisations, whether overly positive or negative.' Also Read: NEP turns 5: Gains, gaps & ground realities, a report card on India's biggest education reform 'M arathas dismantled the Mughal Empir e' The revised Class 8 textbook portrays the Marathas, who ruled over a 17th-century kingdom in western India, as rulers who established 'sovereignty', describing their founder, Chhatrapati Shivaji, as a 'strategist' and 'true visionary'. It compares Shivaji's defeat of the Mughal nobleman Shaista Khan to a 'modern-day surgical strike', highlighting that during his retaliatory actions, Shivaji was always 'careful' not to attack religious places. Denying 'selective glorification' allegations, Michel Danino said: 'We selected the Marathas because they played an important—and largely uncontested—role in dismantling the Mughal Empire.' 'Remember, Aurangzeb spent the last 25 years of his life in the Deccan and was unable to return to Delhi. While he was also fighting other regional powers, the Marathas quickly became his main concern. After his death, the Maratha Empire controlled a large part of India, even if only for a relatively short period,' he said. From a political history perspective, Danino added, the Marathas deserved the attention of the Indians. 'Whether we have glorified them excessively, I am not sure. For example, we insisted on including the Maratha raids in Bengal, which were very brutal and traumatised the local population. We could have left that out if we were only glorifying them, but we did not,' he said. Danino added: 'I believe some members of our team also wanted to counterbalance the neglect the Marathas have received in earlier textbooks, where they find brief mention only. The Marathas deserve much more study than we were able to provide—for instance, their administrative system was quite innovative in many ways.' Critics have pointed out that the textbook does not get into as many details on the violence of the Marathas—the raids in the Rajput kingdoms or violent annexations of Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha, devastating local populations and forcing people to pay tributes called 'chauth', or the destruction of temples in Karnataka—as it does for the Mughals. Michel Danino, however, emphasised it was important to avoid simply saying something had been removed from or added to the textbook. The committee drafted the new textbooks with a different approach, covering a much broader chronological scope, he said, adding that the designing of textbooks under the National Curriculum Framework was such that the books were not supposed to be text-heavy, and therefore, the panel had to come up with 'compressed timelines'. 'We made certain choices. There are things which are left out, and we have not denied that.' 'We have been under criticism for leaving certain things out, but given the context—which I have explained—it was unavoidable. We have tried to be honest with history. There are many perspectives, including nationalist history, Marxist history, and others. Good historians understand that no interpretation is ever final,' Danino said. 'I believe we can strive for what I call honest history—based on the data available—where we aim to do justice to the past, even though we inevitably have to make certain choices,' he added. Wrong image of colonial times? According to Michel Danino, the committee widely felt that many young Indians continue to hold a somewhat positive image of the colonial period, without fully understanding the extent of the damage it caused. The revised book is more critical of the history of the Colonial Era than the earlier books. 'Famines, at least, are now slowly becoming more widely known,' Danino said. 'Though they were almost completely absent from earlier textbooks, these were, after all, engineered famines, or at the very least, made much worse by the ruthless taxation policies of the British, and the deliberate lack of relief provided to the victims.' Moreover, Michel Danino emphasised that confronting such historical truths was essential for national self-respect. 'We felt that any self-respecting nation owes recognition and respect to the victims of past atrocities—and these were atrocities.' He further highlighted the massive economic exploitation India endured under colonial rule. 'The plunder of India's wealth is not controversial—it is something the British themselves documented. The data shows the vast amount of wealth extracted from India through multiple channels: outright taxation, the creation of the so-called 'India debt', and forced contributions to colonial projects like railway and telegraph construction, the Indo-Afghan wars, and even the deployment of troops to suppress the Great Rebellion of 1857,' Danino said. According to Michel Danino, historical records confirm that India was still a prosperous and economically vibrant land before British expansion. 'There was strong agricultural production, vibrant trade, and flourishing exports—from cotton and spices to finished goods. All of this—destroyed in a remarkably short time. Within just a century, India became a deeply impoverished country,' he said. (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: Two realities of NEP: Sensory classrooms & hi-tech labs, to kids sitting on floor & no teachers
