NCERT forms new panel to revise Class 11, 12 political science textbooks

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has reconstituted its textbook development team for Classes 11 and 12 political science, with the panel tasked with revising the books and incorporating new curricular themes.

The team has been asked to complete the Class 11 political science textbook by November, while the Class 12 textbook is expected to be finalized by July 2027. Sandeep Shastri, vice president of Karnataka-based Nitte, a deemed university, will lead the panel.

The NCERT notification said the team will consult different curricular groups and review existing textbooks to incorporate themes such as "cultural rootedness, Indian knowledge systems, inclusion, educational technology, assessment, etc," while strengthening interdisciplinary links and multilingual perspectives.

The reconstituted panel comprises academics and educationists from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), National Law University, Delhi University, IGNOU, Pondicherry University and Utkal University. NCERT officials and school educators are also part of the team.

Some members of the panel have documented links with organizations associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), including the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), as well as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Yadunath Deshpande, a senior consultant with the Ministry of Education, is among the members. ABVP records show that he previously served as the organization's joint state organizing secretary in Maharashtra and later as an organizing secretary in the Mumbai-Konkan region. His LinkedIn profile also identifies him as a political consultant for the BJP.

Prashant Divekar, another panel member, has been associated with Pune-based Jnana Prabodhini, an institution founded by Vinayak Vishwanath, an RSS member and pracharak.

On the National Council for Teacher Education's National Mission for Mentoring portal, Divekar describes his approach as being "rooted in Bhartiya educational philosophy' and refers to his contribution to the National Curriculum Framework.

The team also includes Vandana Mishra, a JNU professor and former national secretary of the ABVP, and Ravi Rameshchandra Shukla, an associate professor at JNU whose academic work includes research on cultural and spiritual nationalism.

The panel's mandate covers the review and development of both textbooks, with the revised material expected to reflect the curricular themes specified by NCERT.