New Delhi: Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday underscored NCERT’s longstanding contribution to India’s school education system and called for greater emphasis on research, technology, artificial intelligence and multilingual education. While speaking at the 66th Foundation Day celebrations of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) at its headquarters in New Delhi. He highlighted the institution’s role over the past six decades in developing textbooks, learning materials and curriculum frameworks for school education.
The Minister said the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has laid the foundation for comprehensive reforms in school education, with a focus on holistic development, creativity, critical thinking, experiential learning and competency-based learning. Against this backdrop, he highlighted NCERT’s work on the National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF-FS) 2022 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023, along with the development of new textbooks for Grades 1 to 9.
Joshi also lauded NCERT’s efforts to expand multilingual education. He said textbooks for Grades 1 to 8 were being prepared in all 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Besides these textbooks, 121 primers are being developed in various Indian languages, including 93 tribal languages. He said the new textbooks were designed to make learning more engaging and relevant while maintaining a strong connection with India’s heritage and knowledge traditions. Indian Knowledge Systems have also been incorporated across the textbooks as part of the ongoing curriculum reforms.
The Minister called on NCERT to further strengthen its research ecosystem and make greater use of emerging technologies, particularly as artificial intelligence assumes an expanding role in education and society. He stressed the need to equip students with digital literacy, AI awareness, critical thinking, problem-solving and innovation skills to prepare them for emerging challenges and opportunities.
Joshi also highlighted the importance of safeguarding students’ mental well-being, calling for appropriate curricular interventions, psychosocial support mechanisms and enhanced teacher training.
Moreover, referring to NCERT’s newly launched facilities, including the Robotics Learning Centre, Translation Lab and upgraded Television Studio, Joshi said these initiatives would strengthen technology-enabled learning, promote education in Indian languages and facilitate the creation of educational content. He said the next phase of NCERT’s growth should build on its institutional experience while adapting to the changing requirements of the education sector. Further, during the celebrations, Joshi visited an exhibition showcasing NCERT’s initiatives in areas including curriculum framework development, Jaadui Pitara and digital education platforms such as PM eVIDYA, DIKSHA and eJaadui Pitara.
