NCERT Granted Deemed University Status: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has announced that the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has been granted the status of a deemed university. The minister made the announcement during his address at the 63rd foundation day of the NCERT. As the leading organisation in the field of school education, the NCERT carries out a wide range of activities and initiatives. These include educational research and innovation, curriculum development, and the creation of educational materials and teaching-learning resources.

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation under the Government of India. It was established in 1961 and operates as a literary, scientific, and charitable society governed by the Societies Registration Act. The NCERT's headquarters are situated on Sri Aurobindo Marg in New Delhi, and Dr. Dinesh Prasad Saklani has been serving as its Director since 2022.

In 2023, NCERT formed a 19-member committee, which includes individuals such as author and Infosys Foundation chair Sudha Murthy and singer Shankar Mahadevan. This committee was established to finalise the curriculum, textbooks, and learning materials for classes 3 to 12.

The primary objective of the NCERT is to develop and facilitate a unified national education system for the country that embodies a truly national character. Simultaneously, it aims to empower and promote the rich diversity of cultural practices observed throughout the nation.

The NCERT publishes textbooks that are recommended by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for classes I to XII, although there are exceptions for a few subjects, particularly for the Class 10 and 12 Board Examinations. Around 19 school boards from 14 states have either adopted or adapted these NCERT textbooks.

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Notably, the National Council of Educational Research and Training designed the books digitally in Indian Sign Language from year 2021 for students with hearing disabilities from classes 1 to 5.