By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 5: A group of booksellers has written to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma requesting him to postpone the introduction of NCERT textbooks in the state at least till 2025.
They said this will give them the time to manage existing stock, plan transition and mitigate financial impact on their business.
“The announcement of the introduction of NCERT textbooks has come as a surprise to us,” a bookseller said.
He added that as the timeframe provided for transition is short, it has put immense pressure on the booksellers to make necessary arrangements within a limited period.
The booksellers said the current stock of Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBoSE) books represents a substantial financial investment, running into crores of rupees, and if the shift to NCERT textbooks is immediate, they will be compelled to discard the old stock, resulting in huge losses.
They said the SSA textbooks from the previous year are scheduled to be distributed to students in 2024 and the introduction of NCERT textbooks will render the SSA textbooks obsolete and create a financial burden.
They pointed out that they have been already hit hard by the Covid pandemic and the abrupt introduction of NCERT textbooks will only compound their problems.
Sangma on Tuesday said NCERT textbooks will be adopted based on local culture, history and conditions.
Stating that the NCERT textbooks would be adopted for some subjects, including mathematics and science, Sangma said: “We came to this (adoption) conclusion as we felt our children need to compete at the national level and the NCERT textbooks can help them.”
“When different assessments are made at the national level, the NCERT norms are a very important factor because there are certain aspects,” he added.
Earlier, Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Sangma had asked the government not to go ahead with its decision on NCERT textbooks and termed it as “ridiculous”.
Reacting to this, the CM said, “…we will be adopting the syllabus to adapt to our requirements.”
“We will be able to compete at the national level; the courses will be slightly more uniform in nature and we will be able to do the quality assessment exercises in a much better manner. Thirdly, wherever needed, we will adapt based on our own local culture, history and conditions and finalise the different syllabus for different subjects accordingly,” he said.
Earlier, the state Cabinet decided to adopt NCERT textbooks in NCERT books in MBoSE classes.