In a rather abrupt development, the government of Maharashtra announced that the state board schools will now adopt the curriculum developed by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The state board-run schools are to begin aligning with the textbooks developed by the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
Addressing both the houses of the legislature, the Maharashtra education minister Dada Bhuse unveiled the plan to phase out the state board curriculum and textbooks for classes I-XII by 2028. https://thewire.in/education/why-is-maharashtra-surrendering-its-own-school-curriculum-and-textbooks
The State Council for Education Research and Training (SCERT) Maharashtra and Balbharti, the state’s bureau of textbook production and research, have long been involved in curriculum and textbook development. In fact, Maharashtra is the only state in the country that produces school textbooks in eight languages including Marathi, English, Kannada, Urdu, Telugu, Hindi, Sindhi and Gujarati. Given that the strong infrastructure for curriculum development is available in the state and that the Balbharti textbooks have undergone some changes in the past few years, this decision appears to have occurred without much serious thought and planning.
There is no evidence of greater quality or competition-readiness after adopting the NCERT textbooks. In fact, the experiences of teachers reveal the struggles they and the students have gone through with the textbooks. The students of Maharashtra deserve better education and not quick fixes. Any serious intervention in the curriculum and textbooks should begin with periodic textbook revisions based on pedagogic considerations by an autonomous group of experts involving teachers and academics as well as the strengthening of state-level institutions and curriculum development units.
by Shivali Tukdeo and Subhankar Chakraborty
28/04/2025