Editorial

The recent controversy involving the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and the intervention of the Supreme Court of India raises serious questions about the direction of educational reform in the country.

Following a suo motu notice by the Supreme Court, NCERT halted the distribution of its new Class 8 Social Science textbook and issued an apology for what it termed “inappropriate” references to alleged corruption, pendency of cases, and shortages in the judiciary. The decision to revise or remove the contentious section may appear administrative on the surface, but it reflects a deeper struggle over the content, tone, and purpose of public education.

In a constitutional democracy, institutions must be open to scrutiny. The judiciary, like the executive and legislature, is not beyond discussion. However, the manner, context, and intent behind such references matter enormously. Textbooks for young students are not platforms for insinuation or institutional delegitimization. If critique is necessary, it must be balanced, evidence-based, and pedagogically responsible.

At the same time, this episode forces the highest court—and indeed the nation—to confront a broader concern: the steady politicization of academic spaces. Education should be a domain of scholarship, not ideological experimentation. Attempts to selectively reinterpret or sanitize history, or to introduce narratives that serve contemporary political agendas, undermine intellectual integrity. History is not clay to be molded according to convenience. It is a record of human experience—complex, often uncomfortable, but documented and globally archived. No government, however powerful, can rewrite events that have already unfolded and been recorded across the world.

The larger worry is not one paragraph in one textbook. It is the growing pattern of using curriculum changes to shape perceptions in subtle ways. Nations grow stronger when they encourage critical thinking, not conformity; when they promote unity through understanding, not division through selective storytelling.

The Supreme Court’s intervention demonstrates that institutional checks and balances remain alive. Yet vigilance must extend beyond the courtroom. Scholars, educators, parents, and civil society share responsibility in ensuring that textbooks reflect accuracy, plurality, and constitutional values.

India’s strength has always rested on its civilizational depth and democratic resilience. Any attempt to narrow that legacy into partisan frameworks diminishes the country’s intellectual heritage. Education must illuminate minds, not cloud them. If this episode prompts a renewed commitment to academic integrity and historical honesty, it may ultimately serve a constructive purpose.

A state university enrolling nearly 25,000 students but operating without a single permanent teacher is not merely an administrative lapse — it is an indictment of governance. With 140 sanctioned posts lying vacant, the crisis exposes a systemic erosion of public higher education that can no longer be dismissed as routine delay or bureaucratic backlog.

Universities are not buildings; they are communities of scholars. Permanent faculty form the intellectual backbone of any institution — guiding research, mentoring students, developing curriculum, and safeguarding academic standards. When an entire university runs on ad-hoc or guest faculty, academic continuity collapses. There is no stability, no long-term research vision, and no institutional accountability.

This is not just about one campus. It reflects a broader trend across several public universities where sanctioned posts remain unfilled for years. Governments announce new campuses, new courses, and grand visions of becoming “global knowledge hubs,” yet fail to invest in the most fundamental requirement — teachers. Infrastructure may create headlines; faculty create futures.

The consequences are severe. Students from modest backgrounds, who depend on affordable public universities, are the worst affected. Without permanent faculty, there is limited mentorship for competitive exams, weak research output, irregular classes, and declining academic credibility. Degrees risk becoming hollow certificates rather than instruments of empowerment.

The silence around such crises is equally troubling. When 25,000 young minds are left without assured academic guidance, it is not just an educational issue — it is a social justice issue. Public universities were envisioned as engines of mobility, not warehouses of neglected enrollment statistics.

The persistent failure to fill 140 sanctioned posts raises uncomfortable questions. Are recruitment processes being deliberately stalled? Are financial priorities skewed elsewhere? Or is this neglect a reflection of diminishing respect for public institutions?

Higher education cannot survive on contractual uncertainty. Temporary arrangements may fill timetables, but they cannot build institutions. If governments are serious about demographic dividend and innovation-driven growth, they must begin with a simple step: appoint teachers.

A nation that invests in classrooms invests in its future. A nation that leaves 25,000 students without permanent faculty gambles with it. The crisis in Madhya Pradesh should not be normalized — it should be treated as an emergency demanding immediate structural correction.

• SAS Kirmani