Nagpur: New NCERT textbooks for Class 9 are yet to reach the market even as the new academic session kicks off on April 1, leaving CBSE schools wondering how they can take the new academic session forward. The NCERT on Tuesday issued a statement which confirms that books are not yet ready, as their revision in line with the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023 is under process.Himanshu Gupta, secretary of NCERT, wrote: “The new textbooks for Grade 9 are under development and will be made available for use from the academic session 2026-27 onwards.” But with no exact date given by NCERT for completion of books, schools say they have no answer when students and parents ask them about book availability.“As usual, late. We are commencing classes on April 1 and we don’t have the books with us,” a principal of a CBSE school reacted to the advisory.Another principal questioned why such a situation arose at all. “These things should be planned a year in advance so that students get new books well before the session begins. If NCERT knew it’s playing it so close to the finish line, then they should have postponed it by another year. This last-minute rush is not good at all,” the principal said.The advisory clarified that draft syllabi for Class 9 has been placed on the official NCERT website, “for reference and feedback”. On teachers, NCERT has advised them “to ensure that the prerequisite learning of students is adequately addressed before initiating the new syllabus and textbooks”. The Class 9 new books are part of a phased rollout of textbooks that NCERT has undertaken as a follow-up to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. New books for Classes 1 to 8, developed in alignment with NCF-SE 2023 recommendations, “have been developed and are available in both print and digital formats,” said NCERT. For Classes 10 and 11, NCERT says new textbooks will be “introduced from 2027-28 session onwards”.
