The National Council for Education, Research and Training (NCERT) removed material on Darwinian evolution from school science textbooks to lighten the study load after the COVID-19 pandemic.
From this academic year, evolution no longer appears in grade nine and ten textbooks. The chapter "Evolution and Heredity" for grades eleven and twelve was reduced to "Heredity" and a boxed section about Charles Darwin was removed.
An open appeal signed by hundreds of scientists was released on 22 April. The statement said natural selection is still relevant and helps explain how pandemics progress and why species go extinct.
Difficult words
- evolution — change in species over many generationsDarwinian evolution
- heredity — how parents pass traits to their children
- natural selection — process where useful traits become more common
- textbook — book used for teaching in a schooltextbooks
- pandemic — a disease outbreak that spreads very widelyCOVID-19 pandemic, pandemics
- remove — take something away from a place or textremoved
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Do you think evolution is an important topic to teach in school? Why or why not?
- Did the COVID-19 pandemic change your school work? How?
- Should short sections about scientists like Charles Darwin stay in textbooks? Explain briefly.
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