Scientists argue that these changes, which were first introduced as a temporary measure during the pandemic, are being continued even as schooling has moved to offline mode (Representational image)
More than 1,800 scientists, science teachers and educators have signed an open letter demanding the principle’s reinstatement
Scientists and teachers have raised concerns after the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) decided to drop Charles Darwin’s ‘Theory of Biological Evolution’ from its Class 10 textbook. More than 1,800 scientists, science teachers and educators have signed an open letter demanding the principle’s reinstatement.
He believes that understanding the process of evolution is “vital in building a scientific temper” and that depriving students of this exposure is “a travesty of education”.
“In the current educational framework, only a small fraction of students choose the science stream in grade XI or XII, and a small fraction of them choose biology as one of the subjects of study. Thus, the exclusion of key concepts from the curriculum up to grade 10 equates to a vast majority of students missing out on a significant portion of essential learning in this area, titled “An Appeal Against the Exclusion of Development from the Curriculum” stated in the letter.
The letter has been signed by scientists from prestigious institutes like Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Indian Institute of Science. Education & Research (IISERs) and IITs. He believes that evolutionary biology is not only important to any subfield of biology, but it is also the key to understanding the world around us.
“Evolutionary biology is an area of science that has enormous impact on how we deal with problems we face as societies and nations, from medicine and drug discovery, to epidemiology, ecology and the environment, to psychology , and it also addresses us. The understanding of human beings and their place in the tapestry of life. Although many of us do not realize it clearly, the principles of natural selection help us to understand how any epidemic progresses. or why some species go extinct, among many other important issues, the letter stated.
As per the council’s document listing the changes, Chapter 9 titled ‘Heredity and Evolution’ in the NCERT Class 10 textbook has been replaced with ‘Heredity’. The list of topics dropped in this chapter includes Charles Robert Darwin, the origin of life on Earth, molecular phylogeny, evolution, development and classification, tracing evolutionary relationships, evolution by stages, and human evolution.
The scientists argue that these changes, which were first introduced as a temporary measure during the pandemic, are being continued despite schooling going back to offline mode.
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