ACER contributes to textbook development
ACER news less than 1 day ago 5 minute readACER India experts worked with NCERT and SCERT to design textbooks for competency-based learning that included discussion, analysis, and application opportunities in addition to vital core material.
Textbooks occupy a central position in the Indian education system. They are more than just learning materials — they are vehicles for social mobility, cultural transmission, and national integration. While the future of schooling may lean towards digital and interactive learning, textbooks will continue to play a foundational role for the foreseeable future.
ACER India was invited to contribute to the development of a new Environmental Studies (EVS) textbook for State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) Chhattisgarh and an Exemplar Book for National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) in science education.
The resources were developed to reflect the 2020 National Education Policy’s vision of building learners’ knowledge through real-world applications. The SCERT textbooks incorporate local tribal, cultural, and geographical contexts, while the NCERT Exemplar Book promotes inquiry-based assessment through interdisciplinary, real-life problem-solving.
Policy drivers for textbook development
The National Education Policy 2020 emphasises the need to focus on competency-based learning, self-learning through experiences, and context-relevance. In the words of the policy, ‘…the renewed emphasis on self-learning through experiences rather than rote learning - must be accompanied by parallel changes in school textbooks.’
The National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023 (NCFSE 2023), underpinned by NEP 2020, recommends that textbooks should be learning tools that support exploration, reflection, and application and not mere repositories of information.
It is in this context that both NCERT and SCERTs are redesigning textbooks which reify the recommendations of policy frameworks and guidelines.
In India, while NCERT develops textbooks at the national level, the SCERTs play a crucial role in contextualising educational materials, including textbooks, to the specific needs and curriculum of their states. SCERTs often adopt or adapt NCERT materials for some subjects or classes.
In addition, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the state education boards prescribe textbooks—such as those developed by NCERT or respective state agencies — to ensure uniformity and curriculum alignment across schools.
Guidelines for textbook development
NCERT and SCERTs developed the textbooks with the objective of enabling skill building to make learners future ready.
The process was driven by guiding principles of pedagogical approach and learning design - structure, relevance, and values – and alignment with policy, context, and quality standards. The textbook development team had to ensure that the text is activity-based, story-driven, visually rich, and thematic. This was one among many other criteria for pedagogy.
Similarly for structure, we had to ensure that chapters are organised around competencies, not just topics, focus learning outcomes, and formative tasks and chapter-end exercises.
The result
ACER India is working with partners in India to transform curriculum, instructions, assessment, and examinations in competency-based learning.
In this case, our involvement with the new NCERT and SCERT textbooks rooted in competency-based learning, contextual relevance, inclusivity, and experiential pedagogy will support efforts to foster critical thinking, creativity, and holistic development of students.
By integrating local knowledge with global perspectives and prioritising learner engagement, they serve as dynamic tools for meaningful learning.
To know more about our work on competency-based learning, contact: india@acer.org
