No truth in NTA comment on NEET 'out of syllabus' questions: NCERT chief

'The revised textbooks of NCERT, from 2020, are available in both print and also online. We do not know, why those, who framed the questions, referred to the pre-2020 textbooks,' Saklani said.

Mysuru: According to National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani, there is no truth in the statement of the National Testing Agency (NTA) regarding 'out of syllabus questions' in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) (NEET).

He was replying to a question on the blame-game where NTA said NCERT was responsible for the 'out of syllabus questions' in NEET, held last month, during a media conference at Regional Institute of Education (RIE) of NCERT in Mysuru, on Monday.

“The revised textbooks of NCERT, from 2020, are available in both print and also online. We do not know, why those, who framed the questions, referred to the pre-2020 textbooks,” he said.

Not above Constitution

Saklani declined to respond on the controversies surrounding the NCERT. However, he said, there is no question of replacing either ‘India with Bharat’ or ‘Bharat with India’ in textbooks. “NCERT is not above Constitution. The Constitution states that Bharat and India are interchangeable and can be used on the basis of the context,” he said.

He said, NCERT cannot comment on the controversies raised by public figures. “They are respectable members of the society and have every right to comment or criticise. But, we cannot respond to them on public platform,” he said.

He said, NCERT cannot do anything, if the Karnataka state government will not implement the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. “NCERT is an advisory body and it is working on NEP 2020, that is approved by the Parliament. NEP 2020 was the recommendation of the Kasturirangam Commission. NCERT works for the entire nation and 29 of the states are implementing NEP 2020, in association with NCERT. However, states cannot decide, on education, unilaterally because it is not a state subject, but is on the Concurrent List of the Constitution,” Saklani added.