Scientist community condemns removal of Darwin’s theory from Class 10 syllabus

Guwahati, Apr 23: Several scientists, teachers, educators and science popularisers from across the country reacted sharply to the exclusion of Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution from classes 9 and 10 textbooks by the National Council of Educational Research and Training’s (NCERT).

As per reports, a total of 1,800 scientists, teachers, educators and science popularisers under the Breakthrough Science Society (BSS), jointly signed an open letter to the Centre urging the immediate restoration of the same.

The letter titled ‘An Appeal Against Exclusion of Evolution from Curriculum’, called this move as “a travesty of education”.

Darwin’s Theory of biological evolution was earlier removed from the syllabus during the pandemic as an interim measure for syllabus reduction, but an NCERT document has stated that it has been permanently dropped as a step in “content rationalisation”, said reports.

The open letter stated that students will remain handicapped in their thought process if they are deprived of exposure to this fundamental discovery of science.

“An understanding of the process of evolution is crucial in building a scientific temper and a rational worldview. The way Darwin’s painstaking observations and his keen insights led him to the theory of natural selection, educates students about the process of science and the importance of critical thinking,” read the letter.

It added that depriving students who do not go on to study biology after class 10 of any exposure to this vitally important field “is a travesty of education”.

Recently, the NCERT faced backlash from historians for removing chapters related to the Mughal Empire from NCERT history books. With the removal of Darwin’s theory several people expressed their concern on social media.