NEW DELHI: Over 1,800 scientists, educators, science teachers, science popularizers, and citizens have expressed their resentment over the removal of Darwin’s theory of biological evolution from the class X science syllabus in the NCERT book.
These concerned individuals, under the Breakthrough Science Society (BSS), jointly signed an open letter urging the Centre to continue teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution with sufficient importance in the 9th and 10th standard science books of NCERT.
The chapter on the theory was initially removed as an interim measure for syllabus reduction during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the NCERT document has since stated that it has been permanently dropped as a step in “content rationalization.”
A press release issued by the Breakthrough Science Society includes a letter titled ‘An Appeal Against Exclusion of Evolution from Curriculum’, with signatories from prominent science institutions in the country, like Indian Institute of Science, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and Indian Institute of Technology.
“The scientific community feels that students will remain seriously handicapped in their thought processes if deprived of exposure to this fundamental discovery of science,” the letter said.
Explaining the relevance of the theory, the letter added, “The fact that the biological world is constantly changing, that evolution is a law-governed process that does not require divine intervention, and that humans have evolved from some species of ape have been the cornerstones of rational thinking ever since Darwin proposed his theory of natural selection.”
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”.
Scientists and academics have argued that the “temporary measures” taken during the pandemic are being continued even though students have returned to schools.