National Educational Research and Training Council
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India which was established on 1 September 1961 as a literary, scientific and charitable Society under the Societies’ Registration Act (Act XXI of 1860). Its headquarters are located at Sri Aurbindo Marg in New Delhi. Dr. Hrushikesh Senapaty is director of the council since September 2015.
The Government of India’s Ministry of Education resolved on 27 July 1961 to establish the National Council of Educational Research and Training, which formally began operation on 1 September 1961. The Council was formed by merging seven existing national government institutions, namely the Central Institute of Education, the Central Bureau of Textbook Research, the Central Bureau of Educational and Vocational Guidance, the Directorate of Extension Programmes for Secondary Education, the National Institute of Basic Education, the National Fundamental Education Centre, and the National Institute of Audio-Visual Education. It is separate from the National Council for Teacher Education. The NCERT was established with the agenda to design and support a common system of education which is national in character and also enables and encourages the diverse culture across the country. Based on the recommendations of the Education Commission(1964-66), the first national policy statement on education was issued in 1968. The policy endorsed the adoption of a uniform pattern of school education across country consisting of 10 years of general education program followed by 2 years of diversified schooling.
NCERT has a comprehensive extension programme in which departments of the National Institute of Education, Regional Institute of Education, Central Institute of Vocational Education and field advisers’ offices in the states are engaged in activities. Several programmes are organised in rural and backward areas to reach out to functionaries in these areas. The council acts as the Secretariat of the National Development Group for Educational Innovations. The council has been offering training facilities, usually through attachment programmes and participation in workshops, to education workers of other countries. The council publishes textbooks for school subjects from Classes I to XII. NCERT publishes books & provides sample question papers that are used in government and private schools across India that follow the CBSE curriculum. An online system named e-pathshala has been developed for disseminating educational e-resources including textbooks, audio, video, periodicals and a variety of other print and non-print materials, ensuring their free access through mobile phones and tablets (as e-pub) and from the web through laptops and desktops (as flipbooks).