The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has created a new Class 8 English book, Poorvi. This new book is part of a larger curriculum review that is in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE) 2023.
Moving away from European culture and history, Poorvi focuses on Indian personalities and their values.
Units Of Book
The book is organised into five units, featuring stories, poems, dialogues and descriptive texts. The themes include: wit and wisdom, values and dispositions, mystery and magic, the environment, and science and curiosity.
The first unit, which is on Tenali Rama, uses folk tales and teaching of problem-solving. The second, Values and Dispositions, has the chapter on Major Somnath Sharma’s bravery in the Battle of Badgam, and an excerpt from the ‘I Too Had A Dream’ by Kurien which brings the value of courage in public service.
The third section on mystery and magic – what children can do with their imagination is present in fiction and verse. The fourt unit on environment includes writings by Ruskin Bond and stories of Sarojini Naidu and Kamakshi Balasubramanian.
In the final unit, Science and Curiosity, the authors honor trailblazers in science. The chapter on Bibha Chowdhuri inspires girls to seek out STEM fields through the perspective of the Indian legacies in science.
What NCERT Says
The NCERT highlights that the book brings together integrational themes, such as, Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), heritage, gender-sensitive awareness, and inclusion. “Language development is the base for effective communication for the purpose of exhibiting aesthetic expressions, appreciation of others’, and precision of language. Reasoning and critical thinking are coupled with the use of language and are worthwhile actions to develop” quoted in the introduction of the book.
Meaning Of Poorvi
The word Poorvi, a Hindi word itself, has received some attention, although the text indicates it was inspired by the Indian raga of ‘Poorvi’.
The Class 8 release is also part of a staged rollout: new books for Classes 1 and 2 were launched in 2023, new books for Classes 3 and 6 for the 2024 school year. Therefore, in this school year of 2023 – 2024 Somerville Schools will launch the new Class 4, Class 5, Class 7 and Class 8 books.
