The Indian Society of Evolutionary Biologists has come down heavily on the Central Board of Secondary Education’s decision to scrap chapters on evolution and ecology in order to tackle the lag in lessons caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The curtailment of entire chapters that deal with the foundation of knowledge that can ultimately help understand a zoonotic pandemic such as COVID-19, in an ostensible effort to deal with the pandemic itself, is “dangerously tragic” and “ironic,” said the statement released by the Society. The CBSE has “rationalised” the syllabus for classes 9 to 12 for the academic year 2020-21 by up to 30% to make up for academic loss caused due to COVID-19, Union HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal had announced on July 7. Also under the fire has been the decision to entirely do away with chapters on federalism, citizenship, nationalism, and secularism from Class 11’s political science curriculum for this academic year.
— source thewire.in | 09/Jul/2020