With Revised NCERT Textbooks For Classes IV, V, VII And VIII Delayed, Schools Turn To Bridge Courses – News18

Last Updated:April 11, 2025, 12:25 IST

As classes begin without updated NCERT textbooks, schools are using worksheets, digital content, and bridge programmes to fill the gap.

Two weeks into the new academic session, schools in Delhi-NCR are still teaching with digital study material and worksheets for classes IV, V, VII and VIII, as revised textbooks for these classes are yet to be released by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

The NCERT is supposed to introduce revised textbooks for classes IV, V, VII and VIII — developed by the Council based on the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023 — from the 2025-26 academic session.

Last year, the NCERT developed new NCF-SE-aligned textbooks for classes III and VI, which too were delayed and reached students only around July-August.

The Council had released updated textbooks for classes I and II in 2023 itself. The NCF-SE is aligned with the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The new syllabus is designed to provide ‘experiential, discovery-based and inquiry-driven learning’.

According to officials in the know, the books have been delayed because of issues in printing. “There were some issues in bulk printing of the new textbooks, which is now in process, and books for classes IV and VII might be available by the end of April itself, while those for classes V and VIII are likely to be ready by May-June,” an official familiar with the process told News18.

The NCERT has developed bridge programmes for classes V and VIII — guides to teaching-learning techniques based on the new curriculum — to help both teachers and students transition from the old syllabus to the new syllabus.

Since classes V and VIII mark the end of different stages of school education — preparatory and middle, respectively — bridge courses have been developed for them this year, the official added.

Last year also, the Council had introduced a bridge course for class VI.

Teachers from several Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schools said that even though they are referring to the study material in the bridge programme for teaching, they still have to revisit the existing school textbooks for several tasks or sometimes simply to help students understand the concept by showing it to them in their textbook.

“Though the bridge courses provide guidelines, at times we have to ask students to refer to their existing textbooks for better clarity. The only concern that even parents are raising is that students will have to be updated with the new curriculum once it arrives, and many concepts that they are learning now will no longer be relevant. Then there is the summer vacation, and new books will only be taught once schools reopen in July,” said a private school teacher, requesting anonymity.

Jyoti Arora, Principal of Mount Abu Public School, however, said that textbooks for certain grades as well as subjects are yet to be made available. However, there is a bridge programme based on the new curriculum, and there is enough reference material to teach. “Also, besides this reference material, we have experiential learning activities, skill courses, and vocational programmes. The first month of the session remains busy with these activities,” she said.

NCERT Director Dinesh P Saklani, in the classes V and VIII bridge programmes released earlier this year, wrote: “…Our students are transitioning from the old curriculum, which differs from the new approach used in the new curriculum. To bridge this gap and ensure a smooth and effective transition, we have developed a comprehensive six-week bridge programme across all subject areas, including English. The bridge programme is designed to prepare students for the innovative pedagogical approaches and content that await them in the next grade.”