National Council of Education Research and Training

National Council of Education Research and Training or NCERT was established by Ministry of Education, Government of India in 1961 to improve the qualitative standard of school education. It was formed by merging the then present seven institutes to regulate education system in the country.

The key objectives of NCERT are:

To administer basic childhood education
To encourage education of girl child
To promote value education
To work for education of students with special needs
To implement a National Framework Curriculum
To provide vocational education
To assess, examine and reform IT education
To bring universalization of Fundamental Education
To produce a teaching and learning experience
To improve thought and attention of learners
To advance teacher education

The major constituent units of NCERT which are located in different regions of the country are:

National Institute of Education (NIE), New Delhi
Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET), New Delhi
Pandit Sundarlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education (PSSCIVE), Bhopal
Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Ajmer
Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Bhopal
Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Bhubaneswar
Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Mysore
North-East Regional Institute of Education (NERIE), Shillong

NCERT books:

NCERT publishes textbooks for all subjects from Classes 1st to 12th. Besides this, NCERT prints sample question papers and books based on CBSE syllabus for use in private and government schools across the country. The books published by NCERT are recognized by all schools as benchmark study material and are recommended for preparation of national level undergraduate competitive exams like AIPMT, IIT JEE, and AIIMS etc. Recently, NCERT has launched online textbooks services where all NCERT published subject books for classes 1st to 12th are available for download.

NCERT programs:

NCERT offers training programs and workshops involving departments of NIE (National Institute of Education) and RIE (Regional Institute of Education). They organize programs in backward and rural areas to meet the educational demands of these areas. Some of the programs run by NCERT include:

NTSSC: Under the National Science Talent Search Scheme, a national level exam called NTSE is conducted to recognize and award scholarship to exceptionally talented students of the country. The scholarships are awarded by NCERT for advanced studies (doctoral level) in basic sciences.

AIES: NCERT conducts All India Educational Surveys on a periodic basis to gather, compile and distribute information about the overall growth in school education in the country. This helps in development of educational programs, checks the schooling facilities, curriculum, student enrollment, incentive schemes, teaching and infrastructural facilities in the school etc.

Jawaharlal Nehru National Science, Mathematics and Environment Exhibition for Children: NCERT organizes science exhibition at national level to instil, popularize and persuade scientific temper in children. Students are given an opportunity to showcase their talents and understanding of subjects like Mathematics and Science in everyday life through this exhibition.