New Delhi: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is attempting to retrieve the 38 copies of the now-withdrawn Class 8 Social Science Part 2 textbook that were sold, sources in the Education Ministry told ANI on Wednesday.

Of the 2.25 lakh copies printed, only 38 were sold while 2,24,962 remained in inventory. All unsold copies have been recalled back to the NCERT warehouse, sources said, adding that efforts are underway to trace and recover the sold copies as well.

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The development comes a day after NCERT halted the distribution of the textbook following controversy over the content of a chapter on the judiciary. The book, titled Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Vol II, was released on February 24 as part of the new curriculum framework.

In an official statement issued earlier, NCERT acknowledged that "certain inappropriate textual material and errors of judgement" had inadvertently crept into Chapter 4, titled "The Role of Judiciary in our Society." The council said it has decided to withdraw the textbook and undertake a comprehensive review and rewriting of the chapter.

The controversy erupted after portions of the chapter referred to corruption in the judiciary and highlighted case backlogs, drawing sharp reactions. The Supreme Court took strong exception to the references, following which NCERT moved swiftly to halt further circulation of the book.

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The Class 8 Social Science textbook is part of the ongoing overhaul of school textbooks under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework (NCF). NCERT has been rolling out revised books in phases, with changes in content, structure and thematic approach.

Sources said the revised version of the chapter will be issued after due review and vetting, and fresh copies will be printed accordingly. (ANI)