NEW DELHI: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is facing mounting criticism from teachers, students and parents after failing to provide newly revised Class 9 textbooks for Hindi medium students, even in digital format, nearly two months into the academic session. While the council announced through a post on X on April 25, 2026 that Class 9 books were available online in PDF format, several core subjects in Hindi medium are still missing from the official portal.Teachers in Delhi schools said the absence of Hindi medium Mathematics and Science books has severely disrupted teaching and left students uncertain about syllabus changes, holiday assignments and examination preparation. Schools closed for summer vacation on May 23, 2026, but many students have entered the break without textbooks for major subjects.Hindi medium students still without booksAccording to NCERT, PDF versions of several Class 9 books were uploaded online, including English, Sanskrit, Mathematics and Science in English medium, Hindi, Urdu and Physical Education titles. However, Hindi medium versions of Mathematics and Science are still unavailable on the official website. Teachers also pointed out that the Social Science book has not been uploaded even in English PDF format.A Mathematics teacher at a Delhi government school said the situation had created confusion from the beginning of the session. “After admissions to Class 9 were completed, I started teaching students from last year’s Mathematics book because the revised textbook was unavailable both physically and online. Weeks later, when the English version was uploaded, we discovered several chapters and topics had been removed from the syllabus. The work already completed in class became useless overnight and students had to start again,” the teacher said.The teacher added that Hindi medium students were now depending entirely on translated classroom explanations. “The Hindi medium Mathematics book is still unavailable, not even as a PDF. Every day I am translating sums, definitions and examples from the English book while teaching. Students are asking how they will study during the summer break when they do not even have the basic textbook at home,” the teacher said.Teachers question examination preparednessTeachers said the delay could affect performance in upcoming examinations scheduled soon after schools reopen.“Unit tests are expected in the second week of July and half-yearly examinations will take place in September. Students are entering the vacation without books, without solved examples and without proper practice material. If NCERT uploads the books midway through the break, students will still lose valuable preparation time,” the Mathematics teacher added.A Science teacher from a Delhi school said Hindi medium students were struggling to cope in classrooms where only English study material was available. “Children repeatedly ask for the Hindi Science book because they cannot fully understand scientific terms from the English version. We are preparing handwritten notes and translating chapters line by line during class. This should not have happened after the academic year had already started,” the teacher said.Students say studies have been disruptedHindi medium students also questioned why they had been left without access to core subject books.A Class 9 student from Delhi said, “English medium students at least have PDFs, but we do not even have that. We are borrowing photographs of pages and sharing them through mobile phones. Mathematics becomes very difficult when you do not have the actual book in your language.”Another student said printed copies available through online sellers were expensive and sold out quickly, forcing many students to wait without study material weeks after classes began.
