NCERT explained, for parents
National Council of Educational Research and Training
NCERT writes the books your child is almost certainly carrying, and it is not a board. It has no affiliation power, no examination and no certificate to issue, which is why nobody sits an NCERT exam at any class - and why so many parents are confused about what it is.
In one paragraph
NCERT organises Classes 1 and 2 as the Foundational Stage, taught through developmental domains rather than subjects, and Classes 3 to 5 as the Preparatory Stage with at least two languages, Mathematics, Art Education, Physical Education and Well-being, and The World Around Us. It publishes class-wise learning outcomes for every elementary class, and its books are used by CBSE schools, many state boards and a large number of private schools.
NCERT is the organisation whose books your child is almost certainly carrying, and it is not a board. It describes itself as an autonomous organisation set up in 1961 to assist and advise the Central and State Governments on school education policy. It writes textbooks, builds the national curriculum frameworks and trains teachers. It does not affiliate schools, does not conduct board examinations and does not issue certificates - which is why nobody sits an NCERT exam, at any class.
NCERT is not a board, and that matters
Parents regularly ask us whether their child is "in NCERT". The question is understandable and the answer is no - nobody is. NCERT's own description of itself is an autonomous organisation set up in 1961 by the Government of India to assist and advise the Central and State Governments on policies and programmes for improving school education.
Its stated jobs are research, preparing and publishing model textbooks and supplementary material, organising pre-service and in-service teacher training, and acting as a clearing house for ideas in school education. Not one of them is examining children. NCERT cannot affiliate a school, cannot conduct a board examination and cannot issue a school-leaving certificate. Those powers sit with CBSE, CISCE and the state boards.
What NCERT does instead is supply the material those boards' schools use. CBSE strongly advises NCERT or SCERT textbooks for Classes 1 to 8 and mandates NCERT from Class 9. Many state boards publish their own books but align them to NCERT's frameworks. That is why NCERT is simultaneously the most visible name in Indian school education and the one with no exam attached.
NCERT also runs free digital access to its books through ePathshala and contributes material to DIKSHA, so every book on this page can be downloaded legally at no cost.
The current NCERT books, Class 1 to Class 5
NCERT has been replacing its primary titles as the new curriculum frameworks roll out, which is why your child's book may not match her cousin's in the next school. Both sets are currently in circulation.
| Subject | Classes 1–2 | Classes 3–5 | Older title still in use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | Joyful Mathematics | Maths Mela | Math-Magic |
| English | Mridang | Santoor | Marigold |
| Hindi | Sarangi | Veena | Rimjhim |
| The World Around Us / EVS | No separate book | Our Wondrous World | Looking Around |
| Art Education | - | Bansuri | - |
| Physical Education and Well-being | - | Khel Yoga | - |
Two things are worth noting. NCERT has retired the old Class 1 and 2 English and Hindi titles outright, but continues to host both new and old books for Classes 3, 4 and 5, so schools legitimately differ. And there is no NCERT EVS book before Class 3, because at Classes 1 and 2 those concerns are integrated into language and mathematics rather than taught separately.
The subject itself has been renamed. What most parents and timetables call EVS is The World Around Us in the newer framework - an interdisciplinary area covering the natural world and the social world together. More on that on the Class 3 page.
The learning outcomes, and why every parent should read them
NCERT publishes a document called Learning Outcomes at the Elementary Stage, covering Classes 1 to 8 in Mathematics, EVS, the languages, Science and Social Science. It is the single most useful school document most Indian parents have never opened, because it says in plain sentences what a child should be able to do by the end of each year.
A few examples, straight from it:
- Class 1 English - recognises letters and their sounds A to Z; writes simple words such as fan, hen, rat.
- Class 2 English - composes and writes simple, short sentences with space between words.
- Class 3 Mathematics - constructs and uses the multiplication facts of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 in daily life situations.
- Class 4 Mathematics - multiplies two- and three-digit numbers; works with fractions and shows equivalence.
- Class 5 Mathematics - divides using standard algorithms; converts fractions into decimals and back.
Two cautions. The document itself says the outcomes are not prescriptive and may be contextualised, so a school going a little further or a little differently is not breaking a rule. And the outcomes are not always aligned with other official targets - NIPUN Bharat expects Grade 3 children to handle numbers up to 9999, where NCERT's Class 3 outcome caps at 999. If your school and your tutor quote different targets, that is why.
Our own progression is built from these outcomes, which is what lets a progress note say what a child can now do rather than what percentage she scored.
PARAKH and the Holistic Progress Card
PARAKH - Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development - is a constituent unit of NCERT, established in February 2023 under the National Education Policy. It works on assessment standards, runs large-scale achievement surveys, and designs the Holistic Progress Card.
The Holistic Progress Card is the thing parents are most likely to encounter. It is a report card built to capture a child's progress across several curricular elements from competency-based, multidisciplinary activities, rather than as a column of marks. Cards have been published for the Foundational, Preparatory, Middle and Secondary stages, with the Foundational Stage card covering Balvatika to the end of Grade 2. It incorporates self-assessment, peer feedback and parent feedback alongside the teacher's observations.
If your school has replaced the familiar marks sheet with something that asks for your input and describes what your child can do, this is what it is. It is disorienting at first - there is no number to compare with last term - but it is a much better description of a seven-year-old than a percentage.
It also fits the assessment position NCF-SE 2023 sets out: explicit tests and examinations are inappropriate at the Foundational Stage, while short formal written assessments become appropriate from the Preparatory Stage, which begins at Class 3.
How we use NCERT in our own teaching
NCERT sits underneath everything we teach, in three specific ways.
- As the progression. Our sequence in reading, number and writing is built from the class-wise learning outcomes, so a child who is behind can be placed accurately rather than by guesswork.
- As the book. Whether your school issued Santoor or Marigold, Maths Mela or Math-Magic, classes work from what your child has in her bag.
- As the language of progress. A monthly note that says a child can now infer the meaning of an unfamiliar word from context tells you something. A note that says 72% does not.
What we do not do is treat the outcomes as a ceiling. They are described in the document itself as not prescriptive, and a child who is ready to go further should. Equally, a child who has not reached them is not failing - she is where she is, and the point of the document is to make that visible early enough to do something about it.
You can see how this plays out class by class on the Class 3 and Class 5 pages, or start with online tuition for Class 1 to 5.
How NCERT students are actually taught here
We do not teach a board. We teach the books your school issued, in the sequence it is working through, with our own progression underneath so that gaps get caught even when the class moves on.
- Our own scope and sequence is built from NCERT's class-wise learning outcomes
- We teach from whichever NCERT edition your school issued, new titles or old
- Classes 1 and 2 follow the Foundational Stage approach - oral, concrete, no marks
- Classes 3 to 5 add the short written assessment NCF-SE calls appropriate at that stage
- Progress notes describe what a child can now do, in the language of the outcomes
Rates for group and one-to-one classes are on the fees page, and there are free printable worksheets whether or not you ever book a class.
The other three, for comparison
Written the same way - from each body’s own published documents, and equally clear about what it does not decide.
NCERT, honestly answered
Is NCERT a board? Which board is my child in if she uses NCERT books?
NCERT is not a board. It is an autonomous organisation that writes textbooks, builds the national curriculum frameworks and trains teachers, and it conducts no board examinations at all. Your child's board is whichever body her school is affiliated to - CBSE, CISCE or a state board. Many of them use NCERT books, which is where the confusion comes from.
Why has my child's NCERT book changed name?
NCERT has been replacing its primary titles as the new curriculum frameworks roll out. Joyful Mathematics, Mridang and Sarangi replaced the old Class 1 and 2 books, and Maths Mela, Santoor, Veena and Our Wondrous World are the newer Class 3 to 5 titles. NCERT still hosts the older Marigold, Rimjhim, Math-Magic and Looking Around books, so schools legitimately differ.
Where can I download NCERT books for free?
NCERT publishes them on its own site and through ePathshala, and material is also carried on DIKSHA. All of it is free and legal. It is worth downloading your child's book yourself, because it lets you see what is actually coming next rather than finding out from a test, and it costs nothing.
What are NCERT learning outcomes, and should I read them?
They are plain-language statements of what a child should be able to do by the end of each class, published for Classes 1 to 8 across the main subjects. They are the most useful school document most parents never open. The document itself notes they are not prescriptive, so treat them as a map of the year rather than a checklist to enforce.
What is the Holistic Progress Card my school has started using?
It is a report card designed by PARAKH, a unit of NCERT set up in 2023, that describes progress across several curricular elements instead of giving only marks. Cards exist for each stage of schooling and include self-assessment, peer feedback and parent input. It feels strange without a percentage to compare, but it describes a young child far more accurately.
My child's school does not use NCERT books at all. Is that allowed?
Yes, at primary level. CBSE only strongly advises NCERT or SCERT books for Classes 1 to 8, and CISCE prescribes no textbooks at all up to Class 8. State boards publish their own. What matters is whether the books cover the outcomes, which is exactly what the NCERT learning outcomes document lets you check for yourself.
Send us your child's book list. We plan around it.
One free live class first, with no card and nothing to cancel. Afterwards you get an honest note on what the teacher actually noticed.
- You tell us the class, board and what is going wrong.
- We match a teacher who has taught exactly that, and send you a time.
- A free 20-minute assessment. Sit beside your child if you like.
- No card, no commitment
- Live classes, never a crowd
- The same teacher every week