NCERT textbooks to now have QR code

Quick Response (QR) Code is a machine-readable code consisting of an array of black and white squares, typically used for storing web-links.

By: Education Desk | New Delhi | Updated: July 22, 2018 2:57:29 pm
NCERT, NCERT books, CBSE The codes are likely to be introduced from the 2019 academic session. (Representational image: Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh)

With the objective of helping students understand chapters better by watching a film or reading additional content on laptops and digital boards, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is all set to introduce QR code in their textbooks. Quick Response (QR) Code is a machine-readable code consisting of an array of black and white squares, typically used for storing web-links or other information for reading by the camera on a smart-phone, PTI reported.

“We have started the process of identifying relevant supplementary material including videos, animations, power point presentations, maps and e-content,” a senior NCERT official said.

“These will be mapped with the content of each textbook from class 1 to 12 and will be linked with QR code, which will be printed in the textbooks,” the official added. The codes are likely to be introduced from the 2019 academic session by when the required content would have been generated, added PTI.

Also, the council is likely to consider a proposal to revise textbooks for young children to include identification of male and female genitalia. The move comes following a study, conducted by medical students of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (MGIMS) in Wardha, indicated absence of adequate school education to raise awareness on child sexual abuse. In 2016, the MGIMS study analysed Class I and II textbooks of the NCERT and found that the syllabus covered ‘human body parts’ but refrained from labelling the genital organs.