New Delhi: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has come under fire from teachers, students and parents after it failed to provide new textbooks of class 9 for Hindi medium students almost two months into the academic session. While the council announced through a post on 25 April 2026 on X that Class 9 books are available online in PDF format, several core subjects in Hindi medium are still missing from the official portal.Delhi school teachers said the absence of Hindi-medium maths and science textbooks has severely disrupted teaching and left students unsure about syllabus changes, holiday assignments and exam 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 are still deprived of books.According to NCERT, PDF versions of several Class 9 books were uploaded online, including topics in English, Sanskrit, Mathematics and Science in English medium, Hindi, Urdu and Physical Education. However, Hindi medium versions of Maths and Science are still not available on the official website. The teachers also said that the social science book was not uploaded even in English PDF format.A mathematics teacher at a government school in Delhi said the situation was confusing right from the start of the session. “After completing admission to Class 9, I started teaching students from the previous year’s math book as the revised textbook was not available both physically and online. Weeks later, when the English version was uploaded, we found that several chapters and topics had been removed from the syllabus. Work already completed in class became useless overnight and students had to start all over again,” said the teacher.The teacher added that Hindi medium students are now completely dependent on the translated classroom explanations. “Hindi medium maths book is not available yet, not even as a PDF. Every day I am teaching and translating sums, definitions and examples from the English book. Students are asking how they will study during summer vacations when they don’t even have a basic textbook at home,” said the teacher.Teachers question exam preparation.Teachers said the delay could affect performance in exams scheduled soon after schools reopen.“The unit tests are expected in the second week of July and the mid-term exams will be held in September. Students are entering vacations without books, without solved examples and without proper practice material. If NCERT uploads the books in the middle of the break, students will still lose valuable preparation time,” added the maths teacher.A science teacher at a school in Delhi said Hindi-medium students were struggling to cope in classrooms where only English study material was available. “Kids repeatedly ask for a Hindi science book as they cannot fully understand scientific terms from the English version. We are making handwritten notes during class and translating chapters line by line. This should not have happened after the academic year started,” said the teacher.Students say that studies have been disrupted.Hindi medium students also questioned why they were denied access to basic subject books.“English medium students at least have PDF, but we don’t have that either. We are borrowing pictures of pages and sharing them through mobile phones. Maths becomes very difficult when you don’t have the original book in your language,” said a class 9 student from Delhi.Another student said printed copies available through online sellers are expensive and sell out quickly, leaving many students without study materials for weeks after classes begin.
