Two screenshots is being circulated on the internet to claim that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced chapters on dating and relationships in its value education books.
Who shared it?: Media organisations such as NDTV, Times Now, India Today, Moneycontrol, Times of India, News 18, and Deccan Herald published similar reports.
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: NDTV/Screenshot)
Are these claims true?: No, the claim is misleading. CBSE clarified on its X (formerly Twitter) account that the book is being wrongly attributed to them and mentioned that it was actually published by G Ram Books (P) Ltd.
Team WebQoof spoke to Tency Mangal, Executive Director of the publication, who confirmed that the chapter is a part of their book that focuses on mental health.
CBSE clarified on X: We found a clarification post that was shared on the X account of CBSE which said that the book is being wrongly attributed to them.
The post further said that the contents of the chapter are actually from a book named 'A Guide to Self Awareness and Empowerment' which is authored by Gagan Deep Kaur and published by G Ram Books (P) Ltd.
Towards the end, the post said, "The CBSE neither publishes any books nor recommends books of any private publishers."
What did the publication say?: Team WebQoof reached out to Tency who said, "This is, in fact, our book on mental health and well-being for classes 1-10. It is not published by CBSE or NCERT, as being circulated on the internet."
Tency informed us that the publication is working towards "spreading awareness around mental well-being of students in schools and addressing issues—both traditional and contemporary—which are relevant to adolescents today."
Tency further shared a clarification post shared by the publication on their X account.
The post mentioned that there are other topics highlighted in the book series, including the generation gap, regulating emotions, good touch, bad touch, dealing with depression and anxiety and more.
Conclusion: It is clear that a textbook chapter about dating and relationships is being shared with users falsely attributing it to CBSE.
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