Karnataka urges NCERT to add groundwater conservation chapter in school curriculum

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has called on the Centre and the NCERT to include a dedicated chapter on groundwater conservation and management in the national school curriculum. Minor Irrigation, Science and Technology Minister N S Boseraju on Friday said the state has formally written to the Central Government seeking the inclusion of a comprehensive "groundwater" chapter in National Council of Educational Research and Training textbooks under the upcoming curriculum revisions aligned with the National Education Policy 2020.

The minister noted that while the existing NCERT Class 10 Social Science textbook, Contemporary India-II, contains a chapter on "water resources," the current curriculum largely focuses on surface water, with limited attention given to groundwater, despite it being India's most critical freshwater resource. "Nearly 97 per cent of the liquid freshwater available on Earth exists as groundwater. Around 50 per cent of domestic water usage and nearly 25 per cent of agricultural needs in India rely directly on groundwater sources," Boseraju said, according to a release issued by his office.

He warned that climate change, declining surface water availability, and increasing water consumption are intensifying pressure on groundwater reserves across the country. The state highlighted in its communication that overexploited, critical, and semi-critical groundwater zones have increased sharply over the past two decades, while groundwater quality continues to deteriorate because of contamination and unsustainable extraction, he added.

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The Karnataka government argued that groundwater awareness must begin at the school level if India is to effectively address future water insecurity. Drawing comparisons with international education models, the state pointed out that school curricula in countries such as the United States already include detailed lessons on groundwater systems, aquifer behaviour, permeability, porosity, groundwater flow, and contamination, the release said. Karnataka has urged NCERT to include similar scientific and practical learning modules in the revised curriculum being prepared for the academic year 2027–28 under the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023.

The state government recommended that the proposed groundwater chapter should include rainwater harvesting and managed aquifer recharge technologies, along with nature-based solutions such as constructed wetlands and green roofs. It also suggested including lessons on aquifer mapping and groundwater modelling, as well as the use of advanced monitoring systems, including IoT and remote sensing. In addition, the chapter should cover national water conservation programmes implemented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Central Ground Water Board, and NITI Aayog.

"Addressing future water scarcity cannot be achieved through infrastructure projects alone. The next generation must understand the real importance of water conservation at the school level itself," Boseraju said. "Climate change is steadily reducing surface water availability, making groundwater increasingly critical for survival," he said, adding that "introducing a dedicated and comprehensive chapter on groundwater in the NCERT curriculum is now an urgent national necessity. We are confident that the Central Government will respond positively to this forward-looking proposal."