Karnataka govt urges NCERT to introduce chapter on groundwater conservation in school curriculum
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has urged the Centre and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to introduce a dedicated chapter on groundwater conservation and management in the national school curriculum, citing growing concerns over water scarcity and climate change.
Announcing the development on Friday, Karnataka Minor Irrigation and Science & Technology Minister, N.S. Boseraju, said the State has formally written to the Central Government seeking the inclusion of a comprehensive “Groundwater” chapter in NCERT textbooks as part of the curriculum revisions being prepared under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
According to the minister, the existing NCERT Class 10 Social Science textbook ‘Contemporary India-II’ contains a chapter on water resources, but its focus remains largely on surface water, while groundwater receives limited attention despite being India’s most critical freshwater resource.
Boseraju stated that nearly 97 per cent of the liquid freshwater available on Earth exists as groundwater, while around 50 per cent of domestic water usage and nearly 25 per cent of agricultural dependence in India rely directly on groundwater sources.
He warned that climate change, declining surface water availability and increasing water consumption are placing severe pressure on groundwater reserves across the country.
The Karnataka government, in its communication to the Centre, has highlighted that over-exploited, critical and semi-critical groundwater zones have increased significantly over the past two decades in India, while groundwater quality has continued to deteriorate due to contamination and unsustainable extraction.
The Karnataka government has argued that groundwater literacy should begin at the school level to effectively tackle future water insecurity.
Drawing comparisons with international education systems, 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.
Karnataka has urged NCERT to incorporate 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 (NCFSE 2023).
Among the topics proposed for inclusion are rainwater harvesting, managed aquifer recharge technologies, nature-based solutions such as constructed wetlands and green roofs, aquifer mapping, groundwater modelling, and the use of advanced monitoring systems including IoT and remote sensing technologies.
Karnataka has also recommended that the curriculum include lessons on national water conservation programmes implemented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, the 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.
“Climate change is steadily reducing surface water availability, making groundwater increasingly critical for survival. Introducing a dedicated and comprehensive chapter on groundwater in the NCERT curriculum is now an urgent national necessity,” Boseraju said.
He added that the Karnataka government was confident that the Centre would respond positively to the proposal.
