The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) was established for providing academic support in improving the quality of school education in India. The focus of the Council is reflected in its emblem. The three intertwined swans symbolise the integration of three aspects of the work of the NCERT, namely, Research and Development, Training, and Extension. All these functions are tuned to achieve the main objective of improving the quality of school education. The activities taken up by the NCERT include development of curriculum, textbooks and instructional materials, training of the key functionaries and research in various dimensions of school education. The NCERT functions through its eight constituent units, viz. (a) National Institute of Education (NIE), (b) Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET) - both located at New Delhi, (c) Pandit Sunderlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education (PSSCIVE), Bhopal and five Regional Institutes of Education (RIEs) at Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Mysore and Shillong. This National Institution draws on the expertise of as many as 600 members of the faculty located in the network of its constituent units.