Journal Guidelines

1. Editorial Policy

• Only authentic and unpublished manuscripts based on original research or innovative work should be submitted for consideration in NCERT journals.
• Authors have a responsibility to ensure the originality of their work and to confirm that the manuscript has not been submitted or published elsewhere simultaneously.
• They must also respect the rights of other authors and avoid any form of copyright infringement. References taken from the scholarly sources must be cited properly.
• If a manuscript is based on a project or an assignment, the authors must include proper citations and obtain permission from the relevant departments and institutions. This is necessary to prevent the violation of third-party rights.
• Authors must submit a similarity report along with certificate that confirm the originality of the submitted paper.
• In case of more than one author the Editorial Board will communicate only with the corresponding author regarding all decisions.
• The selection of manuscripts for the journals follows a rigorous double peer review process, as outlined in the policy, in order to maintain the quality of publications.
• The views expressed by individual authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of the journal, the views of Academic Editors, or that of NCERT.
• Receipt of a manuscript from author must be acknowledged by the Academic Editor.

2. Review Policy

School Science journal follows a stringent double-peer review process for evaluation of the submitted manuscripts. At the preliminary stage, the manuscripts will undergo a blind screening by a team of subject experts overseen by the editorial committee. Based on the preliminary screening and evaluation of the similarity reports submitted by the author(s), the manuscripts are shortlisted. The selected manuscripts are then sent to the reviewers for blind review. In case of a tie (one positive and one negative review), the paper should then be sent to a third reviewer, who holds a comparatively senior position in terms of academic credentials. The third reviewer's comments will be the basis for a decision to either accept or reject the paper. The comments and suggestions of the reviewers are conveyed to the authors for further course of action, if any. The final version of the manuscript, as revised by the author(s) incorporating the suggestions of the reviewers, is considered accepted for publication in the School Science journal.

3. Publication Ethics Statement

School Science journal follows the publication and ethical standards set by the UGC and Ministry of Education (MoE) and so respect academic honesty and maintain the quality of research. It is mandatory to acknowledge funding agencies as well as the parent organisation, while the manuscript is prepared on the basis of such professional engagements in research activities. Therefore, manuscripts submitted for consideration in the School Science journal must be authentic, unpublished, and based on the original research or innovative work. The journal also follows the research ethics guidelines framed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) for promoting ethical practices and supporting high standards in scholarly publications. Before submitting manuscripts to the School Science journal, authors are encouraged to read and comply with the COPE guidelines accessible at https://publicationethics.org/getting-started/what-publication-ethics (What is publication ethics? | COPE: Committee on Publication Ethics)

 

AI GENERATED CONTENT POLICY

School Science journal adheres to strict ethical guidelines on the use of AI-generated content. Authors must clearly state if AI-assisted tools were used at any stage of manuscript preparation. The Editorial Board reserves the right to reject any submission if AI-generated content has compromised originality and research integrity. Generally, AI Generated Charts based on the original data and/or images based on related concepts may be declared in advance. Manuscripts containing AI-generated text without proper human oversight and authorship verification will not be accepted.

 

Allegations of misconduct

The journal shall investigate:

• Plagiarism, data fabrication/falsification
• Undisclosed conflicts of interest
• Inappropriate authorship credit
• Peer review manipulation.

 

Action on misconduct

Depending on severity:

• Rejection or retraction of the article
• Notification to the author's institution or funding body
• Banning authors from future submissions
• Banning of reviewers from future review assignments

4. Correction, Complaint and Retraction Statement

 

Complaint Handling:

The School Science journal policy adheres to establish a clear and transparent grievance

redressal mechanism for:

• Authors disputing editorial or peer-review decisions
• Reviewers raising concerns about misconduct
• Readers reporting ethical issues in published articles

 

Steps in the grievance process:

Submission of Complaint: Through email at school.science@yahoo.com

Initial Review: The editorial team acknowledge receipt and conducts a preliminary evaluation

Possible actions: Correction, apology, retraction, or revision of editorial decisions

Appeal: Complainant may escalate unresolved issues to an external body (e.g., publisher or COPE, if applicable)

 5. Feedback

Readers of the School Science journal are welcome to report any error(s), misinformation, discrepancy, inaccuracy or any ethical or legal concern. The editorial board of the journal shall be responsible for issuing corrections related to errors, falsification, misrepresentation, discrepancy or inaccurate information reported by the readers. Any correction noted shall appear in the next print issue. However, the digital edition with correctional clause mentioned in the footnote shall be updated.