Page 18 - EW JULY PDF

Education News

unemployed graduates. Moreover, it of education institutions and
has moved with alacrity to fulfill its teachers cannot change as
election manifesto promise of rewrit- they are derived from the aims
ing school textbooks to wipe out the of education which emanate
alleged hindutva bias of the previous from the vision of society as
BJP government. On June 17, the presented in the Constitution.
education ministry issued a circular If some chapters are deleted
revoking 18 changes introduced by from textbooks or added, it is
its predecessor BJP government in the job of the teacher/educa-
Kannada and English medium social tor to seek out other material
sciences textbooks for children in to achieve the curricular goal.
classes VI- X, prescribed for 78,424 Teachers should not become
state board affiliated schools. hostages to textbooks and
The changes include removal that’s why NEP 2020 suggests
of a chapter on RSS (Rashtriya Bangarappa (left): additional booklets use of a variety of material,”
Swayamsevak Sangh) founder Dr. advises B.S. Rishikesh,
Keshav Baliram Hedgewar and an hindutva ideology were introduced. Head — Hub for Education, Law, and
essay authored by right-wing activist Undeterred by criticism from opposi- Policy at the Azim Premji University,
Chakravarti Sulibele. A letter written tion parties and academics, the BJP Bengaluru.
by former prime minister Jawaharlal government (2019-2023) went ahead This is good advice. But it requires
Nehru to his daughter Indira Gandhi, with its textbook revision exercise massive teacher training and upgra-
and chapters on vedic culture, rise of and new textbooks were printed and dation — not yet on the new govern-
new religions, human rights, women distributed to students for the aca- ment’s radar. Meanwhile, in a break
freedom fighters are among seven demic year 2022-23. Now, the newly from the tradition of appointing state
new introductions. elected Congress government has government bureaucrats, the new
However, with the new academic revoked these changes. Congress government has appointed
year having already commenced on The revision/rewriting of text- Subha Kalyan from the IAS cadre,
May 31, and textbooks printed and books by the new Congress govern- as head of the Karnataka Textbooks
dispatched (with the old content) to ment after commencement of the Society. According to sources in the
all government and aided schools new school academic year in June, education ministry, her first brief is
statewide, Madhu Bangarappa, has not found favour with academics to ensure the 18 textbook revisions
the newly inducted minister for and private schools in the state. “We are incorporated and the textbook
school education, announced that the are one month into the new academic addenda (booklets) are distributed to
revised content will be printed and year. The first formative assessment class VI-X students followed up by an
distributed as additional booklets. is scheduled for July. We have no extensive textbook rewriting exercise.
The backstory to the textbooks idea when these booklets will come. Yet even as teachers juggle text-
revision row is that in September All this confusion is sure to disrupt books and revision booklets, the sil-
2021, BJP education minister S. teaching-learning,” says T. Lokesh, ver lining is that children will become
Suresh Kumar constituted a 15-mem- president, Registered Unaided Pri- acquainted with both points of view.
ber Textbook Revision Committee vate Schools Association (RUPSA), Reshma Ravishanker (Bengaluru)
(TRC) headed by Rohith Chakrat- which has a membership of 13,000
irtha, a Kannada language novelist budget private schools statewide. WEST BENGAL
and staunch BJP and sangh parivar With newly elected governments
(RSS/BJP family) supporter. Seven at the Centre and states decreeing Governor-government
months later, the TRC submitted its revision of school texts to reflect their
report and recommended changes ideological biases as soon as they are sparring
in Kannada and English social sci- elected, educationists recommend
ence texts. Chapters on Mysuru’s that schools and teachers reduce de- nder provisions of the Consti-
heroic Muslim ruler Tipu Sultan, pendency on textbooks for teaching- tution of India and well-es-
social reformer Basavanna, Dravid- learning. “The National Education Utablished conventions, just as
ian movement pioneer Periyar and Policy 2020 clearly states that text- the President of India, the ceremonial
social reformer Narayana Guru, who books are one among many resources Head of State, is obliged to act on the
opposed the caste system, written to be used to achieve curricular objec- advice of the council of ministers, i.e,
in previous textbooks, were excised, tives. All political parties have their the Central government, similarly the
and new chapters eulogising RSS/ agendas, but the curricular objectives Governors (appointed by the Central

18 EDUCATIONWORLD JULY 2023