BANGALORE: In the interest of the students and to ensure that their minds are not "polluted", the newly appointed Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa has indicated the possibility of revising school textbooks in the days ahead.
Many acclaimed writers and academics urged the Karnataka Government to take immediate action in scrapping the New Education Policy (NEP). They have also urged to revise school textbooks that were modified during the previous BJP regime. The delegation, known as Samana Manaskara (SMO) Okkoota, met with newly designated Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and submitted a memorandum outlining their demands.
The delegation urged for setting up of an expert committee as soon as possible to update these textbooks. "If it takes time, let schools continue using the Baraguru Ramachandrappa committee's revised textbooks."
The delegation said that the NEP was imposed on Kannadigas without their approval by the previous BJP government. The delegation stated that "all changes made in schools and higher education under NEP should be immediately reversed." Madhu Bangarappa, the newly appointed primary and secondary education minister for Karnataka, has made suggestions that school textbooks may need to be revised to protect kids' mental health and prevent them from becoming "polluted." "I served as the vice president of the Congress' manifesto committee, and we made it plain in the platform that textbook modification will take place in the students' best interests. We don't want to contaminate their thoughts," Bangarappa stated.
There shouldn't be any misunderstanding on the part of the government, me, authorities, or the system in this regard since we have already stated that pupils attend schools to receive an education, and we don't want that to be interrupted. We made the pledge, he said. He also said that some of the textbooks for the upcoming school year had already been shipped out, making it difficult to apply adjustments without having a negative impact on the kids' learning. He gave the assurance that the manifesto's promises will be carried out with the help of the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Monday that it is unavoidable to "pollute children's minds through texts and lessons," and that "as the academic year has started, we will discuss and take action so that the education of the children is not disturbed."
Bangarappa said having held preliminary discussions with the Chief Minister and expressed intentions to form a panel to facilitate further actions in the education department. A cabinet meeting is slated for June 1, and on that day, things "might take shape for him to share more information," the man said. "I can't divulge much on this at the moment," he said.
Karnataka experienced textbook disputes under the previous administration, with the opposition Congress and certain authors pushing for the dismissal of Rohith Chakratirtha, the head of the textbook review committee at the time. Critics said that school textbooks were becoming "saffronized" since they included a chapter on the speech of RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar but left out chapters on notable writers, independence fighters, and social reformers.
More complaints were made over misinformation about social reformer Basavanna and the state anthem's distortion by national poet Kuvempu. Although these accusations were first denied, in several cases, they were later corrected.
Bangarappa gave the assurance that "you will get answers for this in the days to come" in response to the Congress party's intentions to abandon the National Education Policy. Just yesterday, I was given the department's duties.
There have also been allegations of erroneous content on twelfth-century social reformer Basavanna and certain factual errors in the textbooks, including accusations of disrespecting "National Poet" Kuvempu and distortion of the state anthem written by him. Initially, the allegations were refuted but subsequently, rectifications were made in some cases.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath speaks with students of IIT
