Karnataka govt puts on hold decision to drop chapters on Tipu Sultan, others in syllabus reduction
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has been forced to put its decision to drop chapters related to controversial 18th century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan on hold, after a major outcry over why important personalities related to the region’s history were dropped.
The Department of Public Instruction had decided to remove Tipu Sultan and his father Hyder Ali from the Class 7 textbooks as part of its move to reduce the syllabus by 30 percent for the COVID-hit academic year 2020-21, which has been brought down to 120 working days according to education department officials.
Other important parts of the curriculum for classes 6-10 that have been removed include entire lessons on the teachings of Jesus Christ and Prophet Muhammad, chapters on the history of the Mughals and the Rajputs, and on the drafting committee of the Constitution and salient features of the Constitution.
However, after the furore, a note was put up on the Karnataka Textbook Society’s website, which read: “Content reduction link for 1-10 classes has been temporarily withdrawn.”
KTS director Madegowda told ThePrint: “Education minister Suresh Kumar has asked us to put this decision in abeyance. We will update the new version in a few days.”
Madegowda acknowledged the furore, saying: “Don’t read too much into this. Tipu Sultan is being taught in Class 6 and 10. So why is there such a hue and cry?”
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
