School textbooks revision will be done this year itself: Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa on Thursday said revision of school textbooks will be done this year itself in the interest of the students.
He said the matter will be soon placed before the Cabinet to seek its consent.
The Congress in its poll manifesto had promised to undo the changes made to school textbooks when the BJP was in power, and had also promised to scrap National Education Policy (NEP).
"The Chief Minister is personally interested in this, it was also clearly mentioned in our manifesto -- of which I was the vice president -- that we will revise the textbook in the interest of the students. Same thing will stand. As we are implementing the guarantees, in the same way in my department we will fulfill what he had said," Bangarappa said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "There are reports in the media that we may not revise this year as the textbooks have already reached the students. No we will do it this year itself by introducing whatever necessary as a supplementary. There is such a system and it has been done several times in the past. We have already begun the work in this regard."
It is also being ensured that there is no burden on the students because of this, he said adding that as "It is still the initial days of the academic year, and as students wouldn't have entered the textbook curriculum yet, this is the time we have to do whatever we have to, of course those chapters (to be omitted) will be there in the textbooks, but teachers will be directed what to teach and what not to."
Noting that based on the experts advice what is necessary for the students will be kept and the unnecessary would be omitted, the Minister without revealing much said, as we are talking, the discussions and meetings are going on in this regard.
"After all these processes are completed, with the guidance of the Chief Minister it will be placed before the Cabinet and once it is passed there, it will be sent to students, keeping their interest in mind," he said.
Bangarappa indicated that the proposal on the textbook revision will be placed before the Cabinet probably when it meets next.
He however did not wish to go into details, when asked about reports stating that plans are on to remove some lessons from textbooks introduced by the previous BJP government, including one on RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar.
There was a textbook controversy during the previous BJP regime, with demands by opposition Congress and some writers for sacking the then textbook review committee chief Rohith Chakratirtha for allegedly "saffronising" school textbooks by including the speech of RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar as a chapter, and omitting chapters on key figures like freedom fighters, social reformers, and the writings of noted literary figures.
There were also allegations of erroneous content on 12th century social reformer Basavanna and certain factual errors in the textbooks, including accusations of disrespecting Raashtra Kavi' (national poet) Kuvempu and distortion of the state anthem penned by him. Initially the allegations were refuted but subsequently rectifications were made in some cases.
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Authorities prepare 50 master trainers to dispel fears about disposal of Carbide waste in Dhar
Dhar (PTI): Authorities in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district on Monday started coaching 50 master trainers about 337 tonnes of Union Carbide factory waste brought to Pithampur for incineration before they set out to spread awareness that the waste is not hazardous.
The state government has gone on the backfoot after the public outcry against waste disposal and two self-immolation bids in the Pithampur industrial area, which witnessed protests earlier this month.
Talking to PTI, Dhar Collector Priyank Mishra said, "We are preparing 50-odd master trainers, including science teachers, professors and officials. They will be informed about the exact status of the waste before they reach out to people to dispel misinformation."
On January 6, the principal bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Jabalpur granted the state government six weeks to act on the Union Carbide factory waste disposal as per the safety guidelines. The authorities had sought time to educate people and dispel their fear about waste disposal following protests in Pithampur.
Mishra said the master trainers will start their outreach on Tuesday, and 50 more master trainers will be roped in.
"We will give presentations via video with content and other mediums to master trainers," he said.
On January 2, the waste, packed in 12 sealed containers, was shifted from the now-defunct Union Carbide factory in Bhopal to the disposal site at Pithampur, located 250 km from the state capital.
It has 700 factories in three sectors.
Hours after it reached Pithampur, protests commenced in the industrial town, around 50 km from the Dhar district headquarters.
The agitators had claimed that the disposal would harm humans and the environment.
On the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, highly toxic methyl isocyanate gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal, killing at least 5,479 persons and leaving thousands with serious injuries and long-lasting health issues.
During a hearing on December 3, 2024, the high court pulled up the authorities for failing to dispose of the waste at the defunct Union Carbide factory.
The court had asked the government to remove and transport the waste from the site within four weeks and warned of contempt proceedings if it failed to act on the directive.
