A close reading of the Political Science textbook shows that it is complex, moves beyond pat answers, and treats the Constitution as a living document. It was produced in the light of the National Curriculum Framework 2005, which in itself was a major attempt to democratise education, and reverse the National Curriculum Framework 2000 which was casteist and sexist. Kumkum Roy (kumkumr@yahoo.com) is with the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru...
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A disquieting polemic against academic autonomy-Neeladri Bhattacharya
The thrust of Prabhat Patnaik's argument (“Parliament's say extends to the classroom,” The Hindu , May 22, 2012) is clear. It is to declare illegitimate the arguments against government action on the recent textbook controversy. What is this hullabaloo about, Patnaik seems to be saying: what is under threat is not the status of critical pedagogy in the textbooks but the jurisdiction of the Parliament. The larger argument within Patnaik's polemic...
More »Raising some nervous laughs-Hari Vasudevan
Recent events in Parliament concerning a National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbook use of a Shankar cartoon of Babasaheb Ambedkar have correctly drawn outrage and public debate. General outrage has also been correctly expressed at the attack on Suhas Palshikar's office in Pune - apparently for his role as chief advisor of the offending textbook. In his statement, human resource development minister Kapil Sibal has chosen to limit...
More »NCERT likely to review cartoon on Ambedkar by Chetan Chauhan
The HRD ministry is set to ask the NCERT to review a cartoon in a class XI textbook on political science which appears to show Baba Sahib Bhimrao Ambedkar in a bad light and is a reason for anger among dalits. The NCERT had used Shankar's cartoon of Children's Book Trust to indicate that framing of the constitution was a slow process. The cartoon showed Ambedkar sitting on a snail called...
More »Committee to give Maha school laws a full revision by Yogita Rao
School education laws in the state will soon undergo an overhaul. The Maharashtra government has set up a committee to synchronise all laws in school education with the centralRight to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 . Formed recently by the state's school education department, it will be led by a retired Bombay high court judge and will have experts in education. While the committee will look at all laws in...
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