Lesson units that deal with Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan and some sections on the Indian Constitution are among the casualties as Department of Public Instruction has reduced syllabi by 30% on Monday, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic and disruption in the 2020-21 academic calendar.
The reduced and revised syllabus has been uploaded on the Karnataka Text Book Society (KTBS) website http://www.ktbs.kar.nic.in/ reduction-en.asp . The syllabus has been reduced to 120 working days for Classes 1-10, assuming that schools are going to reopen by September 1.
Among the lessons truncated in Social Studies are Chapter 5 of Class 7 that deal with Haider Ali, Tipu Sultan, historical places of Mysuru, and the administration of Commissioners. Citing reasons, the document says that it has been ‘limited’ as the the unit requires ‘no separate class, and they can be introduced through assignments, PPTs regarding the same can be made’. Again, in Chapter 4 of Class 10, units on Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan, Rebellion of Halagali Bedas and Rebellion of Kittur Chenamma-Rayanna are said to be taught through ‘project and chart preparation’. Earlier, the Department had set up a committee to study the possibility of dropping lessons on Tipu Sultan, following a demand by a section of BJP leaders. However the committee had overruled this.
Chapters on the Drafting Committee of the Constitution and salient features of the Constitution have been dropped for Class 7 as ‘pupils will study the same in Class 9’. Also ‘entire lessons’ on Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed have been dropped in Class 6 since they are taught in Class 9. According to the uploaded documents, chapters, units and sub-units have been dropped or limited taking various factors into consideration. Some chapters have been dropped as students study them in the higher classes, some have been dropped as they will be given as home assignments. Alternate methods to make up for the loss of learning deleted chapters or units have also been mentioned.
M.P. Made Gowda, MD, KTBS, said the decision had been taken after interactions and deliberations with members of the textbook committee, subject experts, DSERT officials and teachers.
Criticism
Some experts are not happy with the reduction of 30% syllabus for all classes and are also not happy with a few omissions and cutting down.
V.P. Niranjan Aradhya, fellow, Centre for Child and the Law, National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, expressed concerns over 120 working days for all the classes. “They should have considered more hours for higher primary and secondary classes as we have time till May 2020. It is not that the exams should get over in March itself,” he said. He said that a blanket 30% reduction across all classes was “unscientific and illogical.” “They should have had a proportional cut in syllabus for primary, higher primary and high school with 30%, 20%, and 10% respectively as higher school students can cope,” he said. “Learning is not independent but continuous. If students are not given proper basics, then they will not be able to critically analyse it in higher classes,” he said.
