Hyderabad: In a clear indication of the current thinking of the Central government, the chapters on Democracy and Diversity, and the challenges of democracy and popular struggles in the Social Science curriculum of Class X will now be only project-based and will be tested in the periodic tests, but will not be part of the board exams, according to a recent circular issued by the Central Board of Secondary Education. This has, predictably, raised an outcry.
The above mentioned chapters have been removed from the main board exam because it was found that students were “overburdened”, according to the curriculum rationalisation meeting of the Human Resource Development ministry.
It was advised that they can be a part of cyclic tests but not of the main board exams.
As a senior CBSE teacher pointed out, on condition of anonymity, “When it is only a project, the interest of the students and the parents will not be required so much When it comes in the main board paper, effort is made to learn the chapters and remember them. But projects are not taken seriously by students or parents.”
The basic tenets of democracy, diversity and its challenges have been part of the history curriculum since independence and give students an understanding of their past and what their country stands for.
Prof Salma Farooqui, who teaches History in Mannu University, said, “Why has it been removed? Was there a logical reason for it? The subjects have been studied by so many students over the years. Were they also “burdened”? Why is it being considered that this present generation will be burdened by these chapters?”
At the age of 14-15 critical thinking is ignited, educational experts say, and by brushing aside so important a subject, the spirit of democracy which has been so important to this country, will be weakened.
Learning about democracy is important, say historians, because it helps us understand the principles of equality, justice, liberty and fraternity. Awareness of these tenets is very important as it shapes the idea of the country and the rights of its citizens. Students learn about the right to education, life, and health, which are extremely important and which are required for all and not just one class of people.
These aspects, state historians, are seeded in these formative years and they help to shape a future citizen. When the seeds are growing, to brush the concept aside on the specious ground that it is ‘overburdening’ the student, shows a shocking disregard for a very vital and integral part of the making of this nation.
