Karnataka: Textbook revision put off, Baragur Ramachandrappa can't hide anger

Bengaluru: Textbooks Revision Committee Chairman and noted Kannada litterateur Dr Baragur Ramachandrappa suspects a hidden agenda behind the state government's decision to put off implementation of new textbooks from first to tenth standard by a year and vowed to put pressure on the government to reconsider its decision.

Last week, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Tanveer Sait Said had announced in the  Council that the government would introduce new textbooks from 2018-2019 academic year due to shortage of time. He had told the House that the panel had not submitted its interim report yet.

Mr Baragur told Deccan Chronicle that he saw a sinister design by officials of the education department to postpone the implementation of  new textbooks by one year. This was nothing but an insult to the   committee which worked day and night to complete its agenda. Already 90 per cent of DTP work, finalization of pictures and cover page was over. The copies of new textbooks would be handed over to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on December 8 or 9 in Bengaluru. When this was the situation, nobody knows why Mr Sait had made such a statement in the House, he said.

He said the minister concerned lacked basic knowledge that the textbooks committee would not submit any interim report as it would give only its final report. The department would finalize the tender process in the second or third week of December and then place orders for printing new books which would take one or two months. The classes would commence from June first week. " I want to know whether six months is not sufficient to provide new textbooks  to our kids", he wondered.

Mr Baragur  wanted to know the guarantee  about introducing new textbooks from 2018-2019 as the Assembly election would be held during the same time. The poll code of conduct may come in the way of introducing new textbooks.  The efforts of the committee would go waste if a new party came to power in 2018 and what if they were not ready to introduce the new textbooks?.  

More than politicians  a strong lobby of officials is behind this move, said Baragur adding if the minister had already decided on the issue, why did he meet him recently to know the progress achieved by the committee.  "I will talk to other members of the commiittee before taking a final call. I have written to the CM. I will be meeting him in person to discuss all these developments".

He charged that education department officials were busy getting translation of CBSE Maths and science textbooks into Kannada for ninth and tenth standard students to be introduced from next academic year. An order to this effect had been issued on November18. The idea   was to defeat the purpose of the textbooks committee, he noted.