Bengaluru: An ongoing tussle between the BJP and affiliated organisations and the Text Book Revision Committee, headed by Prof. Baraguru Ramachandrappa, over the revised syllabus is all set to make 15 lakh students across the state victims.
Sources said that unless the state government brings about rapprochement between the two sides, textbooks may not be released on time for all the students across the state.
They said that as per the original schedule, the government was supposed to release the revised draft copies of various textbooks by January 15 for printing. But till now, no order has been issued, nor has the state government made it clear whether it will accept the revised drafts submitted by the Text Book Revision Committee.
Officials in the Department of Education said that the 2017-18 academic year is expected to start from the last week of May 2017 in all the state syllabus schools. “At least four months are needed to proofread the texts, hold public discussions, revise the texts if required and print the textbooks. But till now, no decision has been taken by the higher-ups to either print the old textbooks or to opt for the revised textbooks,” an officer said.
“A section of academics has already moved the union government seeking its intervention. It is easy to give a public statement on the implementation of the revised draft. But with the central government directing all the states to give their inputs on the new education policy, it is not easy to implement the new textbooks. Adding to the woes of the state government, BJP leaders are getting ready to take the issue to courts,” he said.
Many feel that in the tussle between the right wing and left wring academics, it is the students of the state syllabus schools who have become the real victims. “CBSE and ICSE have standard textbooks and syllabi. But the state syllabus is tweaked as per the whims and wishes of a handful of activists. These issues will worry the parents and students, and push them towards CBSE/ ICSE schools,” another officer from DPI said.
