The Gujarat government on Thursday announced that Bhagavad Gita will be taught as a part of the school syllabus for classes 6 to 12 from the academic session 2022-23.
The government said that the decision is part of National Education Policy-2020, which emphasises imparting education on India's "rich diversity, ancient and modern culture and knowledge system."
The state education minister Jitu Vaghani first announced the decision in the ongoing state Assembly and later, briefed the media. The minister told reporters, "The values of Gita is accepted by everyone, be it any individual from any religion. The 2020 National Education Policy has also accepted that the values and principles of Gita should be spread. In this background, our education department has done the preparation to introduce Gita in the school syllabus."
Later, a note issued by the government said, "In the academic session 2022-23, Indian culture and knowledge system will be included in school education. In the first phase, from standard 6 to 12 the values and principles of Bhagwad Gita will be introduced in schools in a way that is easy and interesting for students to understand."
The note stated that for classes 6 to 8, the Gita will be introduced in the form of story and recitation in textbooks while for classes 9 to 12, it will be in the form of story and recitation in the first language textbook.
It said that various competitions and creative activities in the form of shlokas, songs, essays, plays, quizzes, among others, will be organised in schools based on the texts of Gita. The students will be provided with key literature, study materials (printed, audio-visual) for classes 6 to 12. The note added that the recitation of Bhagavad Gita will also be included in the school prayers.
Later, Vaghani tweeted in Hindi from his Twitter handle, saying, "India's gift to the world; Knowledge of Gita! In Gujarat, students of classes 6 to 12 will study Gita along with other subjects. I take pride in thinking of the positive impact this decision is going to have in the next generations. Gita in every house; reading in every house."
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