What’s the idea, CBSE?

Democracy Lessons

The decision of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to drop key chapters such as on democratic rights, federalism, secularism and citizenship to reduce the syllabus for classes 9 to 12 for the 2020-21 academic year is an arbitrary and hasty move.

While the rationale behind axing certain chapters has not been explained, the decision, prima facie, appears to be ideologically driven, giving significance to political considerations rather than academics. The cuts seem to be aimed at the essence of democracy.

On July 7, HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal announced that the move to reduce the syllabus was made to help students cope with their studies amid the Covid-19 crisis. According to the updated curriculum (social sciences), the chapters deleted from the Class 10 syllabus are those dealing with democracy and diversity, gender, religion and caste, popular struggles and movements and challenges to democracy.

For Class 11, the deleted portions include the chapters on federalism, citizenship, nationalism, secularism and growth of local governments in India. Class 12 students will not be required to study the chapters on India’s relations with its neighbours -- Pakistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, the changing nature of India’s economic development, social movements in India and demonetisation, among others.

Likewise, various important chapters have been slashed in other subjects, including science, in the process of rationalising 190 topics for classes 9 to 12.

Not surprisingly, the move drew sharp reactions from various sections, including the Opposition parties, academics and parents, with some challenging the decision.

“On the face of it, it appears that there is some ideological element in the choice of what is deleted. How do you optimise learning during this time? You are trying to reduce the investment in education, you are compromising on the learning of students,” Surajit Majumdar, a Professor at the School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, told the news agency PTI.

This is not the way to approach the issue of how to respond to the pandemic, he said, adding that reduction in syllabus does not have to be because of the pandemic but for optimisation of learning.

“Chapters such as ‘popular struggles’ and ‘movements and challenges to democracy’ have their own importance in making the child understand past struggles. The child’s knowledge of these topics must be holistically evaluated. What is being done is not healthy and will have a harmful long-term effect,” Professor Satvinderpal Kaur of the Department of Education, Punjab University, was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

The Opposition parties were quick to react. Congress said the removal of chapters on federalism, secularism, nationalism and citizenship, which are the pillars of Indian democracy, is a crude joke on our democracy and said it was highly condemnable.

Party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said it is unconstitutional and wondered if it is part of a “bigger conspiracy”, saying he would challenge the action in court in his individual capacity.

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury termed the CBSE move as “atrocious” and unacceptable. “Using the pandemic, the Modi government is deleting sections dealing with India’s diversity, plurality, democracy, etc., that uphold our constitutional values,” he tweeted.

He alleged that it is being done to advance the “RSS vision of an exclusivist, theocratic, intolerant, fascistic nation. This is nothing but the destruction of our Constitution.”

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also objected to the CBSE’s decision to drop topics such as citizenship, federalism and partition, appealing to the HRD Ministry not to curtail important lessons at any cost.

Several teachers have expressed concern that the reduction in science syllabus will not only affect the students’ understanding of key concepts but also impact them when they attempt entrance exams such as the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for engineering colleges and National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) for medical colleges.

Instead of removing important topics, they could have been retained as core concepts in the syllabus, if in a shorter form. There is a connection between school education and higher education, and deletion of topics denies students their right to make future choices by limiting their exposure to and knowledge of concepts at an early stage.

The Indian Society of Evolutionary Biologists (ISEB) expressed concerns over the scrapping of key topics such as reproduction in organisms, anatomy of plants and animals, pollution, climate change and its mitigation. “A direct consequence of our long-standing neglect of ecology and evolution in our biology curricula and research programmes is the relative paucity of epidemiologists in India. This renders the removal of most of evolution and ecology, including systematics and diversity of life, from the syllabi of classes X to XII as dangerously tragic,” the ISEB said in a statement.

A Bengaluru educator and writer, Juliana Lazarus, has launched an online petition urging the CBSE and the HRD Ministry to reverse the decision.

Twitter users were quick to vent their response. “In Dictator Modi’s New India, students are not needed to read ‘democracy and diversity, popular struggles, and movements and challenges to democracy,” said one.

“Chapters on democracy and diversity dropped to ‘lessen the burden’ on students. Next up: Dropping democracy to ‘lessen the burden’ on citizens”, said another.

Following the uproar, the CBSE sought to allay fears, saying it is only a one-time measure to reduce the stress of students and that the topics being mentioned “as dropped are either being covered by the rationalised syllabus or in the Alternative Academic Calendar of NCERT.”

At this point, there is a lot of uncertainty and no one knows when this pandemic will be brought under control or when normalcy will be restored. A one-time measure could well continue year after year. The government not only needs to explain the rationale as to why certain topics have been chosen to be dropped from the syllabus but seek appropriate feedback from all stakeholders.

Given the significance of the topics dropped and the ramifications of the move, in the interest of students and education and for the future of the largest democracy in the world, it is imperative that the government reconsiders its decision.

(The writer is a senior journalist and author/editor of three books on Bengaluru)