Gita to be part of moral education in Karnataka schools from December

The state government will introduce moral education in schools from December that will include the Bhagavad Gita, the Legislative Council was told on Monday.

School Education & Literacy Minister B C Nagesh told the Council that there is no proposal before the government to make Bhagavad Gita a standalone learning component.

He was replying to MLC M K Pranesh who asked what stopped the government from introducing the Bhagavad Gita "when no one is opposed to it".

"There is no proposal before the government to teach the Bhagavad Gita in textbooks, but it will be included in moral education," he said, adding that it would be introduced from December this academic year.

Nagesh said there is no decision yet on the kind of moral education that needs to be introduced. "We will constitute an expert committee that will recommend on moral education. Based on the committee's report, we will decide about what should be taught under moral education," Nagesh added.

According to the minister, students will neither be assessed on moral education nor will there be an exam.

In the March legislature session, lawmakers had demanded that moral education be introduced in schools.

Meanwhile, Nagesh assured the Council that the government would take necessary measures to rectify mistakes in textbooks regarding Indian history.