Author: Rajendra Dixit
Publication: Organiser
Date: July 2, 2006
URL: http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=137&page=31
National Curriculum Framework-2005 (NCF-2005)
is against the wisdom and psyche of the nation. It imposes an outdated materialist
ideology of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries behind the facade of rational
and scientific approach on a nation that aims to send its 21-century generation
to moon and stars of beyond. It negates and in reality violates founding fathers,
Parliament of India and the considered opinion of the Supreme Court on many
counts.
The Constitution Assembly debates tell that
even our founding fathers distinguished between religious education and education
about religions and had accepted the latter. So has the Supreme Court in its
September 12, 2002 judgment. Similarly, S.B. Chavan Committee also maintains
a similar view. There was even a directive to the NCERT to implement the Chavan
Committee report on this issue. But the NCF-2005 absolutely ignores these
values completely. The students would not be able to develop spiritually as
per Gandhiji's dreams. Education would be limited to being an instrument of
mere material, cut-throat competition and valueless social living.
The draft of the NCF-2005 at least mentioned
the names of some Indian thinkers like Aurobindo, Swami Vivekananda, etc (P.97)
but under the unfortunate pressure of leftists, these names were dropped from
the final document. It is a matter of grim concern that the NCERT has not
followed the established procedure in which first the curriculum is framed,
on the basis of which syllabi of various subjects are formed and finally on
the basis of these syllabi the textbooks are written. But now the NCERT authorities
tried to match pre-1999 books to post-2000 syllabus (as they claimed). Moreover,
before a new syllabus formation they began writing new books and the curriculum
framework that should have come first is coming in the end.
The NPE-1986 shows its commitment to the development
of facilities for the intensive study of Sanskrit (5.23, p.26). But the UPA
government's new curriculum tacitly betrays its opposition to the study of
Sanskrit by remaining silent on the matter. Sanskrit has been included in
classical language such as Latin, Arabic, Persian, Tamil. It is against the
Constitution. In other place it has been stated that Sanskrit may be studied
as an MIL. Why this contradiction? The NPE-1986 also underlines the need for
including yoga in all school programmes and paying special attention to it
(8.21, p. 41), whereas the new curriculum document merely lists yoga in school
activities along with games, sports and health education. Nothing has been
said about making any special effort for its development or even on its importance.
The NPE-1986 adequately emphasises the need
for providing special opportunities to the talented and fast-learning children
in order to enable them to learn more and more and maintain the level of excellence
in education, so that Indian students may secure a place among the best students
of the world (5.12, p.21 and 12.2, p.50). However, Curriculum-2005 does not
care for excellence in education, nor does it recognise the talented learners'
educational needs. The NPE-1986 gives clear direction for including Constitutional
obligations (fundamental duties) among the core elements of education (3.4,
p.6). Contradicting this, the new documents lay full emphasis on only fundamental
rights, learning of duties has been willfully ignored.
The NPE rightly considers education to be
an instrument of social and national unity and cohesion, whereas the new framework
is committed to viewing education exclusively from the perspective of the
'deprived groups' in order to make the social and national divisions eternal.
The NPE-1986 expresses a resolve to the new generations not to break away
from their roots of ancient Indian history and culture (8.1, p.35) and reiterates
the determination to encourage young students to discover and interpret India
in their desired manner and from their own perspective (3.7, p. 7). Quite
contrary to this, the new framework presents India in the form of a multinational
country fragmented on the left considerations of caste, groups, class, religion,
etc. It also declares its resolve to do so.
The students would fall a prey to ill will,
prejudice and misgivings because of their constant reading and brooding about
caste, religion, class etc., and would remain involved in social division,
self-condemnation, cynicism, class conflicts, etc.
The Kothari Commission, deemed to be the guiding
light in Indian education, has described education as the most important instrument
of national unity, social cohesion etc. National identity has also been accepted
as being important. As against this, these elements have been driven out of
the new NCERT documents. The NCF maintains studied silence on India's past
glory and ancient fund of knowledge. It focuses on "making education
more relevant to the present day and future needs only."
The late Shri Rajiv Gandhi's slogan 'My India
is Great' (Mera Bharat Mahaan) is not acceptable to the UPA government. It
is committed to picking up black spots and blemishes alone in the political,
religious, cultural and social manifestations of this ancient nation. A paradigm
shift is recommended proposing the study of social sciences from the perspective
of marginalised groups above. It is an extremely divisive and exclusivist
view aimed at further fuelling close conflicts-not helping national cohesion.
The MLL approach is held as being "impractical" and "pedagogically
in sound" (Comprehension 3.17.4, p. 67).
The NCF-2005 projects India to be known as
a fractured too divided, multinational and political country. No alternative
is allowed or tolerated. "Significant changes are recommended with a
view to making education more relevant to the present day and future needs"
(Eco Summary; P.VI). The views about vocational education held so far have
been totally rejected. The school education has been deprived of the vital
sector.
(The author is former joint director of NCERT.)
