CHENNAI: Students of Class XI in state board schools in Tamil Nadu will be imparted lessons on the evils of drunken driving from the 2018-19 academic year.
While Class XI students would study about deaths caused by drunk driving in their Tamil book, Plus Two students would learn various traffic violations classified as crimes under the IPC and CrPC and the punishments involved.
Besides learning the impact of bike racing on roads, Plus Two students would be educated on accident insurance and data on deaths due to road accidents in the State in the last one decade in their Tamil books from 2019-20 academic year.
As the State has the dubious distinction of registering the second highest number of deaths in road accidents in the country in the past couple of years, the Tamil Nadu government is to implement an effective syllabus from Classes I to XII, to make students aware of the existing traffic conditions and to improve adherence to road safety rules.
The Sixth State Road Safety Council meeting presided over by Transport Minister M R Vijayabhaskar on Wednesday approved the revised syllabus.
According to the new syllabus, which is to be incorporated in a phased manner in the curriculum of State education board schools, students of Class XI would be taught on use of high beam lights while driving, along with road safety rules and factors leading to accidents.
“While the police wanted to include deaths due to drunken driving to be taught from Class IX, a subject has been added in Class XI with data of accidental deaths due to alcoholic effects. This is after education department officials opposed use of the word ‘drunken driving’ in Class IX books,” said an official in the transport department.
He said Class IX students are to be educated on speed limit of various vehicles, including cars, bikes, trucks and vans, while Class X students are to be educated on road safety rules and seat belts.
“In the syllabus from Classes I to VIII, students would learn all the basics of road safety,” he said.
The transport officials said the existing content of road safety education, which was included in textbooks since 2009, was prepared by Education Department and was not adequate and appropriate enough to make students understand the present conditions.
“The current syllabus with images on road crossings, markings and traffic symbols are at a preliminary level and students need to be informed much more than that,” the officer added.
Acting on the directions of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and Supreme Court Committee on road safety, Tamil Nadu government in 2016 constituted the lead agency and a dedicated team to formulate an effective syllabus on road safety comprising officials from education, transport and highways departments and police officials.
The lead agency has designed the syllabus after having multiple consultations with various stake holders. Subsequently, the Transport Department had sent the syllabus to the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) to incorporate it in the books.
TN Textbook and Educational Services Corporation and Directorate of School Education has informed the Transport Department that the syllabus would be incorporated from Classes I to XII in the next three years.
The new subjects for Classes VI, IX and XI will come into force in 2018-19. For Classes II, VII and XII, it will get the new syllabus from 2019-20. Students of Classes III, IV and VIII will get the new syllabus from 2020-21.