BENGALURU: In the new academic year, students of classes 1 to 8 in state schools will be forced to study textbooks that have not been reviewed by subject experts. While the textbooks were revised following recommendations made by a review committee headed by Prof Baragur Ramachandrappa, rules mandate that the books be placed in public domain and reviewed by subject experts to remove errors.
Instead print orders for the books have been issued. Now a new committee will be formed in June, when classes have already begun, to scan the books for errors. The BJP has already raised the red flag as the Baragur committee had been formed to “desaffronise” textbooks revised during the BJP regime.
Questioning the hurry to print books without review, BJP MLC Arun Shapur said, “We are not opposing the introduction of new books. Our demand is to give them for review before handing them to students. It is the government’s responsibility to give error-free books to students and we should not give wrong message to students.”
Meanwhile, sources in the education department told Express, “As the print orders have been already given and the textbook revision committee headed by Prof Ramachandrappa did not submit the report about the changes introduced and reasons for the changes, we have been forced to issue print orders for whatever is recommended by the committee.
In June, the same will be reviewed.” Prof Ramachandrappa, however, has disputed the allegation. “As chairman of the committee, I am not answerable to officials or subordinate to them.
I am interacting with the Chief Minister as well as the education minister.” As per Textbook Society norms, before introducing any new or revised books, the same should be reviewed in public and by subject experts and also at department level. State Primary and Secondary Education Minister Tanveer Sait, who is the head of the Society, was unavailable for comment.