NEW DELHI: "Every child in Delhi will be a patriot in the true sense,” Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday while unveiling the AAP government’s ‘Deshbhakti Curriculum’ at Chhatrasal Stadium on the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.
“In the last 74 years, we taught physics, chemistry and maths in our schools but did not teach ‘deshbhakti’ to the children. Patriotism is within all of us but it needs a push. Today we only feel patriotic while raising the Tricolour or singing the national anthem. The problem is it only props up when we do something of this sort,” Kejriwal said, adding an environment should be created where all children constantly feel patriotic at every step we take.
“Patriotism has to be a continually evolving feeling within all of us.”
The aim is to also develop ‘deshbhakt professionals’.
“We will continue to support all kinds of education but we will add a touch of patriotic values to them. We will develop ‘deshbhakt’ doctors, lawyers, engineers, actors, singers, artists, journalists and so on.”
The curriculum was prepared by the state government school teachers, with inputs from NGO partners and experts.
Three cohorts
The ‘Deshbhakti Curriculum’ will be rolled out from nursery to Class 12 when schools reopen. Facilitator’s handbooks have been designed for three cohorts — nursery to class five; classes six to eight and classes nine to 12 — and these will be used to inculcate patriotism in the students through simple activities.