MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, on Tuesday, issued notice to the State government on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed seeking mandatory inclusion of the 108 chapters (Arathupal and Porutpal) of Thirukkural in the curriculum of students from Classes VI to XII.
P Ramkumar, a visually impaired person from Madurai, filed the PIL saying the school education department has not implemented the order passed by the High Court in 2016 to include Thirukkural in the syllabus. "Incorporating the couplets at the end of each book without the explanations will not serve its purpose.
Also, the couplets are not included in the portions for final examination and thus teachers are not giving importance to teaching the couplets," he said. Hearing the plea, a Bench comprising Justices R Mahadevan and J Sathya Narayana Prasad orally criticised the government for failing to implement the court's order. Pointing out the importance of moral education for school children, they issued notice to the authorities concerned and adjourned the case to October 28.