JAIPUR: The Rajasthan government has announced a major initiative to recast the state’s school curriculum by forming a special review committee.
This decision follows a statement from State Education Minister Madan Dilawar, who highlighted the need to eliminate “undesirable and inappropriate subjects” from the syllabus and align the curriculum with contemporary needs and the national ethos.
Minister Dilawar emphasised the importance of crafting a curriculum that reflects the spirit of the nation and addresses modern educational requirements. Acting on his directive, the state’s school education department has begun the review process, intending to identify and address gaps in the existing syllabus.
Known for his controversial remarks, Minister Dilawar had announced plans to add information about cows to the primary school syllabus in October. He had also said that schools should screen educational films on cows to enhance students' understanding.
"We will talk to scholars and experts and, if possible, will try to add information on cows in primary school books," he said.
Similarly, in September, Dilawar had said that any textbook depicting Mughal ruler Akbar as "great" would be burned. He had claimed that Akbar had looted the country for years and was a rapist and hence no one in textbooks in Rajasthan should call him a "great personality".
The newly formed review committee will thoroughly assess the curriculum and recommend improvements to ensure it meets both cultural and historical standards while staying relevant to current times. The process aims to balance modernization with the preservation of Rajasthan’s heritage.
In a related development, Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari’s remarks on historical inaccuracies have sparked considerable debate. She asserted that the British and Mughals left behind a “distorted history” of Rajasthan, Jaipur, and the Rajputs, which has been taught to students.
“In history, wrong things have been written about the Rajput community. Jaipur, globally recognised due to our ancestor Sawai Jai Singh, has been misrepresented in textbooks. It is time to rectify these mistakes,” she stated.
Kumari further underscored the need to teach the younger generation the “true history” of Jaipur and Rajasthan.
“It is our generation's responsibility to present the authentic history of Jaipur to the world,” she affirmed, pledging to bring historical accuracy to the forefront of education.
On November 14, 2024, a high-level delegation led by Satish Kumar Gupta, Special Officer to the Education Minister, along with Dr. Jagdish Narayan Vijay and Dr. Surendra Godhra, visited New Delhi. The delegation met with NCERT Director Professor Dinesh Prasad Saklani to discuss the legal provisions and guidelines for the curriculum review.
As per an order from the Rajasthan government’s Primary Education (Planning) Department, the review committee will analyse the curriculum, including its content, illustrations, and interpretations. The evaluation will be guided by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the State Curriculum Framework, and the National Curriculum Framework.
The committee is expected to present its findings and recommendations to the Rajasthan State Council of Educational Research and Training (RSCERT) in Udaipur within 30 days. This initiative marks a crucial step in reshaping the state’s educational landscape while addressing historical and cultural narratives in a balanced and thoughtful manner.