On Thursday, the Karnataka government reportedly halted its decision to drop chapter on Tipu Sultan from the class 7 curriculum in the State. Besides, the chapter on the ruler has also been retained in the syllabus for class 6 and class 10.
As per reports, the Education Minister S Suresh Kumar informed that the proposal to drop the chapter on the 18th-century tyrant of Mysore will be finalised after estimating the remaining days in the current academic year. An official statement, regarding the issue, read, “On the instructions of primary and higher education minister, the announcement on the revised syllabus (is) on temporary hold. After reviewing the trimmed lessons, details will be announced on the website.”
According to Madde Gowda, the managing director of Karnataka Textbook Society, a committee comprising of history experts were tasked to recommend ways to reduce the syllabus for the current academic year, as schools and educational institutes had been shut until August 31. “The syllabus for classes 1-10 was reduced to 120 days from 240 days for the academic year, as 60 days (June and July) have already gone without schools reopening due to the COVID spread,” he was quoted as saying.
At the time the decision was taken to drop the chapter due to the Coronavirus pandemic and schools remaining shut, Madde, talking about the removal of several chapters from the textbooks, had said, “The chapter on Tipu Sultan for Class 7 has been dropped to reduce the syllabus by 30 per cent for this academic year due to delay in reopening of schools due to no let-up in coronavirus spread.”
Karnataka Education Minister gives assurance to stakeholders
The Education Minister assured that no content will be removed from the curriculum without the consent of stakeholders. He further informed that teaching modules are being created to specially cater to the new form of digital teaching.
Besides Tipu Sultan, the Karnataka government had also dropped chapters on the Indian Constitution, Jesus Christ, Prophet Mohammed, and the history of Mughals and Rajputs. Reportedly, the move had drawn criticism from several quarters, including the Opposition parties, teachers, and students.
Karnataka CM BS Yeddyurappa had earlier claimed of removing references to Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan has been a polarizing figure in the state of Karnataka where people’s opinions about him range from him being a fierce freedom fighter to a tyrannical despot. Last year, chief minister of Karnataka, BS Yediyurappa had asserted that his government was contemplating expunging references to Tipu Sultan from textbooks. Yediyurappa said that Tipu Sultan was not a freedom fighter and he doesn’t deserve a place in the school textbooks.
