Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has convened a 37-member textbook revision committee with a mandate to assess and recommend changes in the curriculum for Kannada and social science subjects. The government has allotted a three-month window for the committee to compile their findings, with the anticipated implementation of changes beginning in the academic year 2024-2025.
Dr. Manjunath Hegde, a retired history professor, will serve as the chief coordinator of the textbook revision committee. In addition, the government has established sub-committees, each presided over by a senior academician drawn from various universities across Karnataka.
The textbook revision committee’s ambit encompasses a comprehensive review of the curriculum in Kannada and social science subjects. The subjects targeted for revision are as follows first language Kannada textbooks from classes 1 to 10, second language Kannada textbooks from classes 1 to 10, third language Kannada textbooks for classes 9 and 10, curriculum for social science textbooks catering to classes 6 to 10 and social science textbooks for classes 6 to 9.
With an allotted timeline of three months, the newly formed committee is expected to submit its report, paving the way for the incorporation of changes in the upcoming academic year.
This endeavour follows the changes made during the previous BJP government, which had faced criticism for appointing right-wing activist Rohith Chakrathirtha as the chairman of the textbook revision committee.
The addition of chapters on several historical figures, including RSS founder K B Hedgewar, and freedom fighter Veer Savarkar, had sparked debates and allegations of ‘saffronisation’ of the textbooks by the opposition Congress.
The commitment to textbook revision was featured prominently in the Congress’s election manifesto.
It is worth noting that the Congress-led government, after coming to power, had initiated its own changes earlier this year. Among 18 revisions, chapters related to figures like Hedgewar, which were included during the previous BJP government’s tenure, were removed.