Second thoughts on deleting lessons - ANDHRA PRADESH - The Hindu

Second thoughts on deleting lessons - ANDHRA PRADESH - The Hindu

Second thoughts on deleting lessons

• B.V.S. BHASKAR

• The Andhra Pradesh Government has developed cold feet on deleting some lessons relating to Telangana from school textbooks. Last month, on August 22, it had passed an order directing the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) to cut out lessons that contain references to Telangana or Telangana writers and personalities but kept it abeyance on August 31 and withdrew it altogether on September 4.
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• Among the lessons initially sought to be deleted were a eulogy written by former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao on Burgula Ramakrishna Rao, the first Chief Minister of Hyderabad state, and a lesson on the peasants struggle against the Nizam’s rule.
  It all started with Human Resources Development Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao stating that “lessons which are not having native content should be deleted.” Accordingly, the A.P. School Education Department and SCERT Director issued an order (RC. No. 279/B/C&T/SCERT/2014 Dated 22/8/2015) stating that about 17 lessons that are non-relevant, beyond the comprehension of the learners and those having unfamiliar words need not be taught to pupils. The lesson relating to Burgula Ramakrishna Rao was an appreciation titled ‘Nene yerigina Burgula’ written by former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao was to have been scrapped from the class 10 Telugu Text book (page 58-65).
  Similarly, a lesson titled ‘Khanijaalu, ganula tavvakam’ was sought to be deleted from the social studies textbook for Class 8 as it referred primarily to the Singareni coal mines in Telangana.
  Two lessons relating to the history of Nizamate Hyderabad, titled ‘Chinnappude’ and ‘Hyderabad Samsthana Vimochana Dinotsavam’ were both judged to be of no relevance to Andhra Pradesh. Within 12 days of the order, the SCERT director released another note stating, “All the District Educational Officers in the State are hereby informed that there are no changes in the present textbooks from Class V to Class X in all subjects.”
  Minister Srinivasa Rao himself said, “We have not asked to delete any lesson of Telangana from textbooks of Andhra Pradesh.”
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