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Desaffronisation of educational system |
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During the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government, the saffronisation of the education system was one of the major issue that was raised by the Congress. Now it is turn of the NDA to protest against Union Minister for Human Resource Development Arjun Singh’s move to reverse the process of educational reforms in the name of “desaffronisation.”
Former Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Murli Manohar Joshi has said that his party would oppose any effort by the Congress-led Government at the Centre to undo the changes made in the country’s education system during his tenure. His successor, Arjun Singh, had hinted at plans to undo educational reforms ushered in by the previous NDA Government. The issue would be taken up for discussion at the coming BJP national executive meeting in Mumbai.
Joshi wanted to know what Singh exactly meant by “saffronisation of education.” He only took steps to correct “distortions” in history written during the British period to project India as a defeated nation. Contents to provide value-based education were introduced in the curriculum on the basis of recommendations made by a committee set up during an earlier Congress Government and efforts were made to make technical education affordable to students belonging to the weaker sections of society.
“Now, Arjun Singh has indicated the Government would totally commercialise education by allowing market forces to take control of the system and make changes in textbooks to suit the ideology of Leftists,” Joshi said, adding that intellectuals would never accept these efforts.
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