Kerala   

Education: UDF plans stir

Thiruvananthapuram: The United Democratic Front (UDF) on Tuesday decided to take forward the current agitations by its constituents and their youth and student organisations on various issues relating to the education sector. The Kerala Opposition coalition formally put forward its demand for the withdrawal of the controversial social science textbook for Class VII.

Its MLAs, MPs, senior leaders and workers will stage a dharna in front of the Secretariat on July 15 highlighting the Left Democratic Front government’s ‘wrong’ policies in the education sector. It wanted the government to initiate discussions with all sections that had expressed their objection to the textbook.

Addressing a press conference after a high-power committee meeting, UDF convener P.P. Thankachan said different sections of the Kerala society had opposed the textbook for varied reasons and had already launched agitations of one form or the other. “The UDF cannot shut its eyes to this. The appointment of a committee packed with Left fellow travellers was a prejudiced move and therefore was not adequate enough to solve the issue,” Mr. Thankachan said.

He said the UDF did not have any objections to including the uncontroversial portions in the textbook, but it was particular that school textbooks should have high standards that would enable students in the State stream to compete with those in the CBSE. He said the UDF was opposed to the textbook because its quality was substandard, it distorted history, it did not focus on religious amity and tolerance but emphasised negation of religion. The government had also failed to observe the stipulations of the Kerala Education Rules in relation to publication of textbooks.

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