The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : KPCC panel finds flaws in textbook

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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

KPCC panel finds flaws in textbook

Special Correspondent

Chairman of the panel M.G.S. Narayanan

Thiruvananthapuram: An expert committee on the Kerala Curriculum Framework, appointed by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, has found shortcomings in its prima facie evaluation of the class VII textbook.

Addressing a press conference, committee chairman Prof. M.G.S. Narayanan, Prof. Hridaya Kumari, Dr. Sreedevi, former Principal of Government Training College, Thiruvananthapuram, and Dr. G Valsala, former Principal of Government Training College, Thrissur, felt that the textbooks were prepared in haste and a better product could have been brought out through extensive discussions among academics, teachers and others concerned.

The committee members said that there was hardly any content that encouraged students to seek knowledge.

It did not provide the pleasure of reading. Since the government had decided to go for a comprehensive reform of the curriculum, more preparations should have been made to avoid the pitfalls related to such activities. A cursory reading revealed that even though a new and refreshing approach was discernible, it had not been enriched by the beauty of language.

Prof. Narayanan, wondering what kind of change could be made to the textbook now that academic year had begun, said that the current controversy revolved around the religious aspects. But this was only one aspect of the issue.

The committee would hold a detailed evaluation of the Kerala Curriculum Framework, the teachers’ handbook and the textbook. Prof. Hridaya Kumari said the English version of the textbook was not English and the big gap between the SCERT and NCERT textbooks was quite evident.

The textbooks had been prepared in a spiralling manner and it was difficult to comment only on the Class VII textbook. The textbooks of classes V, VI and VIII also need to be evaluated to arrive at a fair judgement. Dr. Sreedevi said that the English translation was insufficient and the critical pedagogy that the book purported to promote would be unable to prevent the loss in transmission of knowledge.

Dr. Valsala, who was a member of the Kerala Curriculum Committee for Mathematics and Science, said that the book did not have the content that would impart knowledge. The selection of topics appeared to be deliberate and biased. Prof. Narayanan did not want to go into the merits of the arguments put forward by the opponents of the book till the committee got an opportunity for a comprehensive evaluation. He hoped to submit the report within three weeks. The committee would decide on the procedures to be adopted for evaluating the textbooks, he said.

Some of the committee members could not make it to the first sitting owing to other pre-occupation. Those who attended the session on Friday included Dr. Jaleel, former SCERT director, Dr. George Onakoor, Director of Encyclopaedic Publication. The others would participate in the upcoming meetings.

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