According to an educationist, removing modifications made to Kannada textbooks during the BJP's tenure is easier than reversing changes made to history textbooks.
According to officials in the school education department, the Karnataka administration is unlikely to proceed with a thorough revision of textbooks, with only the problematic chapters introduced by the BJP government being eliminated for the current academic year.
Former textbook revision committee head Baraguru Ramachandrappa stated in a meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday that a comprehensive revision of textbooks, particularly for Kannada and social science topics, was not a "practical and viable" option for the time being.
Ramachandrappa went on to say that only the contentious lessons should be replaced with new ones. It was also suggested that for the current academic year, a circular describing clarifications and chapter replacements be given to schools.
Some educators believe the chapter on RSS founder K B Hedgewar, as well as writings by right-wing ideologues such as Chakravarthy Sulibele, Bannanje Govindacharya, and others, should be removed.
"I have suggested the government remove controversial chapters and not go for a full textbook revision at this point," Ramachandrappa told The Indian Express. It is neither feasible or practical to revise the entire textbook. It is a lengthy procedure. Instead, the government can identify contentious lessons and remove them from the school year. Such lessons should not be used as exam preparation."
Ramachandrappa also urged that the government refer to past textbook revision groups' revisions. "The government does not need to form a separate committee." They can replace the contentious chapters with those recommended by prior textbook revision committee chairs. The chapters that have been omitted or replaced can be mentioned in a circular and distributed throughout the schools. As a result, teachers will know what to teach and what to drop," he continued.
There were rumours that Ramachandrappa might be reappointed to the textbook revision committee. "I was only consulted by the government on how to go about revising the textbooks," he stated. I discussed my concerns with the chief minister, and he seemed to agree with my recommendations. Furthermore, I have no desire to serve as the chairman of the textbook rewriting committee. Allow others the opportunity to assume responsibility."
"It is slightly easier to review and drop lessons in Kannada because only chapters have been changed," said educationist Niranjanaradhya V P, who is working on making suggestions to drop some of the problematic teachings. However, throughout history, past governments have modified sentences and terms that are difficult to recognise and reverse. To determine the differences, we must compare prior years' textbooks with current textbooks."
The school year has already begun, and pupils at public schools are taking bridge courses. Textbook instruction is not planned to begin until after the bridge courses are completed on June 15.
One of the many poll promises made by Congress during its election campaign was textbook modification. Since the BJP government chose right-wing ideologue Rohith Chakrathirtha as chairman of the textbook review committee, the issue has been in the spotlight. Chakrathirtha, who had previously been charged for insulting the state anthem, was accused of "saffronising" textbooks by incorporating works by right-wing ideologues while excluding works by notable writers such as P Lankesh and Sara Aboobacker.
