Teachers oppose lesson on Rao

NIZAMABAD, OCT 6: The recent conviction of former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao in the JMM MPs' bribery case has put teachers in gover...

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NIZAMABAD, OCT 6: The recent conviction of former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao in the JMM MPs’ bribery case has put teachers in government schools here in a fix. They do not know whether to teach or skip a lesson on the life and works of Rao, included in the school curriculum.

It was decided about two years that the biography of Narasimha Rao, who has held high political offices apart from being acclaimed as a litterateur, should form part of the curriculum for Class VIII students who opt for Hindi as the second language.

An experts’ committee of the Education Department included a lesson on Rao in the Hindi textbook. The lesson focuses on the former prime minister’s mastery over many languages, his literary talents and how he rose to occupy the country’s top political executive post.

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However, following the judgement in the JMM case, teachers are said to be skipping the lesson on Rao. According to some students, they have been saying it would be better not to teach such lessons. But the School Education Department is yet to take a decision on deleting the lesson.

School Education Commissioner Anil C. Punetha told The Indian Express that he had not received any representations for deletion of the lesson so far. “There is a competent board to take decisions on such issues,” he added.

However, sources said the Education Department is very much aware of how the teachers feel on the issue. “We will examine the issue and refer the matter to the academic board soon,” said an official preferring anonymity.

The teachers have been critical of the department for including the lesson ever since Rao’s involvement in various court cases came to light two years ago. “It shows the care with which the curriculum for students is being prepared,” a teacher says.

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Students’ organisations too have opposed the chapter on Rao in the textbook. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and other students’ unions are planning to submit a memorandum to the government seeking deletion of the lesson.