Education plays an important role in shaping the present as well as the future of any country. The basic aim of education is not to form a homogeneous mass but rather to give the learner an ability to decipher things rationally with different set of perspectives. It develops in us a perspective of looking at life with a broad approach. In India, education has always been given its due value since the ancient times. People with merit have always been given primacy over the ones having wealth.
Unfortunately in India, the condition of education has been on a continuous decline and reason being the continuous ignorance on the part of previous governments of which more than 55 years go in the kitty of Congress.
But the present government under Prime Minister Modi with its various schemes such as Samagra Shiksha, Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao etc. is propelling the education in a positive direction and seeks to strengthen education at different levels.
Working on the same lines, the BJP-led Tripura government has decided to do away the legacy of the Communist regime and has embarked upon reforming the education system in the state. The Tripura government has decided to implement NCERT syllabus and remove the long existing syllabus imposed by the Communist government in Tripura.
While addressing the legislative assembly, State education minister Ratan Lal Nath said, “The government will introduce NCERT textbooks and CBSE syllabus from the next academic session in place of the present curriculum prescribed by the State Council of Educational Research and Training.”
A team of NCERT experts is also scheduled to arrive in Tripura on December 3 to impart a three-month-long training to the teachers about the new syllabus, he added.
“We shall introduce complete NCERT textbooks and CBSE syllabus from next academic year, because students in our state are lagging behind the standard of the country. We want them to be as competitive as students of other states,” Nath informed the assembly.
Soon after assuming office in March this year, Chief Minister Biplab Deb in a statement said, “When I say education, I mean quality education and not just numbers. The Communists only wanted the people of Tripura to study Mao (Zedong) and forget our Hindu kings. They removed Mahatma Gandhi from textbooks in government-run schools. I am going to implement NCERT syllabus in all these schools which will also have chapters on Tripura’s history.”
This statement by CM Deb gave clear indications that Tripura government won’t compromise on education and will work towards eradicating the sinister design of Tripura’s state sponsored education. The TBSE, Tripura Board of Secondary Education under the communist regime willingly subverted the secondary curriculum.
Students in Tripura were taught about the Russian, French revolutions and Hitler, there were no chapters or even mention of Subhas Chandra Bose or Rani Laxmi Bai. They read about the theories of Marx and struggle of Europe but were prohibited from learning about Indian kings and the Indian struggle. Chapters on Indian freedom fighters were also willfully excluded; even chapters on Indian constitution were missing from the syllabus.
This iniquitous attempt to alienate young minds from their history by giving a false perception about the cultural and historical heritage is nothing but preposterous. The curriculum also failed to highlight Tripura and its history. With this commendable step taken by the Tripura government, students will now be able to have a holistic curriculum and can imbibe better education.
