The logical curriculum is the need of the hour

Priyanka Saurabh *

Overall, the material to be removed from the textbooks is based on a negative perception of India's past and present. This mindset is weak and attempts to change its history by removing only a few things. They couldn't bring a constructive, inclusive, logical, coherent, and student-friendly version of Indian history because there is a positive quality in creation, which is often underestimated by political forces.

Therefore, it is necessary to move beyond a one-sided approach to history and develop a thoughtful and logical curriculum. NCERT is expected to remain unaffected by the current controversy develop a curriculum related to the development of the historical perspective of students, and not confuse students in the selection of facts.

NCERT is making changes in the textbooks of History, Sociology, and Political Science from class VI to XII. In a strong education system, the revision of the teaching material should be the same for the curriculum. However, the school curriculum in India always keeps pace with the latest research.

Since independence, to avoid biased or narrow perspectives, our school textbooks often refrain from recognizing India's progress in arts, literature, philosophy, education, science, technology, and economic development.

Earlier textbooks create a view of Indian history that suppresses India's profound impact on world civilization. This results in a skewed perception of our national identity and historical narrative. Exposing school students to the aggression of historical events and conflicts at an early age can put them at risk.

Introducing historical conflicts at inappropriate stages of education in the school curriculum can immortalize in children's minds the notion of a lack of a broader historical context. A balanced narrative reduces the risk of creating animosity and prejudice in children's minds.

One-sided historical facts will hinder social cohesion and mutual respect among school children. Opposition to meaningful textbook revisions reflects an outdated narrow ideological thought process, which eternalizes historical grievances and animosities in the future. A balanced, credible, and trustworthy historical narrative underlines positive examples of conflict resolution and mutual respect.

It inspires students to apply positive examples and principles in their lives. Teaching school students a balanced history that minimizes conflict-based narratives enables them to become responsible and empathetic citizens with a better understanding of India's heritage. Such textbooks build the cognitive and emotional foundation in children, which is necessary for future critical analysis.

Any effort to revise school textbooks with a focus on balanced narratives is not an end but a beginning. The foundation that students get from such balanced textbooks will help them build a deeper historical understanding in later years. School textbooks need to keep pace with changing times to be responsive in meeting the emerging needs of students.

What to teach and what not to teach in textbooks has been a constant debate, as school textbooks are the medium through which convenient narratives can be pushed forward. Controversy arises when one narrative is convenient for you and inconvenient for another class.

The controversy related to some changes made in the history textbooks at present should also be seen in the same context when the convenient viewpoint of one class is not following the discussion of the other class. If seen, this type of controversy has not happened for the first time. Such controversies have happened in the educational history of India before as well.

While the education systems of the world are trying to make the curriculum of their respective countries based on understanding and logical approach, in our country the controversy is on the issue of which side's facts are correct. Here there is always an attempt to hide the inconvenient facts with the help of narratives. History can be understood neither only through facts nor only through narratives.

Therefore, both must be included in appropriate amounts, but in our country, the division of facts and narratives in the style of writing history is very subtle. There is a need to review this subject.

While the educational systems of the whole world are changing their form and instead of filling the students with facts, they are emphasizing equipping them with history-based perspectives, so that an objective approach towards history can be developed in the students. In today's technological era, if a student has an understanding of history, he can investigate the historical facts himself.

The education system of a country must provide fact-based, objective study material to its students because these students not only take the future debate forward but also initiate new debates. Therefore, it is necessary to move beyond a one-sided viewpoint in history and develop a thoughtful and logical curriculum.

NCERT is expected to remain unaffected by the current controversy develop a curriculum related to the development of the historical perspective of the students, and not confuse the students in the selection of facts. Textbooks are official statements given by the government of a country. In this form, it is an ideological or theoretical project.

The revision of history and political science textbooks is anyway more sensitive. These encourage students to think about issues of contemporary relevance. They teach them to weigh social and political processes on the scale of history and create a logical harmony between history and the present. Through these books, the student tries to form his views on social and political issues in the country and abroad.

The original NCERT books were designed with this idea in mind. Overall, the content to be removed from the textbooks is based on a negative perception of India's past and present. This mindset is weak and seeks to change its history by removing only some parts.

They couldn't bring out a constructive, inclusive, logical, coherent, and student-friendly version of Indian history because there is a positive quality in the creation, which is often underestimated by political forces.