More than one crore students studying in Class 9 to 12 in around 27,735 secondary schools of U.P. Board in the state will soon get chapters on the life and contributions of country’s 50 eminent personalities, including freedom fighters, in their syllabus.
In the Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra issued in the run-up to the 2022 UP assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had promised to include life histories of great men and women in the curriculum. Now on the orders of the state government, the officers of the secondary education department have begun preparations to make necessary changes in the course syllabus in this regard, say officials aware of the move.
“A committee constituted under director, secondary education, Sarita Tiwari has been given the responsibility of selecting the names of the eminent personalities whose contributions and life histories are to be made part of the syllabus. The names of these great men and women are expected to become part of the syllabus from the next academic session of 2023-24,” said a senior state secondary education department official.
A missive sent by joint education director Bhagwati Singh to the special secretary, secondary education, dated August 2 spelling out instructions given in relation to the work plan of the secondary education department for the next six months also duly lists it at point number 12.
{{/usCountry}}A missive sent by joint education director Bhagwati Singh to the special secretary, secondary education, dated August 2 spelling out instructions given in relation to the work plan of the secondary education department for the next six months also duly lists it at point number 12.
{{/usCountry}}The four-page order, a copy of which is with HT, instructs that the committees concerned should hold meetings and pave way for the implementation of the steps on priority while also uploading information about the steps taken on the designated portal with the help of the link provided.
The move comes close on heels of the step to have walls of government-run primary and upper primary schools of the state telling tales of prominent women of India through the ages. In a new initiative aimed at presenting students of these schools with women role models, the state government had ordered that one wall each of all 1.54 lakh schools across 75 districts to be dedicated for this mission under Mission Shakti Phase-4 special campaign. The aim is to motivate students to emulate these personalities.
The missive lists 19 prominent women, including Rani Lakshmibai, the queen of Jhansi and a leader of India’s first war of Independence, Chand Bibi, the ruler and warrior who acted as the Regent of Bijapur Sultanate and defended Ahmednagar against the Mughal forces besides Savitribai Jyotirao Phule, Indian social reformer, educationalist and poet from Maharashtra, Sarojini Naidu, Mother Teresa, Sucheta Kriplani, Lata Mangeshkar, PT Usha and Saina Nehwal.
Instructions make clear that the names of local or region-specific women of the district, development block and divisional level women personalities can also be displayed as part of this initiative after due clearance by the officials concerned.