Sangh’s affiliates discuss issues related to National Education Policy

A two-day meeting of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)’s affiliates discussed the implementation and progress of the National Education Policy among other things

A two-day meeting of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)’s affiliates that work in the field of education concluded in the Capital on Wednesday with a discussion on the implementation of the National Education Policy and issues related to the curriculum, said functionaries aware of the matter.

RSS joint general secretaries Krishna Gopal and Arun Kumar were also present at the meeting. (Photo Courtesy- Twitter)

The annual meeting takes stock of the issues the affiliates flag and discusses suggestions made by them. It was attended by union education and skill development and entrepreneurship minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Referring to the discussion that took place during the two-day event, RSS’s All India Prachar Pramukh Sunil Ambekar said, “It was an internal meeting of the Sangh’s Shiksha Samooh. There was a detailed discussion on the implementation and progress of the National Education Policy.”

RSS joint general secretaries Krishna Gopal and Arun Kumar were present at the meeting which also had in attendance organisational general secretaries and senior functionaries of affiliates such as the Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal and Vidya Bharti.

Union ministers Jitendra Singh and Rajeev Chandrasekhar were also present at the meeting, said a functionary.

According to a second functionary, the issue of addressing concerns about the curriculum was discussed. There is a demand for re-looking at the National Council of Educational Research and Training textbooks, particularly how history has been taught in schools.

The issue of examinations in the wake of the pandemic and the marking systems followed by various boards were also discussed. In May, RSS’s students’ wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (AVBP) demanded that in view of the pandemic, the government at the Centre and in states must consider newer methods of conducting the exams such as open book examinations. It also urged the government to carry out the evaluation of final year colleges and university students on the basis of reduced syllabi. AVBP called for increasing the number of centres for holding one-day entrance examinations for admission to reputed colleges and universities.

“Apart from increasing the intake in colleges, there needs to be a review of how marks are being doled out by certain state boards. This liberal marking system puts students of other states in a disadvantageous position,” said an ABVP functionary.