Vedic knowledge is at the core of the new vocational education syllabus being framed by the Madhya Pradesh higher education department, officials said.
The new curriculum will have special focus on Vedic Karmkand (rituals), Jyotishi (astrology), Vedic science and Vastu Shastra (a mix of architecture and spirituality). This is apart from other vocational courses such hotel management, dietary science and physical training.
“Two vocational subjects will be mandatory for students. One will be generic and other specialised,” said a state education department official who asked not to be named.
Confirming the changes being made, another officer of the department said that in generic subjects, students will learn about the rich ancient knowledge of India along with basics of subjects such as physics, chemistry, math and biology.
“By reading from many ancient books and the vedas, students will realise that Indian saints were intelligent and discovered so many things centuries ago,” the second officer added, asking not to be named.
The specialized subjects will include Vedic Karmakand, Vedic science and astrology, yoga, hotel management and dietary science, the first officer said.
The curriculum framing committee has also decided that the state government will promote new Indian writers and remove Shakespeare and other foreign writers from the syllabus, first officer said.
“There are so many Indian writers who have contributed to English literature. Why should we force students to read Shakespeare,” a third officer of the department said, adding that students would also be taught about the history and culture of Madhya Pradesh. This officer, who didn’t want to be named didn’t specify the Indian writers whose work will now be included.
{{/usCountry}}“There are so many Indian writers who have contributed to English literature. Why should we force students to read Shakespeare,” a third officer of the department said, adding that students would also be taught about the history and culture of Madhya Pradesh. This officer, who didn’t want to be named didn’t specify the Indian writers whose work will now be included.
{{/usCountry}}Educationists said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government is pushing the agenda of its ideological parent, the RSS.
Bhopal based educationist GL Dubey wondered about the purpose of new curriculum. “Does the government want to provide new job opportunities to youth or push their agenda in name of rich culture of India? ”
Devi Ahilya Vishwavidhyalaya’s former vice-chancellor Narendra Dhakad said, “There is so much focus on coding and other technologies skills and the government wants to introduce Vedic Karmkand in higher education. For such courses, Sanskrit universities and colleges are already there so what is need of introducing it as a vocational course.”
The principal secretary of the state’s higher education department Anupam Rajan disagreed: “ 1,500 subject experts in 79 boards are preparing a syllabus which will be different from syllabus of traditional courses. The list of vocational courses has been prepared as per job requirements in the market.”
Higher education minister Mohan Yadav added: “We want to provide employment to students after graduation and post-graduation. We also want to enhance their scientific knowledge about vedas so that they can contribute something towards society.”
“There is such a huge demand for astrology and experts of Vedic Karmakand and we want to give the student a choice to become self-employed with this.”