As the Gujarat Government is all set to introduce the Bhagwad Gita in the state, the Karnataka Government has decided to hold a meeting with renowned educationists to take a final stand on this matter.
“In Gujarat they have decided to introduce moral science in three to four phases. In the first phase, they have decided to introduce Bhagwad Gita. This is what has come to my notice today. We will take a call only after discussing with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai regarding introducing ‘moral science’,” the Primary and Secondary Education Minister said.
The minister went on to add that the moral education of the students was taking a back seat and people demanded the introduction of the moral science subjects. According to the minister, content from Ramayana or Mahabharata was earlier taught at least once a week to the students.
“We will seek the Chief Minister’s advice regarding introducing moral science in the coming days. If we decide to go ahead then we will discuss with the education experts about the content of the moral science and the duration of the class”, Primary and Secondary Education Minister B.C Nagesh stated.
Along with that, the minister also said that leaders like Mahatma Gandhi used to draw inspiration from thesescriptures. He added that the reason behind the advance of culture in ancient India were these texts. As these holy texts have a positive impact on the minds of the people, he believes they should be introduced, however; the educationists should have the final say on what needs to be introduced in the state.
“It is not like Bhagwad Gita should not be taught to the children because S M Krishna used to tell me when he was the Chief Minister that he used to read Bhagwad Gita every night, which was his strength,” he added. “Whatever the experts say about introducing Bhagwad Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata, or the stories of Jesus Christ and the good teachings in Bible and Quran can be retained. Whatever is time tested, will be taught in moral science,” the minister elaborated.
D.K Shivkumar, the Congress state president however opined that no added importance should be laid on things that were already in the textbooks. “There is nothing wrong in getting to know about the religious practices of various faiths. We will see what content they (BJP government) want to introduce in the education system. Textbooks have the contents of various religions. I don’t think there is no need to further glorify new things,” Dr. D.K Shivkumar stated.
He pointed out that the idea was not ingenious to the BJP and it definitely wasn’t novel. The congress state president discarded the National Education Policy stating it was not needed. “There is no need for the NEP in the state and the country. People are already learned and knowledgeable. There are no circumstances to change the policy,” the Congress state president, Shivakumar added.
