Editorial 1 : No Textbook Conspiracy
Recent Context:
- Recently, the alarmist news was circulated that key concepts and segments, notably the theory of evolution and the periodic table, have been dropped from science textbooks by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
- The usual suspects took to social media to declare the threat to secularism and scientific temper in India
- A circulation of unverified information on social media which was further amplified by mainstream media results into s disinformation and confusion. This not only had an adverse impact on the reputation of the NCERT but also created scepticism about the country’s education system
Factors which are considered while rationalizing the NCERT textbook
- The NCERT was tasked with the rationalisation of textbooks across all classes and subjects. The process accounted for five broad criteria:
- Overlaps with similar content in other subjects within the same class
- similar content in a lower or higher class
- the level of difficulty
- easily available content that does not require much assistance from teachers and can be undertaken through self or peer-learning
- irrelevant content in the present context.
- The current process of rationalisation is motivated by another critical factor: The effects of the pandemic on the educational system.
- As, there was a colossal loss of teaching time during the pandemic which, in turn, led to loss of learning and increased the load on the students. This was also a concern expressed by the Parliamentary Standing Committee On Education.
- Therefore, the process of rationalisation was initiated to facilitate the “speedy recovery in the learning continuum and compensating time loss of students
Controversy and Confusion regarding the revision of NCERT syllabus
- The controversy caused by confusion and misinformation is self-evident. Three observations need to be made in this respect.
- First, there is a need to gain perspective and separate facts from fiction.
- The periodic table has “not been removed from school education curriculum” but instead reassigned to Unit 3 in the Class 11 textbook.
- Darwin’s theory of evolution is covered in “great detail” in chapter six of the Class 12 textbook.
- The major chunk of confusion is caused by the deletion of some items that the critics argued were not included in the notification of the rationalisation. This has nothing to do with some conspiracy but is representative of the regular process of reprinting where minor deletions are not notified to avoid unnecessary confusion
- Second, these textbooks are for this year alone.
- Besides the larger synchronisation practice of textbooks to make them comply with the NEP 2020, the textbooks are supposed to be revised regularly by the Textbook Development Committee (constituted in 2005).
- This committee is mandated to develop the syllabus in line with the 2005 National Curriculum Framework (NCF). Each proposed change is first sent to the Textbook Committee, which is tasked to analyse and recommend them. Moreover, these are not radical transformations since reprinting textbooks to take care of the suggestions of stakeholders is a process that takes place every yea
- Third, The decisions were taken by the expert panel. The rationalisation of textbooks is a need-based exercise to reduce content load because of the toll taken on the mental health of students during the pandemic.
Conclusion:
- As Changes and revisions in textbooks and controversies thereafter, are nothing new. In 1978-79, a controversy over revising the contents of history books dominated the political space during the short tenure of Prime Minister Morarji Desai. In 2006, during the UPA rule, a chapter on Sikhism had to be changed because of enormous controversy.
- However, the speed with which the controversy spread, despite India today being better placed in cross-checking facts than before, is concerning. Context and facts must be accounted for before any discussion is initiated.
- The NCERT controversy shows how easy it is to spread misinformation, but more importantly, how necessary it is to counter misinformation. And Revision of syllabus of NCERT textbook is need of hour.
Editorial 2 : How technology can help India’s urban centres become disabled friendly
Context:
- Persons with disabilities face many challenges in participating fully in urban life. An enabling environment, with inclusive infrastructure is needed to allow them the same opportunities to enjoy cultural, economic, and social life as non-disabled persons.
- This includes things many of us take for granted, like the freedom to move independently and access places of work, education and sports.
- Take, for instance, Manasi Joshi, a para-badminton player, who underwent a double leg amputation following a road accident at age 22. Her strong will and determination were complemented by an accessible built environment and the availability of assistive technology.
- These not only helped her overcome obstacles she faced in everyday tasks, but also encouraged her to realise her dream of playing professional badminton, which she now competes in at the highest international level.
Inclusive cities are need of hours with the rise of urbanisation
- Two mega-trends make the need for inclusive cities increasingly urgent. First, India is urbanising rapidly and is projected to add four new megacities by 2030.
- The country’s urban population is estimated to cross 675 million. According to the 2011 Census,
- one in three persons with disabilities in India or roughly eight million people already live in cities.
- Second, the number of persons with recognised disabilities as a share of the population could rise due to disaster and climate risks, demographic changes and broader definitions of disability in line with global norms.
Use of innovative technology and ICT for developing disable friendly infrastructure
- One powerful solution to these challenges lies in innovative technology and ICT. These are key to ensuring an inclusive urban transformation and essential for improving and increasing the quality of life of all citizens.
- It is more evident than in India, where a world-class digital governance system and dynamic tech sector are converging to deliver inclusive prosperity and resilience. This spirit of solidarity and inclusivity is reflected in India’s G20 presidency theme of One Earth, One Family and One Future.
Role of Government in promoting innovation:
- Innovations that promote inclusivity are often perceived as unprofitable by investors.
- In such scenario, role of the state becomes critical for promoting an ecosystem for transformative technologies especially where the return on investment may be difficult to measure.
- In order to enhance the ecosystem for assistive technology and inclusive solutions, the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) in partnership with the UN in India hosted the first edition of the Smart Solutions Challenge and Inclusive Cities Awards in 2022.
- It helped in crowd-sourcing tech-based solutions and innovations for addressing city-level accessibility and inclusion challenges.
- Other initiatives of Centre and state governments
- Smart cities like Bhubaneswar have deployed innovative transport and mobility solutions, showcasing how technology is being leveraged by cities to improve the lives of vulnerable communities.
- Several solutions and assistive technologies such as Fifth Sense, IncluMaps, AxcessAble and myUDAAN are supporting independent living for persons with disabilities
- Initiatives like these and many others have the potential to help cities localise innovations for inclusive urbanisation. Many of these solutions have utilised frontier technologies like AI and machine learning extensively to contextualise solutions.
Inclusive development will help in achieving SDGs:
- Actions for inclusive developments are reflected in the Government of India’s development agenda and the globally agreed SDG targets on harnessing and maximising the potential of technological innovations and entrepreneurship.
- As part of its G20 Presidency, India has initiated the Start-up 20 Engagement Group to provide a global platform to enable the start-up ecosystem across the member nations.
- The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has also launched the G20 Digital Innovation Alliance’ (G20-DIA) to showcase innovative solutions and create an alliance of players in the innovation ecosystem.
- Catalysing Digital Urban Futures’, one of the priority themes for Urban-20 Engagement Group under G20, seeks to discuss how data and technology can be best utilised for making city management more effective and inclusive.
Conclusion:
- Creating an inclusive and accessible India will require behavioural changes, capacity building, investments in accessible infrastructure and inclusive and accessible innovations.
- This will help inform policies for the country’s progress towards an equitable urban future as envisioned for the Amrit Kaal an inclusive, accessible, safe, resilient, and sustainable India@2047.