Lessons on Nehru, 1984 riots, Ayodhya dispute ‘deleted’ from Assam Class 12 syllabus

Hindustan Times, Guwahati | By
Sep 24, 2020 01:02 PM IST

The Assam Higher Secondary Education Council has reduced syllabus across streams by 30% to make up for the academic loss due to the Covid-19 pandemic

The Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) has reduced syllabus across streams by 30% to make up for the academic loss due to the Covid-19 pandemic and dropped topics including those related to first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the Ram temple dispute and the 2002 Gujarat riots for class 12 political science students as part of the rationalisation.

AHSEC cited the pandemic and said the reduction of “exam stress” on the students for the 2020-21 session and prevention of learning gaps were the main objectives behind the move.(Getty Images/iStockphoto)
AHSEC cited the pandemic and said the reduction of “exam stress” on the students for the 2020-21 session and prevention of learning gaps were the main objectives behind the move.(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Also read: Schools, colleges reopen in Assam after Covid-19 lockdown

In a notification, AHSEC cited the pandemic and said the reduction of “exam stress” on the students for the 2020-21 session and prevention of learning gaps were the main objectives behind the move.

The topics removed from ‘Politics in India since Independence’ section include the first three general elections, Nehru’s approach to nation-building, foreign policy, and political succession after Nehru, etc. The other topics removed include the implementation of the Mandal Commission report for Other Backward Classes reservations, etc.

From the world politics section, removed topics include India and the cold war, dominance and challenge to the US in economy and ideology and the rise of China as an economic power in the post-Mao era, etc.

Topics like kinship, caste and class, Bhakti-Sufi tradition, and kings and chronicles have been removed from the history syllabus. From Swadesh Adhyayan subject introduced in 2018 about Assam and the north-east’s history and geography, the issue of illegal immigrants and “population explosion” in Assam have been removed.

AHSEC secretary Manoranjan Kakati said an academic committee after consultations with many experts took the decision on the removal of topics. “But since the issue regarding the political science syllabus has cropped up, we will surely take a look at it and address it, if needed.”

Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank in July cited the extraordinary situation because of the pandemic and said the Central Board of Secondary Education was advised to revise the curriculum and reduce the course load for the students of classes 9 to 12. “Considering the importance of learning achievement, it has been decided to rationalise syllabus up to 30% by retaining the core concepts,” he tweeted.

The Council for the Indian Schools Certificate Examination also revised its syllabus for the same classes in July.

Schools across the country were physically shut in March in view of the lockdown enforced to contain the Covid-19 pandemic and classes have been held online since.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR

    Utpal is a Senior Assistant Editor based in Guwahati. He covers seven states of North-East India and heads the editorial team for the region. He was previously based in Kathmandu, Dehradun and Delhi with Hindustan Times.

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