Schools across Karnataka are likely to see satvik and value education with a focus on devotion to God through texts from various religions being introduced in moral science classes from the academic year 2023-24.
School Education and Literacy Minister BC Nagesh confirmed this saying that they arrived at this decision after taking inputs from about 50 experts at a high-level round-table conference. The conference was aimed at ‘enabling children to adopt good health and values’ and ‘teaching devotion to God’. The minister said the round-table conference comprised academicians, heads of institutions and religious leaders and discussed the implementation of value education in schools of the state, stated a report by The New Indian Express.
“All the dignitaries who had participated in the meeting expressed the opinion that there is an urgent need to implement value education in schools. Opinions were collected from almost everyone who participated in the meeting, both online and offline. Based on the points expressed in this meeting, methods of implementing value education will be discussed and finalised in meetings organised at the departmental level,” he said. This implies that value education will be implemented in the coming year as a general consensus has been reached at the meeting on the urgency of its introduction, stated the report by The New Indian Express.
Meanwhile, to ensure that ethics and values were being imparted at every level of education, it was also suggested by the experts that evaluations and tests be scheduled to ensure proper implementation.
The meeting also delved into the topic of introducing satvik food in schools. Sources within the education department privy to the discussions at the meeting said the satvik food issue came up due to opposition from some leaders to providing eggs in midday meals for the students. Due to recent controversies about including the Bhagavad Gita in lessons for children, they also clarified that the devotional and value aspects of the classes would not be limited to only certain religions. “Lessons from religious texts will be included, only as ways to teach children different values and morals. This will not be limited to the Bhagavad Gita, but also other religious texts like the Quran and Bible,” a source from the department told The New Indian Express.
Other suggestions and views expressed during the meeting included advice to parents to ensure that mobile phone usage is reduced among children, scheduling a discussion in the assembly on politicians giving priority to value education and ensuring that moral education is not limited to textbooks, but also practiced.