New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wants to instill a sense of patriotism in students and, therefore, plans to introduce a ‘Deshbhakti Curriculum’ in government schools from next year.
“Hum chahte hain ki shiksha poori karne ke baad, har baccha ek accha insaan banne, apne parivar ka bharan poshan karne ke kabil bane aur ek sacha deshbhakt bane (We want that every student after completing education becomes a good human being, is capable of taking care of his/her family and also becomes a true patriot),” Kejriwal tweeted Wednesday afternoon.
The CM’s tweet comes after his deputy and Delhi’s Education Minister Manish Sisodia officially kicked off the ‘Constitution@70’ campaign at an event held at Thyagaraj Stadium in Delhi Wednesday. Kejriwal was also present at the event.
The campaign is meant to “make sure that future generations understand the values of the Indian Constitution and become partners in nation-building”. It is meant for students studying in Classes 6 to 11. It will be undertaken across government schools until 26 November this year — the day that will mark 70 years of adoption of the Indian Constitution.
Constitution expert Meghnad S., who helped design the course, told ThePrint that it will not be “all theory”.
According to him, over its three-month run, the course will focus on three core values of the preamble: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. “We have included surveys around each value, which the kids will conduct in their neighbourhoods. Then we have action projects, which are activities that will tie in with the values (liberty, equality and fraternity),” he added.
“Then there will be panel discussions within schools, where kids will share their experiences and discuss… how each value applies in their lives, or doesn’t,” he said.
ThePrint has learnt the team that came together to devise this course also included, besides the directorate of education, teachers from Delhi schools.
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‘Want every citizen to be aware of his duty to country’
Addressing the event, Kejriwal said the aim of the ‘Deshbhakti Curriculum’ is to make every citizen proud of his/her country, aware of his/her duty and responsibility towards the nation as well as instill a sense of passion to make sacrifices for the nation.
“Tomorrow is Independence Day. We want to dedicate this curriculum to the country on this special occasion,” said the CM.
The chief minister added that every positive behaviour is part of nationalistic behaviour — whether it is maintaining cleanliness, respecting women or calling out bullying.
A government official, who did not wish to be named, said that a subject on ‘deshbhakti’ would also be introduced in schools.
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Other curricula
The Delhi government had launched the ‘Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum’ last month for students of Classes 9 to 12 to encourage them to “think big and new” and develop an entrepreneurial mindset instead of having only business or management skills.
The government Wednesday also marked the completion of one year of the ‘Happiness Curriculum’, which was meant for students from nursery to Class 8.
The CM claimed that his government has already made major achievements in terms of improving infrastructure of government schools, boosting students’ performance as well as their confidence.
“Gandhi ji had said there are 3 purposes of education – 1. Creating good human beings (through Happiness Classes); 2. Enabling people to earn a living (Entrepreneurship Mindset curriculum); 3. Building patriotic citizens,” tweeted the Aam Aadmi Party.
An AAP member, requesting anonymity, however, said these are small ways to pitch a nationalist image by targeting the younger population before assembly elections. “It’s a healthy way to do it,” he said.
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This is an updated version of the report