By Our Reporter
Shillong: A workshop on critical pedagogy and Political Science text books in the wake of the controversy initially sparked off by a cartoon about Dr Ambedkar, was held in the Theatre Hall of Department of Cultural and Creative Studies, NEHU here on Friday.
The workshop organized by the department of political science , NEHU focused on issue of a cartoon about Dr Ambedkar which has now spread to the area of pedagogy involving teaching of Political Science at the secondary and higher secondary levels.
The workshop sought to address a question— Is the pedagogy used in these books helpful to students or are they likely to have a negative impact on young minds?
Professor Apurba K Baruah, HoD Political Science, NEHU said this pedagogy attempts to displace rote learning and bring in active participation of students in critical appreciation.
“Though the controversy began as a result of advertent or inadvertent misreading of the Ambedkar cartoon yet now there are efforts at finding cartoons, comments, and analyses that hurt the sentiments of one or the other community. If this trend continues teaching of the subject will become virtually impossible”, he added.
He also stated that it is an important occasion for teachers and students of Political Science. “Political science as a discipline focuses on understanding current politics and therefore, it is important to help students to develop skills to understand events, processes, institutions leadership and ways people participate in and perceive politics”.
The following observation which came forth during the discussion revolved around the undemocratic suo moto decision taken by Mr Kapil Sibal, Minister for Human Resource Development that the cartoon in the Class XI text book, found offensive by several members of parliament, be removed, and that he was looking into other potentially offensive cartoons with a view to their possible removal.
“Kapil Sibal’s reaction is antithetical to the democratic values and care should be taken to avoid such a precedent,” one speaker commented.
A broad consensus that emerged out of the workshop was that cartoons are valuable and useful pedagogic tools. Speakers on the day stressed on appropriate measures to be adopted for the books to be placed for review in a democratic manner involving teachers, student representatives, experts and those who had taken much effort in writing the books in the first place, to look into and examine the merits of each case.
The speakers included C. Nongbri, Faculty Department of Education-NEHU, Basav Roychoudhury, HoD Information Technology IIM Shillong, Toki Blah, social activist, H Srikanth, Faculty, Political Science Shillong and Patricia Mukhim, Editor, The Shillong Times.