By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 3: Former chief minister and TMC parliamentary party president, Mukul Sangma has asked the state government not to go ahead with the “ridiculous decision” of adopting the NCERT textbooks.
The state Cabinet recently decided to adopt NCERT books for classes 1 to 10 under the Meghalaya Board of Secondary Education with a caveat that local content based on culture, history, and uniqueness should not be diluted.
“I am telling the government – do not go ahead with this ridiculous decision. If they do, it will deprive our people now and in the future. We cannot allow it,” Sangma said.
“Any state which has its board of education must be proud,” he said.
Recalling that a similar proposal was brought to him during his tenure as the chief minister, he said, “You have a board. Who is stopping you from designing a syllabus that is ahead of others?”
“You are talking about NCERT textbooks to be adopted and at the same time, you are also fighting for the inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. You want to have authors and writers but you want to buy ready-made books from the NCERT,” he added.
Asking what would happen to the authors of the state, he said: “I urge our authors and various associations, upcoming freelancers, and writers to understand the value of having our board of education with our curriculum and not piggy-ride on somebody else’s curriculum.”
“What will happen if they start imposing topics that should not be a part of the curriculum, which may not be in sync with what is culturally acceptable to us?” he asked.
He said by adopting the NCERT textbooks, the state government would deprive the newer generations and the ramifications of this would not be simple.
Stating that the value of every institution must be understood, he said, “MBoSE can be a powerful weapon for our people to show how we can be ahead of others and not just at par.”