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Gujarat DEO issues circular asking schools to attend session on Indian values
A recent circular by Gujarat DEO asked school admins to attend a session on Indian values by BSM a RSS affiliate. This has raised a political storm as congress accuses the government of peddling RSS agenda.
Around half a dozen school administrators attended a session in incorporating "Indian values" in school education system on Tuesday. The session was organised by Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal, a RSS affiliate in Ahmedabad.
Despite a low turnout, the 3 – hour session stirred up a controversy because the circular for the session was issued by the District Education Office or DEO asking school representatives to attend the 3 hour long training programme.
The government sanctioned programme has some academics worried as they feel that this is a blatant misuse of authority and the government is misusing its influence by making the DEO ask schools to attend a programme organised by an NGO wing of the RSS.
Expectedly, the opposition Congress has reacted violently and has lashed out at the government and the RSS. "We have all along maintained that there is a hidden Nagpur agenda being played out to influence education system particularly schools,'' said Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi.
While the education department refused to comment, the organisers were quick to defend the DEO who backed the programme. "The DEO helped us. It was his duty to spread the word about the important workshop. The workshop wasn’t mandatory for schools. If the DEO office can promoted English speaking classes why not this,'' said Mukul Kanitkar, Joint Organisation Secretary of BSM.
BSM, a Nagpur-based organisation is currently working in 22 states and more than one-third of India's districts with the aim of changing school curriculum "based on Indian knowledge tradition."