For the first time in the history of the state, the revised school textbooks in Kerala will include the preamble to the Indian Constitution.
The CPI(M)-led Left Government has decided to incorporate the preamble into textbooks of classes 1 to 10 as part of its efforts to instil constitutional values in the minds of children, official sources said here on Wednesday.
General Education Minister V Sivankutty, who is also the chairman of the State Curriculum Committee, announced the significant decision here yesterday.
The State Curriculum Steering Committee recently approved 173 new textbooks for Classes I, III, V, VII and IX as part of the curriculum reforms implemented after a decade.
"It is the first time that the preamble of the Constitution is included and printed at the start of every textbook," Sivankutty said.
The minister said the LDF government has made it clear since the beginning that the southern state would pursue reform activities upholding constitutional values.
Jayaprakash RK, the director of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), said many NCERT textbooks already carry the preamble to the Constitution, but it is the first time that Kerala is coming out with such an initiative.
SCERT is an autonomous body entrusted with the planning, implementation, and evaluation of all academic programmes from pre-school to higher secondary levels.
"The Preamble will be part of all the revised textbooks in the state. It will also be made a part of the teachers training. This will help both teachers and students understand the core of the Preamble to the Constitution," he told PTI.
Asked about the reason for the government to make the preamble part of the school textbooks, he said the objective of the initiative is to create awareness about the significance of the Constitution among youngsters.
It is a time when the country is witnessing widespread discussions about the Constitution and its values, and the move would help the children understand its significance from a younger age.
