Mumbai: Now, Class II students of the Maharashtra State Board have a whole new way to learn the names of numbers from 21 to 99. In the face of immense criticism of this method from politicians and social media alike, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stood firmly by the idea. From now on, second grade students will now be taught 27 stands for vees saat as well as sattavees. The Maharashtra government has introduced a new way to teach the names of numbers. According to this method, numbers from 21 to 99 will be named differently. For instance, 29 will be called 'vees (twenty) nau' (nine). Earlier, this was referred to as ekontees. The State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research (Balbharati) has made these changes in the mathematics curriculum of Class 2 from the current year. The issue led to an uproar in both Houses of the Legislature on Thursday.
Former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar brought up the subject on Tuesday, in his own inimitable style. Now, we will have to pronounce Fadnavis as 'Fadan Don (two) Shoonya (zero)' and Energy Minister (Chandrashekhar) Bawankule as Pannas (fifty) Don (two) kule, said Pawar, whose observation was received with immense mirth in the House. However, Fadnavis was not be fazed by such merriment over mathematics. He defended the new method. The Maharashtra State Council of Educational Research and Training is an autonomous body. It has set up a committee of experts to suggest changes for teaching the mathematics to children. Taking into the account the learning ability of second standard students, the committee suggested this new method of reading and writing number names. Before criticising this decision from our perspective, we should look at it from the perspective of Class 2 children, Fadnavis stated.
It is wrong to say we will not be teaching the old way of writing names. Twenty-seven will still be taught as sattavees, like before. However, in addition to this, it will also be referred to as vees (twenty) saat (Seven), he clarified.
Opposition Silent
Fadanavis strongly defended this referring to articles by experts and termed this method as scientific. But he showed readiness to appoint the committee of experts to review this method if house desire so. But nobody from opposition and Ajit Pawar who was present at this time did not demand for any such committee. After this it was clear that now there will be no obstacle in implementing this decision.
Chicken in veg food Probing if House kitchen FSSAI compliant: CM
Mumbai: Taking serious note of chicken pieces found in a vegetarian dish in the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan's canteen, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said an inquiry was on to ascertain if the kitchen where the dish was prepared followed food safety norms. Speaking in the state Assembly when the issue was raised by NCP member Ajit Pawar, Fadnavis said strict instructions would be given to the canteen staff to ensure that such an incident does not happen again. On Wednesday, a government official ordered 'matkiusal' (a vegetarian Maharashtrian dish) in the canteen and found chicken pieces in it.
After Pawar raised the issue, Congress member Vijay Waddetiwar also told the Lower House thatcow dung was recently found in the food served to a patient at the Government Medical College in Nagpur. To this, Fadnavis said, "This is a serious issue and the guilty (in the hospital incident) will be suspended."He said instructions will also be given to check if the kitchen in the Vidhan Bhavan premises was adhering to guidelines of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The Centre has enacted a new Food Safety Act, Fadnavis said, adding that his government will ensure its compliance in the state.
