KSTA against government decision

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Pro-CPM Kerala School Teachers’ Association (KSTA) has come out against the decision of the State Government to revise the tenth standard social science textbook and threatened not to teach the revised portion.The State Government had revised one of the chapters of the textbook, following a recommendation by an Expert Committee, headed by Babu Paul. The Committee was appointed following complaints from the Kerala Catholic Bishop’s Conference (KCBC) that the chapter dealing with the European Renaissance was critical of the Catholic church.KSTA general secretary M Shajahan told reporters here on Friday that no historian was there in the Committee, appointed to study the revision made in the textbook. Historian M G S Narayanan, who was appointed by the State Government, had backed out of the committee as it was chaired by someone who had no knowledge in history. How such a committee could make a judgement on the textbook prepared by a group of historians in the stature of Kesavan Veluthat, he said.He said that only the Curriculum Committee could make revision in the textbooks. The teachers need not obey the instruction of any other body, let it be the committee or even the cabinet, he said. This was because only an academic body can take decisions on academic matters. The KSTA was even prepared to go to court to protect the sanity of the academic bodies, he said.He alleged that former SCERT Director M A Khader was removed from the post following his refusal to allow changes in the tenth standard social science textbook.