“Don’t hurt animals”, “Help elders, help poor, help your little siblings”, “don’t create a mess” and there are so many such good lessons. We are taught what to do and what not to do even when we have not started to walk or talk. It is said that whatever is taught to children at their early ages remains with them forever. And therefore no matter how evil a person is, they try to teach everything good to their children. Considering this fact, various schools and governments have tried to implement value education in school curricula from time to time. But did they prove effective? Let’s see.
The government of Gujarat announced that the lessons from Bhagavad Gita will be taught to students inclasses 6 to 12 students in the state of the upcoming academic year 2022-23. The lessons will be implemented in various phases in the form of stories or recitations in the first language textbooks or the prayers. The state education management will be deciding on it. Seeing Gujarat’s initiative, Haryana and Karnataka governments are also planning to implement the same. It’s a great move. Bhagavad Gita is considered the holiest and one of the most versatile scriptures of all. It constitutes all the lessons to live a happy and peaceful life. But it is also considered very difficult to understand its concept clearly. So, will the students be able to grasp the lessons from this? Some teachings are region-specific. For example, In India, a cow is treated like a mother. The old scriptures taught us to respect and worship cows. But in a foreign land, they are considered meat. So if a student from India who worships cows contacts a transcript service to get his academic transcripts, medium of instruction and other documents to study abroad in a country where cow meat and beef are treated as delicious food, will he be able to blend in with students there?
Moral education has always been part of the school curriculum. In a few DAV schools, students are taught Moral education as Dharma Shiksha. They are taught to chant Vedic mantras. In Central schools,Ramayan and Mahabharathave been part of the curriculum. In other schools, this is taught likeother subjects. So the point is, these teachings were always there in school. And time will tell how effective the teachings of Bhagavad Gita will be in making a good society.It’s the wish of every parent that their child become an angel and not a devil. They are happy if lessons aimed at making them good citizens are taught. The problem starts when other communities start making it an issue. Bhagavad Gita is considered a Hindu scripture. And other religions may not like the teachings of other religions forced on their children. Few catholic groups have already demanded to include the teachings of the bible in the school curriculum as well. And let’s see what the government says about it in the future. For now, let’s just hope students get the best teaching and best values making society a better and peaceful place to live.