Hoisting the national flag at the Secretariat Building during Independence Day celebrations, Delhi Chief Minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday, 15 August, announced that the 'Deshbhakti Curriculum' is slated to begin in Delhi's government schools from 27 September.
The timing is also of consequence as the initiation of this new curriculum will also be a tribute to Shaheed Bhagat Singh, whose birth anniversary is on 28 September.
Elaborating on their plan, the Delhi CM said:
“Our (existing) curriculum teaches Physics, Chemistry but not patriotism. This 'Deshbhakti Curriculum' will instil patriotic values in our children.”
Previously, on Saturday, the eve of India’s 75th Independence Day, Kejriwal was presented with a copy of the Deshbhakti Curriculum Framework to initiate its roll-out. Following this, he had expressed delight “that the Deshbhakti Curriculum will be launched in schools of Delhi to instil patriotism in young minds.”
Further, CM Kejriwal was quoted by PTI as saying that the new curriculum will help realise the dreams of freedom fighters and the symbolic celebration of Independence Day in school will thereby have a substantive meaning.
MORE DETAILS
Claiming that the Delhi government was fully committed to celebrating the spirit of independence each day, Kejriwal also added that they have learnt a lot during the process of drafting the curriculum framework.
Addressing how the students will be assessed, the CM said:
“While we keep our anecdotal experiences in mind, we have to objectively assess if patriotic feelings are actually being instilled in the minds of our children.”
As per PTI, the curriculum seeks to achieve eight learning outcomes:
Self-awareness
Self-confidence
Problem solving
Practising constitutional values
Pluralism and diversity
Environmental sustainability
Ethical social behaviour
Collaboration
Social and civic responsibility
BACKGROUND
Further, it is reported that the evaluation will be through self-assessment, peer assessment, as well as assessment by teachers.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had in 2019 first announced the ’deshbhakti (patriotism) curriculum' for Delhi government schools.
Launching a campaign labelled ‘Constitution at 70’, Kejriwal had then said: "We will bring 'Deshbhakti curriculum' next year. It will inculcate a feeling of nationalism among students.”
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