Value education good, but concerns remain

Amidst the present challenges and competitions, education has become more of an academic activity than a means of forming humane individuals in society. The recent development at the government level to introduce value education in schools is no doubt a positive move but gives rise to several questions, namely, what kind of value education is to be given, who has to give it, how it is to be given, and so on. These questions are very pertinent as children of different religions study under a single roof.

The Karnataka Education Act of 1983 espouses, in its several provisions (Section 7(2)(a), Section 7(4)(iv), etc.), the necessity of value education for children at school. Further, Rule 19(4) of the Karnataka Educational Institutions (Classification, Regulation, Etc.) Rules, 1995, unambiguously declares the same.

An attempt was made at the national level, long ago, to impart moral education in schools, and the Committee on Religious and Moral Instruction (1959) was constituted to suggest measures to incorporate religious and moral teachings within the school curriculum from the primary level to the university level. Despite getting valuable suggestions from the committee, successive governments failed to implement them.

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The Education Act as well as the rules made thereunder convey the clear-cut idea that moral education is required to be imparted to every child to develop into a greater personality capable of striking and maintaining healthy relationships in society to rise above religion, caste, creed, and status.

Moral values, no doubt, uphold the essential elements of every religion, but that doesn’t mean that the religious tenets of any one religion should prevail over the tenets of other religions. A question may arise: what happens if religious tenets of any one religion are imparted as value education lessons in schools?

First and foremost, the very nature and purpose of moral education in schools are defeated. Value education is to be given to impart values like peace, harmony, tolerance, forbearance, etc. among children, who come from diverse religious, social, and economic backgrounds. But when any one religion is given predominance under moral education, the children and parents belonging to other religions will have objections, and instead of bringing parity and harmony among children, the disparity or differences of opinion creep in, and the very purpose of moral education gets defeated.

Secondly, such education becomes religious education rather than moral education. Such religious education can be imparted as a subject for study at an advanced stage of learning in higher education institutions to imbibe the virtues of tolerance and inculcate broad-mindedness.

Thirdly, the Karnataka Education Act of 1983 itself proposes that education should transcend religious, linguistic, and regional or sectional diversities [Section 7(2)(g)]. It further makes provisions to excuse a child from attending school and also shows leniency in providing a provision for parents to admit their children to a school in which religious instruction meets their approval; this provision is in fact compulsory [Sec. 15(b)].

Under such circumstances, can the State impose the tenets of any one religion to be included as moral education in schools run by it or force the private schools to do so?

Fourthly, the Karnataka Educational Institutions (Collegiate Education) Rules, 2003, while imposing a code of conduct for the employees, elucidate that no employee can incite or propagate any hatred feelings towards any student based on caste, creed, religion, place of origin, language, social and cultural background, or any such parameters (Rule 4).

Values are rooted in every child by their very nature as human beings, and it is only the duty of elders, parents, or teachers to exhume them by giving the right examples that prevail in society, whether they are religious, historical, or social figures. No doubt, the stand taken by the government to introduce value education in schools is a welcome move from all perspectives, but it needs to be a measured one. An expert committee needs to be constituted to sufficiently deliberate on concerns of all statekeholders; if not, the issue of value education will raise serious questions in the minds of many and the valuablea addition to children’s education may be a non-starter. Such critical issues cannot be imposed by the government on its own; rather, it has to take into consideration the opinions and
views of all the stakeholders to give the best out of the best that is available.

(The writer is the secretary, Karnataka Regional
Commission for Education)