Every year, Tamil Nadu textbooks and education service companies’ commissions to print Tamil Nadu textbooks from elementary to high school. However, this pandemic situation after the COVID-19 threat, the printing of school textbooks, and other related activities have been slightly delayed this year.
In the textbooks recently issued by the Tamil Nadu government for various classes, unconfirmed statements narrate sensitive parts of history, factual errors, and spelling errors, making it questionable whether they meet the expected standards.
Some teachers believe that the sentence structure and language quality of these textbooks aimed at revising the old syllabus are poor. There are several spelling errors, including the incorrect use of similar pronunciation consonants.
In the science and social sciences textbooks, it is explained the rebellion for English. On page 166 of the first semester and the third volume of the third English book tells that Muslims ruled India after proving the British. There is no basis.
When asked about the arguments in the textbook, Professor Sucheta Mahajan, Chairman of the History Research Center of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, said: “This is incorrect and a distortion. Historians are doing it. She is asking for Evidence for such observation. “
There are also factual errors. Contrary to the students in the VIII course saying that graphite (crystalline carbon) can conduct electricity, the science textbook of the “IX Science” course claims (for Tamil, page 178) that graphite neither conducts heat nor conducts electricity.
Another teacher claimed that leaders were not selected wisely and highlighted in Tamil Nadu textbooks. The late political leader Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar was given a caste surname. His surname was the late freedom fighter and leader V.O. Chidambaram’s surname is missing (the page for students in category VII is between 58 and 66). “Why is this differential treatment of leaders?” he asked.
The information provided in some sections is incomplete. The Social Science Citizenship Course for VII students (page 210 in Tamil) states that Hindi is the official language of India, and English is the official language of the country. For students in Tamil Nadu, this fact must emphasize. This is the center of anti-Hindi incitement.
The Minister of School Education K.A. Sengottaiyan could not comment. B. Valarmathi, chairperson of the Tamil Nadu Textbooks and Educational Services Corporation, stated that the organization only prints textbooks with content recommended in the Tamil Nadu textbooks. A senior official of the State Council’s Educational Research and Training Committee said, why don’t these teachers directly ask us these questions? If they list errors, we can always modify them next year.
Besides all these, fact it is also true that this year’s free Tamil Nadu textbook program will benefit more than 700,000 students in state schools. Since the printing of textbooks has ended, all-district education officials have been instructed to collect and distribute Tamil Nadu textbooks to various regions.
It is also instructed to follow strict social distancing guidelines, including wearing masks when transporting textbooks to schools. They should also ensure that the principal and faculty members could accept the books as required.
The official pointed out that the required textbooks will be delivered to all schools as soon as possible, but the official said that it would be strengthened in Chennai, Kanchipuram, Tiruvalur, and Chenggaret areas. The blockade lasted until last month, and the distribution of these textbooks in these areas has started.
Similarly, free notebooks will be distributed to all students in grades 1 to 10 in the national school at a cost of 1.0720 crores. Officials said, once the textbooks delivered, the notebook transportation would begin.