The BJP-ruled Karnataka government has decided to use funds from the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) to teach Vedic mathematics to SC/ST students in the state, drawing criticism from academicians and Dalit activists.
Classes will be held for SC/ST students in government schools in gram panchayat limits, from Class 5 to Class 8. A training session will be held for school mathematics teachers as well.
The programme has been entrusted to a private player AVM Academy based out of Hiriyur, who had submitted a proposal to the government to teach Vedic mathematics “with appropriate uniform” for the 25 SC/ST students from each gram panchayat.
According to a note issued by the Department of School Education & Literacy, “The AVM Academy will teach Vedic Maths along with appropriate uniforms for 25 SC/ST students in classes V to VIII from each gram panchayat.”
The Academy started training teachers in January 2022 in various districts. Teachers will teach Vedic maths for 16 weeks – two hours every Saturday and Sunday.
The SCSP and TSP funding is designated for the development of SC/ST communities. But, the government is using the same funds to teach Vedic mathematics.
Opposing the decision, Senior academic VP Niranjanaradhya said teaching Vedic maths to school children will create confusion as they are already learning maths in a scientific way. “Maths is not magic; it is pure science and should be learned logically with reason. Vedic maths has no logic. The government is implementing unwanted programmes only on government schoolchildren. This is the real saffronization of our education system,” Deccan Herald quoted him as saying.
Recently, the BJP government faced over revising content in school textbooks.
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Rabia Shireen is a Staff Reporter at The Cognate.
