Notice issued to Ministry of HRD and NCERTon revision of textbooks for children
On the basis of a petition received by the Commission from certain educationists alleging that the revision of text books for children’s education was likely to adversely affect their personality and their human development, the Commission issued notices to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), Government of India and the National Council of Education, Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi.
The Commission observed ‘No doubt formulation of policies is within the domain of government. However, the constitutional philosophy in the Preamble to the Constitution, the fundamental guarantees and the mandate of regulation of policy formulation by the Directive Principles of State Policy have to be respected, and, when it is alleged that the policy or State action would adversely affect the development of children it becomes a human rights issue requiring examination by the NHRC, in exercise of its statutory functions’.
The Commission had received a complaint on 8 January 2002 asking the Commission to look into printing of new history textbooks, which, it was alleged were ‘undemocratic and non-secular’. The complainants urged that the old textbooks should continue to be used in the year 2002, until “historical reality and facts” were brought into the rewriting of history textbooks. The complainants further urged the Commission to ensure that the writing of history textbooks be a truly transparent, professional and democratic process, and highlight the secular, democratic, pluralistic character of India for which the freedom fighters had struggled and died.
While considering the complaint on 9 January 2002, the Commission held that the right to development was the most basic right of every child, duly recognized by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) – to which India is a party, and this has been reiterated in the World Conference on Human Rights held at Vienna (1993). Article 39 (f) of the Constitution incorporated the right to development as a Directive Principle of State Policy. Education was the most effective tool and medium for human development. The right to education has been judicially construed to fall within the guarantee of the right to life in article 21, and now it was being expressly included in Part III of the Constitution as a fundamental right.
Freedom of information is the essence of democracy. Education helps to develop that trait. It must, therefore, be also a medium of exposure to different points of views based on the depiction of established facts.
It is the obligation of the school to disseminate all necessary information children require in facilitating them to make informed choices about their own lives. The school is the agent for translating the child’s right to development into informed action.
The Commission thus felt that the right to education of every child was clearly a human right and its proper direction a human rights issue. It issued notice to the Ministry of HRD and NCERT accordingly.
The Commission observed ‘No doubt formulation of policies is within the domain of government. However, the constitutional philosophy in the Preamble to the Constitution, the fundamental guarantees and the mandate of regulation of policy formulation by the Directive Principles of State Policy have to be respected, and, when it is alleged that the policy or State action would adversely affect the development of children it becomes a human rights issue requiring examination by the NHRC, in exercise of its statutory functions’.
The Commission had received a complaint on 8 January 2002 asking the Commission to look into printing of new history textbooks, which, it was alleged were ‘undemocratic and non-secular’. The complainants urged that the old textbooks should continue to be used in the year 2002, until “historical reality and facts” were brought into the rewriting of history textbooks. The complainants further urged the Commission to ensure that the writing of history textbooks be a truly transparent, professional and democratic process, and highlight the secular, democratic, pluralistic character of India for which the freedom fighters had struggled and died.
While considering the complaint on 9 January 2002, the Commission held that the right to development was the most basic right of every child, duly recognized by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) – to which India is a party, and this has been reiterated in the World Conference on Human Rights held at Vienna (1993). Article 39 (f) of the Constitution incorporated the right to development as a Directive Principle of State Policy. Education was the most effective tool and medium for human development. The right to education has been judicially construed to fall within the guarantee of the right to life in article 21, and now it was being expressly included in Part III of the Constitution as a fundamental right.
Freedom of information is the essence of democracy. Education helps to develop that trait. It must, therefore, be also a medium of exposure to different points of views based on the depiction of established facts.
It is the obligation of the school to disseminate all necessary information children require in facilitating them to make informed choices about their own lives. The school is the agent for translating the child’s right to development into informed action.
The Commission thus felt that the right to education of every child was clearly a human right and its proper direction a human rights issue. It issued notice to the Ministry of HRD and NCERT accordingly.