CBSE'S CHANGE IN SYLLABUS AND EVERYTHING AROUND IT

The CBSE, in lieu of the ongoing pandemic, took the decision to reduce 30% of their syllabus pertaining to all subjects and this occurrence has made enraging headlines everywhere because of the scraping of fundamental chapters that form the basic ethos of all political and humanitarian reasonings.

"Considering the importance of learning achievement, it has been decided to rationalize syllabus up to 30% by retaining the core concepts" - Ramesh Pokhriyal

Unalloyed English defines core concepts to be "a fundamental, central concept that is essential". Chapters like Federalism, Citizenship, Nationalism, Secularism which were deemed to be "essential" in the Political Science syllabus have been scrapped off due to this resolution. The estrangement of the following chapters from the basic CBSE Syllabus beautifully brings upon the grim reality that neither the CBSE nor the HRD ministry has a firm understanding of what core concepts are. Or, has our extremely honourable Prime Minister come forward with his elucidation of core concepts?

However, the real question arises as to why were these specific topics targeted? It is to no surprise that since the present government came to power, there has been a significant increase in various political unrests. All the way from the abrogation of article 370 to the Ayodhya verdict, our country has experienced riots, police brutality and so much more. A noteworthy factor here is the role of educational institutes. For years, educational institutes have played a pivotal role in bringing about political revolutions.

In the words of Justice Deepak Gupta, "Right to dissent is an inherent part of democracy", and for years, educational institutes have sown the very seeds of dissent. So, is the attempt to completely eradicate the substratum of political thinking a way to curb dissent? The hegemony, with elan, is pointing out the fact that such universally essential chapters are not required anymore due to the current situation. Has the COVID put any duress on the basic constitutional structure of the country, or has it been notorious for infecting the furlongs of Federalism? Do we need to pretermit Secularism owing to the current situation as a "precautionary, one-time measure"?