Kerala Government Adds Preamble Of The Constitution Into Textbooks

Kerala became the first state in history to include the preamble of the Constitution of India in its revised school textbooks. According to a report, the Left government in Kerala decided to add the Constitution’s preamble into textbooks from classes 1 to 10 in its efforts to nurture constitutional awareness and values among the children, NDTV reported.

The State Education Minister V Sivankutty, also the chairman of the state curriculum committee, today announced the government’s new decision. While announcing the decision, the minister said that it was the first time that the preamble of the Constitution is included and printed at the beginning of textbook. In its drive to reform the curriculum after years, the State Curriculum Steering Committee approved new textbooks for Classes I, III, V, VII and IX. The minister also noted that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government has clarified its stance since the beginning that it would make reforms in textbooks to keep constitutional values.

The director of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Jayaprakash R K said that many textbooks of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) have included the preamble of the Constitution, but this is the first time the Kerala come is coming out with such an effort.

“The Preamble will be part of all the revised textbooks in the state. It will also be made a part of the teachers” training. This will help both teachers and students understand the core of the Preamble to the Constitution,” the SCERT director said, NDTV reported citing PTI. Talking about the inclusion of the preamble of the Constitution, Jayaprakash said that the preamble will be written in Malayalam language if the textbook is in Malayalam and the same with Tamil and Hindi. He also said that the teachers will be trained to teach the meaning and messages of the Constitution to the students.

However, the decision by the Kerala state government comes amid widespread discussions over the Constitution as being diluted and communalised. The former Finance Minister and left leader TM Thomas Isaac in a post on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) said that the decision is a “response to attempts to communalize education.”

“The revised school textbooks of Kerala will include the Preamble to the Constitution. The curriculum will be gender sensitive. Lessons on POSCO rules, democratic and secular values and scientific temperament will be included. That’s our response to attempts to communalise education,” the post reads.

The revised school textbooks of Kerala will include Preamble to the Constitution. The curriculum will be gender sensitive. Lessons on Pocso rules, democratic and secular values and scientific temperament will be included.That’s our response to attempts to communalise education.

— Thomas Isaac (@drthomasisaac) January 17, 2024