(a) whether any steps have been taken or are proposed to be taken by the Government to include the Shrimadbhagwat Gita in the curriculum of all the schools, colleges and technical/medical Institutes in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government has received requests from public representatives in August, 2020 in this regard;
(d) if so, the details thereof; and
(e) the action taken or being taken by the Government in this regard?
MINISTER OF EDUCATION
(SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)
(a) to (e) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (e) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 317 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.12.2021 ASKED BY SHRI GOPAL CHINNAYA SHETTY, HON’BLE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT REGARDING ‘INCLUSION OF GITA IN CURRICULUM’.
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(a) & (b) The National Council of Educational Research & Training (NCERT) has informed that the contents related to ‘Shrimad Bhagwat Gita’ are already included in its Class XI and XII Sanskrit text books. Further, NCERT’s History text book, under Social Science, for Class VI, namely, ‘Our Pasts-I’, has made a reference to Shrimad Bhagwat Gita in the theme on ‘Traders, Kings and Pilgrims’ in connection with the Bhakti movement. Similarly, the textbook ‘Our Pasts-II’ for Class VII has also provided space to Shrimad Bhagwat Gita in the theme on the ‘Devotional Paths to the Divine’. However, education, being a subject in the Concurrent List of the Constitution, and the majority of schools being under the jurisdiction of the State Governments, it is within the ambit of the States/ Union Territory Governments to decide about the contents/subjects to be taught in their schools keeping in view the National Curriculum Framework (NCF). The University Grants Commission (UGC) has informed that the universities are autonomous institutions created/ incorporated under respective Central/ Provincial/State Act, which are governed by their own Acts, Statutes and Ordinances/ Regulations made thereunder; therefore, have autonomy to decide the curriculum for any programmes with due approval of their statutory bodies. However, Shrimad Bhagwat Gita is incorporated in the syllabus for UGC-NET examination for Yoga subject. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has introduced a course of Indian Traditional Knowledge System in 2018 in the model curriculum of UG Engineering courses, which has taken some aspect of Shrimad Bhagwat Gita.
(c) to (e) The matter relating to the ‘Need to include the sacred Shrimad Bhagwat Gita in school and college curriculum’ was raised in the Lok Sabha under Rule 377 on 23.09.2020. The Hon’ble Member of Parliament has been informed of the factual position.
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