The Tribune
12 January 2006
Editorial
Saffron namaskar
Impart education, not mumbo-jumbo
THE Madhya Pradesh Government, doubtless, accords the highest priority to schools and colleges — though not for education. Schools seem to have become the ruling BJP’s favourite playground for sectarian political games. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan’s government first claimed national attention when it ordered that singing Vande Mataram would be compulsory in educational institutions. Now, in his zeal to popularise yoga, the Chief Minister has decreed that from January 25 surya namaskar will be compulsory in all government schools and colleges in the state. Predictably, this has given rise to opposition, especially from Muslim organisations, which have said that their children would not submit to this.
The state of education in Madhya Pradesh, as in several other parts of the country, is hardly enviable. There are schools with teachers, but no students; and schools with students and no teachers. Even as there are schools in search of both teachers and students, there are no schools in many places where they are needed. The problem is not only one of infrastructure and resources but also motivating enrolment and attendance. This is challenge enough for any government serious about ensuring education for all.
Far from addressing this, the MP government seems to be doing its best to drive students away from educational institutions. Schools and colleges should confine themselves to educational and relevant extra-curricular activities. Programmes in the interests of the students’ health are desirable, but to exploit this for insidiously pursuing a saffron agenda and extending state patronage to yoga gurus is not the job of a government. Educational institutions should stick to education in the strictest sense of the term and foster an inclusive and secularist culture. Muslim organisations would also serve the community and the country better by not rising to such baits that are calculated to communalise education. The government order makes no sense when surya namaskar is compulsory for the institutions but not the students. While Muslims can exercise the choice, the government should revoke the order if only to avoid another imposition on teachers and administrators.
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