The Gujarat government announced in the Assembly on Thursday that the Bhagavad Gita will be included in the school syllabus for Classes 6 to 12 across the state beginning in the academic year 2022-23.
Education Minister Jitu Vaghani made the announcement during a discussion on budgetary allocations for the education department in the legislative Assembly.
The decision to include the values and principles enshrined in the Bhagavad Gita in school curricula was made in accordance with the Centre’s new National Education Policy (NEP), which advocates for the inclusion of modern and ancient culture, traditions, and knowledge systems in school curricula so that students feel proud of India’s rich and diverse culture, according to the minister.
Later, Vaghani said people from all faiths have accepted the moral values and principles outlined in the ancient Hindu scripture.
“Hence, we have decided to introduce the Bhagavad Gita in the school curriculum for Classes 6 to 12. For students of Classes 6 to 8, the scripture will be introduced in the textbook of ‘Sarvangi Shikshan’ (holistic education). From Classes 9 to 12, it will be introduced in the form of storytelling in the textbook of the first language,” he said.
According to him, schools will also organise scripture-based activities such as prayers, shloka recitation, comprehension, drama, quiz, painting, and elocution competitions.
The government will provide study materials such as books and audio-video CDs to schools, according to the minister.