'Textbooks sans cartoons take life out of learning'

Politicians may think a blanket ban on cartoons in school textbooks is a good idea but members of the academic fraternity are opposed to the idea. Cartoons not only help liven up and simplify subject matter but also help children look at things in a different perspective, feel teachers and educationists.

"The government has banned cartoons at a time when we are thinking of introducing digital content in classrooms to teach children better. It is not right to deprive children of visual element in learning," says education consultant K R Maalathi.

The government on Monday said it had issued directions to NCERT to not distribute textbooks with cartoons. The decision comes in the wake of a controversy surrounding a cartoon featuring leader B R Ambedkar, which was removed from textbooks.

"When a cartoon is about national leaders, you need to understand that children don't understand the nuances. But to have a blanket ban is ridiculous," says Maalathi.

Lower and middle school students read textbooks when there is a humorous touch to the content, says K Tanuja, a teacher of Sir Sivaswami Kalalaya. "It works well with science, geography, social studies, English or other languages," she says.

Teachers say that cartoons act as visual aids. "Not every child can go through pages of heavy text. Cartoons make lessons more interesting," says Sara Alexander, vice-principal of Spartan Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Mogappair.

Jashoda Sundar, English teacher at Sir Sivaswami Kalalaya, says that cartoons help children look at subjects with a different perspective. "Many English textbooks have stories in the form of comic strips. Oxford University Press has brought out books like these for class IV, V and VI," she says. "And children are excited by it as textbooks are usually dry."

She says that the reaction of the government to the Ambedkar cartoon is excessive. "Ambedkar's grandson has come out and said that the leader would not have objected to the cartoon. But I think that we, as a nation, have lost our sense of humour," she says. "Withdrawing textbooks and introducing new ones would mean great expenditure."

However, some academicians differ. "I feel cartoons should be banned in textbooks because books are sacred. There should not be any mockery of leaders," says Revathi Sridharan, former principal of Chinmaya Vidyalaya. "But there can be cartoons in primary school books as children will like them."

The govt on Monday said it has issued directions to NCERT to not distribute textbooks with cartoons. The decision comes after a controversy over a cartoon featuring B R Ambedkar