'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

Food politics at JNU

The New Materialists' is a group of students in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) who have come together to fight the caste system on campus and in the country. The group is based on the ideologies of Marx, Periyar and Ambedkar. The group, formed around a year back to assert their rights as part of the campaign to abolish the Brahminical influence prevalent on campus , has come up with a demand to include beef and pork in the food served in the canteens at JNU.

According to the members, the university campus, dominated by the Leftaligned organisations and ideology is Brahminical in nature. "We feel it is important to form this group to raise the issue of caste politics. Our ultimate goal is to abolish caste divisions on campus and later in society. Our first step in this direction is to do away with the food politics. Hence, we want both beef and pork to be served on campus," says Ananda Krishna Raj, member of the group, pursuing MPhil in international law at JNU.

The group has been distributing pamphlets and putting up posters to raise awareness about the campaign for some time, however, the first public meeting was held on March 20, where students and faculty members were present.

The group feels that the varsity is a multi-cultural place, with students from all parts of the country. "Why should the culture and food habits at a democratic campus be dominated by only a single majority? There are around more than 600 northeastern and south Indian students on campus. First objective of the campaign is to ensure beef and pork are available at the Northeast dhabha, which specialises in northeastern food and later they are included in the hostel mess as well," says Raj.

There are around 300 international students on campus and they are supporting the cause as well though they are not a part of the group. The group has a dedicated a facebook page as the JNU beef, pork eating community. However, the university administration is not amused, says Sudha Pai, rector, JNU, "This is not a campaign. The issue is not important enough to be discussed."