Karnataka’s department of literacy and school education said on Saturday that a committee of education experts will present a report on the introduction of daily meditation and moral education lessons for students in public schools and pre-university colleges.
The government, in an order issued on Saturday, said daily mediation in schools will improve students’ stamina, concentration and mental and physical well-being. In addition, the government stated that moral education will instill values such as honesty, compassion, non-violence and brotherhood among students.
The committee is made up of six members: Gururaj Karajagi, President of the Academy for Creative Teaching; Dwarkanath, a member of the Vidya Vardhaka Sangha; Dr. VB Arathi, a teacher at Vibhu Academy; Sucheta Bhat, CEO of Dream Academy; Alpana Palatty, Principal of Sophia High School; and B Ameer John, Professor of Physics at Government Girls PU College, Chikkaballapur.
The order also provided that the committee must submit a report to the government within a month and the public education commissioner would take the necessary steps to arrange a meeting of the committee. The department announced that a separate order will be issued regarding the payment of fees to members of that committee.
The school education department has been planning to introduce moral education and meditation in public schools for some time. In January, the department also convened a meeting with religious leaders from multiple faiths and education experts to discuss the implementation of values-based education in schools. The ‘consultative round table meeting’ involving religious leaders and education experts was also convened in order to create a curricular framework for delivering values education in schools in line with the National Education Policy, 2020.
