Supreme Court's question raises the core issue: Whether right of children to Free Education Act, 2009, mandates the government to make yoga a compulsory subject.
The Supreme Court has asked the Centre why stress-buster yoga shouldn’t be introduced as a compulsory subject in schools. This raises the core issue: Whether right of children to Free Education Act, 2009, mandates the government to make yoga a compulsory subject.
The Supreme Court direction came on a petition filed by lawyer JC Seth that sections 7(6) and 8(g) of the act can’t be ignored in facilitating complete education.
Section 7(6) stipulates that the Union government “shall” develop a national curriculum with the help of the academic authority, develop and enforce standards for training teachers, provide technical support and resources to state governments to promote innovation, planning and capacity-building. Section 8(g), on the other hand, ensures good quality elementary education conforming to specified standards.
The government has acknowledged the importance of yoga on different occasions. To a query by a lawmaker, a minister recently said the government had reviewed policy to promote research and development in yoga.
Sports minister Ajay Maken has said that to lessen incidents of violence in armed forces courses such as yoga and Art of Living had been started. However, the government doesn’t seem to be in the catch-them-young mode.
Union minister of state of HRD D Purandeswari has told Parliament that there is no proposal to recruit yoga teachers.
States have to take a call on the issue as education is a state subject, she said.
But University Grants Commission (UGC) does not provide enough money to states. During 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 it released Rs5,819.40 lakh and Rs4,618.90 lakh to a central university, nine state universities and a deemed university in West Bengal. The money was not used fully.
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