Textbook asks students to kill a cat for an experiment

Over the past few days, there has been an uproar over a Whatsapp image that showed a Class IV Environment textbook indirectly encouraging students to kill a cat in order to explain the criticality of oxygen. The offending passage has raised serious questions about how and what content goes into textbooks, and the review process for such matter.

‘Our Green World’, brought out by PP Publishers, explained an experiment underlining the importance of the oxygen for living beings. The text outlined an experiment in which two kittens , one of which was kept in a closed box without holes while the other was in a box which had oxygen supply. It suggested that if the student were to replicate the experiment, s/he would find the first kitten dead in the box.  

After the Whatsapp message went viral, at least one Delhi school principal asked students to tear the two pages out the book.

Speaking to DNA, the publisher Prateek Gupta said that the book was withdrawn in May last year after they received complaints from parents, and that it is no longer in circulation anymore. But he conceded that some copies might still be out there in schools as publishers are not privy to which schools are using their textbooks. “We have withdrawn the book from the markets last year after we got complaints from parents. We don’t know the schools where it has been distributed so that they can be called back,” Gupta said.

However, the publisher has not issued any notification or advisory in the newspapers regarding the chapter.

Education experts say there is currently no system for vetting the content of textbooks published by local publishers.

“There is no mechanism or regulation to include the books in the school curriculum. There is no body to check the content of the book. There is only a general regulation which includes refraining from publishing content which is detrimental to national interest and which is in violation of the Constitution,” said Ashok Pandey, Principal of Ahlcon International School.

“Such incidents point a finger at the publishers. If any book is prescribed by the school authorities, then they should scrutinise the content properly,” he added.

“These publishers do not have a scientific approach or understanding. The people releasing these books are of sub-standard quality and do not have any knowledge about the damage such information can do to the students,” Ameeta Wattal, principal, Springdales School told DNA, adding that there needs to be a panel of academicians to decide on a book before incorporating it into the school system.

“In our school we have a proper panel which goes before finalising the book for the students. If the teachers find any objectionable content, then we get the changes made,” she said.

According to parents, the decision to incorporate other publishers’ books is not wrong, but proper presentation needs to be made before finalising books.

“The NCERT books will limit education and it is necessary to include books published by other publishers. But then only old publishers like Arihant, S Chand, Dhanpat Rai, RD Sharma should be given preference and the new ones should have to prove their mettle in the field,” said Pragya Paliwal, a parent herself who teaches at Manava Bharati India International School in South Delhi.

‘UGLY’ TRUTH

Recently there was another incident in Pune where a Sociology book of Class 12 under the heading, ‘Consequences of dowry’, highlighted that the parents of girls who are ‘ugly’ and ‘handicapped’ have to pay dowry, and the adjustments that the family of the brides make to arrange the dowry.