Panaji, Sep 6 (TOI): School children in Goa are usually introduced to Mahatma Gandhi through his role in India’s freedom struggle. However, from the next academic year 2019-20, his wider teachings, like cooperative working and dignity of labour, will be taught to students from Class I to XII.

“On the occasion of the upcoming 150th birth anniversary celebration of Mahatma Gandhi, the Mahatma Gandhi Council of Rural Education, Hyderabad, which is under the Union ministry of human resource development, has come out with a book titled ‘Experiential Learning - Gandhiji’s Nai Talim’. The curriculum of this book will be introduced in schools,” said Nagraj Honnekeri, project director of the state council for educational research and training (SCERT).

He said that the optional subject of ‘work experience’ already exists in schools in Goa, where students carry out different crafts and other activities. Honnekeri said that the same subject will now be tweaked to bring it in tune with the activities recommended in the Nai Talim book, which help inculcate Gandhi’s teachings.

Honnekeri said that cooking, cleaning, sweeping, gardening or farming (where possible), stitching, weaving, food processing, fishing are some of the activities recommended under Nai Talim.

“Some of these activities like cleanliness and sweeping, which do not require much extra effort to introduce, will be introduced during the current academic year itself,” he said.

The subject will be supplementary to the existing curriculum. The book also includes faculty development for teachers based on these principles.

“The book is expected to inspire 29 crore students of primary and secondary school, college, and their teachers as well,” Honnekeri said.