Should moral education be a part of the curriculum in the country?

An application filed under the RTI Act has revealed that there is no uniform policy on propagation of moral or value education in schools and colleges in the country. Most leading educationalists and thinkers have commented that moral education is necessary for ensuring “production of capable, bold and responsible citizens.”

A Supreme Court advocate, Ravinder Raj, asked the Human Resource Development Ministry under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, which States were stressing/propagating moral education/values in schools and colleges.

• The UGC said the different universities were free to devise and develop course content for various subjects including value education and it was providing assistance for starting courses in human rights and value education.
• Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Goa have said there is no stress on or propagation of moral education or values.
• Karnataka has introduced value education in higher studies where the Department of Collegiate Education has introduced “innovative academic programmes for skill development to impart quality education.”
• Tamil Nadu has taken some steps and in the colleges value education, including yoga and stress management, is being taught as one of the subjects.
• The Central Regional Office of the University Grants Commission, comprising of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, informed that a blueprint of a national policy on education was prepared in 1985, which laid emphasis on value education by highlighting the need to make education a forceful tool for cultivating social and moral values.