THE STATUS AND SCOPE OF TEACHING HISTORY SUBJECT IN : SOME OBSERVATIONS IN THE LIGHT OF NEP, 2020

Dr. Diganta Deka

Abstract

The New Education Policy, 2020 is a comprehensive framework for the upliftment of India’s education system. It has not only focused on a few novel issues related to our society but also sought to pave new ways for the transformation of our overall education sector. The inculcation of India’s glorious heritage, culture and art into the fold of our education system through this NEP has been precisely acclaimed by learned fraternities. Since, these ideas are yet to be successfully been materialised in all the corners of India, there remains certain fundamental and inherent issues which are catching the attention of policymakers and scholars. Assam being situated in the fringe corner of North East India has equally facing an unwanted confusion of not sensitising its common people about the concept of teaching and learning the chequered history of the land. The paper here is therefore an exercise to mark out some of the pros and cons of teaching History subject in all grades of academia and unearth certain ways for better implementation and systematization of the process for the benefit of its new generations.

Keywords: History, Education, NEP, Assam etc.

I. Introduction:

History is considered as the mirror of society. It reflects whatever we have achieved and how we have progressed in the long drawn journey of human evolution. For the people of India, this voyage as recorded in its annals is not only remarkable but also a lesson to carry forward its own spirit and identity. As we know, India was like the cradle of ancient world civilizations. It has been contributing to the domain of knowledge ever since the last five thousand years. In fact, ancient Indian education system, enriched with value and dignity

June, 2021. VOL.13. ISSUE NO. 2 https://hrdc.gujaratuniversity.ac.in/Publication Page | 522 Towards Excellence: An Indexed, Refereed & Peer Reviewed Journal of Higher Education / Dr. Diganta Deka/ Page 522-530 could influence learners from around the world. The colonial days however had handicapped its very set up and it became a mechanism only to sustain the Raj. After Independence, numerous efforts were made by our Governments to gear up it in order to meet contemporary challenges. In the new century, to meet the demands of time and to equip our citizens in different sectors on the merit of their own brilliances, the New Education Policy, 2020 come into forefront (GOI, 2020). Although it is still very early to comment on its success or impact, still we may visualize some useful changes under its directions. At this point, certain issues namely the continuously declining popularity of traditional subjects like History predominantly in fringe areas and its manifold significances are noteworthy and matter of utmost concern.

II. Objectives, Methodology and Justification of the Study:

The basic idea and objectives of this paper are,

(a) To bring to light the present status and atmosphere regarding the teaching-learning practises in the subject of History in Assam (b) To examine the apparent scopes and prospects in the light of the newly implemented NEP, 2020.

Basically, the study is empirical and qualitative in nature. To suit the need of the study, recent discussions on NEP and scholarly deliberations on the nature of History education in Assam are closely followed. While collecting the data and ideas, the official websites and records are generally consulted along with related online and offline journals and viewpoints of learned scholars etc. During the course of the discussions, it has been frequently found that there are certain academic and research gap on this issue. Systematic and in depth study shall shed good light for the benefit of all the stakeholders.

III. Present Status of Teaching History Subject in Assam:

The New Education Policy may be the flag bearer in creating a sea of hopes and scopes along with new opportunities. As told earlier, it has been stressing on the issue of promoting the heritage and culture of our land. Assam as we know is considered as a treasure house of natural resources and traditional art and culture. The meaningful use of the resources by capable new generations enlightened by its history can be a splendid example of effective knowledge based education system.

June, 2021. VOL.13. ISSUE NO. 2 https://hrdc.gujaratuniversity.ac.in/Publication Page | 523 Towards Excellence: An Indexed, Refereed & Peer Reviewed Journal of Higher Education / Dr. Diganta Deka/ Page 522-530 Ever since the days of Independence, India is trying to make a solid foundation of its education system based on its age old values and knowledge system. In that pursuit, our scholars, academicians and all the education commissions have stringently adhered to the concept of a soft balance between tradition and modernity. On the issue of teaching our students the glorious past of our nation, however we could not maintain the desired outlook. Around most parts of the country, the subject of History specifically remained as a dull and untrendy one. Assam is also not exception to the tendency and after more than half a century of achieving freedom, the status of History teaching continued to be a shabby episode.

A scrupulous study of the scenario brings forth a few thought provoking dilemmas. Basically, it is widely acknowledged that the subject is not so popular among typical vernacular students. Rather, it has been seen concentrated in areas dominated by minorities, be it religious or linguistic. Mainstream students rather prefer subjects like Economics, Pol. Science, Education, Sociology, Languages etc. having so called face values for future studies and employments.

The perceived gap between traditional ways of thinking and writing History subject to that of the modern ways may have crept way back in the 90’s. The introduction of a compulsory subject, by the name ‘Social Studies’ in the High School level is often pointed out by the critics for the decreasing interest received by traditional subjects like History or Geography etc. Of course, it’s a matter of academic debate but its relation to the issue at hand cannot be altogether omitted out.

The current syllabus of the Higher Secondary level formulated by the AHSEC, the state regulatory body of Plus Two level is also not genuinely attracting prospective learners of the future. This phase is in fact like a bridge between the general learners belonging to the secondary stage and the specific learners of under graduate stage. At present the CBSE prototype curriculum followed in Assam instruct learners to pursue textbooks written according to NCERT format. Here, except very few inclusions on regional history, the major portions of the textbooks are technically mere translation works of NCERT books into vernacular ones. For instance, it is seen that the first volume comprising out the themes of World History is relatively unfamiliar and perceivably harder to the learners of the region having little basic knowledge carried forward from the school curriculum.

Moving up the order, it is found that most of the colleges offering degree courses enrol very limited number of students in the Honours and General courses of History. The case is

June, 2021. VOL.13. ISSUE NO. 2 https://hrdc.gujaratuniversity.ac.in/Publication Page | 524 Towards Excellence: An Indexed, Refereed & Peer Reviewed Journal of Higher Education / Dr. Diganta Deka/ Page 522-530 even poorer in the Post Graduate level. The premier universities of the state are enrolling relatively low number of students in the P.G. streams. In fact, most of them are non- affiliating universities having inadequate seats within their own campuses. One of the oldest and prestigious institution of Assam, the offers only 190 approx seats for P.G. Degree in History including its main university classes and five affiliating colleges. On the other hand, , the pioneering institution of Eastern Assam has been offering only 60 seats in its university campus only. Surprisingly, till date no affiliated college under the college is permitted to run PG course in History. Assam has two central universities, namely operating from Silchar and from Tezpur respectively. The former too has been echoing the same trend as no affiliating colleges offering PG course in History. The main campus along with its Diphu campus could offer less than hundred seats together. The Tezpur University has no department of History at all. Instead it is continuing the Cultural studies programme in a modular mode. The most striking example of the wearisome status may be seen in the case of the newly established state universities. The Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University, a state university, as the name reflects was expected to explore the heritage and history of the region. But even after 10 years of its existence, the university has still not started an independent History department. Likewise, Bhattadev University and Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankardeva Viswavidyalaya have also not started P.G. courses in History yet. Meanwhile, and have been running in-house Masters Degrees in History/Ancient History and Archaeology. The direct impact of this state of affairs is dispiriting. The scarcity of academically and conceptually competent new generation of teachers is the glaring outcome of such dilemmas.

Table: P.G. in History seats distribution across the state

UNIVERSITY SEATS SEATS AT AFFILIATED TOTA AT COLLEGES/ OTHER CAMPUSES L UNIV. CLASS ES NOWGONG 25 190 GAUHATI 60 COLLEGE UNIVERSITY ADP COLLEGE 30

June, 2021. VOL.13. ISSUE NO. 2 https://hrdc.gujaratuniversity.ac.in/Publication Page | 525 Towards Excellence: An Indexed, Refereed & Peer Reviewed Journal of Higher Education / Dr. Diganta Deka/ Page 522-530 TIHU COLLEGE 20 130 PANDU COLLEGE 25 BARNAGAR 30 COLLEGE DIBRUGARH 60 NIL 60 UNIVERSITY ASSAM 60 DIPHU CAMPUS 40 UNIVERSITY COTTON 44+20=6 NIL 64 UNIVERSITY 4 BODOLAND 65 NIL 65 UNIVERSITY TEZPUR - - NIL UNIVERSITY KBVSAS - - NIL UNIVERSITY BHATTADEV - - NIL UNIVERSITY MSS UNIVERSITY - - NIL

Besides all the aforesaid assumptions, the orthodox mentalities of most of the guardians that the subject is lengthy and less scoring is an added hindrance which is influencing overall attraction or enrolment in the upper stages of education.

IV. The Future Prospects:

In spite of the not so affluent atmosphere, the teaching earning process in history has a huge scope and responsibility to carry forward. According to the NEP, 2020, Government of India is going to lay tremendous emphasis on the preservation of our history, culture, language and heritage. To quote the document in its spirit, it is observed that ‘Cultural awareness and expression are among the major competencies considered important to develop in children, in order to provide them with a sense of identity, belonging, as well as an appreciation of other cultures and identities’ (GOI, 2020). It is further stressed that through the development of a strong sense and knowledge of their own cultural history, arts,

June, 2021. VOL.13. ISSUE NO. 2 https://hrdc.gujaratuniversity.ac.in/Publication Page | 526 Towards Excellence: An Indexed, Refereed & Peer Reviewed Journal of Higher Education / Dr. Diganta Deka/ Page 522-530 languages, and traditions that children of our nation can build a positive cultural identity and self-esteem. In fact, all the effective lessons learnt from our history not only prepare us mentally sound and socially alert but also inculcate adequate work culture, life skills and temperament for a better tomorrow.

The onus of infusing the need and concept of teaching history right from the primary level up to higher section mainly rests on equally aware and equipped faculties. As we have noticed earlier, owing to the paucity of academic infrastructures, the number of teachers eligible for such a task is very limited within the state. A number of times, it has been seen that teaching vacancies of history subject remain unfilled at different academic levels owing to the limited qualified candidates as per stage and backlog register etc. The concerned Government departments in collaboration with Universities and teacher education institutions surely have to think to augment the whole procedure.

Apart from the theoretical ideas of the subject, teaching of History also allows and helps in innumerable ways to contribute to our national life. India has a dubious distinction of not having a healthy and systematic tradition of writing and preserving the events of history. The debate conspicuously benefited the colonial scholars to show our culture and civilization to be relatively dependent on contemporary western counterparts. However, surprisingly, the case is not at all true to the earlier realms of Assam. The medieval Ahom rulers started to write the events of the state in a kind chronicles called ‘Buranjis’ (Baruah, 1985). These Buranjis have so meticulously portrayed the glory and grandeur of the state against all adversaries. Although in Assam, the word ‘Buranji’ is synonymously used to refer History, it is a matter of real concern that only a limited portion of the young generation is attracted towards their own history, heritage and culture now a days. During the preceding years, we could not see adequate emphasis being laid to mitigate such tendency owing to multifaceted factors coupled with poor policy framings. Therefore, it would be a high time to focus on these issues in the light of the NEP, 2020 which categorically pointing out the need of preserving and glorifying our history and heritage.

The stable and solid way to explore the past history and aesthetic traditions of a society or civilization is to expand the chain of Museums and Artefact galleries. Again, the idea of conservation has definite relations with exploration of new keys to our long cherished history. Thus, the students of history get the privilege and opportunities of becoming good archaeologist too who can meaningfully contribute to the process of review and

June, 2021. VOL.13. ISSUE NO. 2 https://hrdc.gujaratuniversity.ac.in/Publication Page | 527 Towards Excellence: An Indexed, Refereed & Peer Reviewed Journal of Higher Education / Dr. Diganta Deka/ Page 522-530 reconstruction of our past. It is to be noted here that Assam being located in one of the greatest migration routes of human history, carrying beneath its soil ample references of new insights for Indian History and culture (Choudhury, 1987). At present, there are only 13 museums around the state under the Directorate of Museums, Assam with having good collections but poor infrastructure and man power. Proper improvement and planning from the Government will definitely attract new learners and the society in this regard. The Archaeological explorations and findings starting from the brilliant works of Ambari site are also unleashing and helping history enthusiasts. In a way, these associating branches of study can equip new scholars as curators, archaeologists, conservationist etc. It’s a matter of hope that at the Higher Education level, the concept of Skill based education is given importance nowadays. The Universities of Assam in their UG syllabuses have also included Skill featured papers. The Gauhati University has particularly crafted it on Historical Tourism of North East India.

The rich heritage and bio diversity of the land have been continuously alluring huge number of tourist across the world. The historical relics and wildlife hotspots need efficient and conversant tour guides and operators in order to truly highlight the facts and scenarios. The students here need exposures to know how these processes are being executed in other parts of the country successfully. In the New Education Policy, a practise started couple of years ago is again firmly reiterated. The novel scheme of ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat’ could able to touch a limited number of institutes at the initial phase. Assam is paired with Rajasthan in the scheme and we have seen some colleges executing the scheme by way of educational field trips and interactions with distinguished people etc. An elaborate mechanism with more states and important sites being interconnected will surely attract learners towards our history, culture and hospitality narratives.

V. Conclusion:

India has adopted the global agenda on Sustainable Development way back in 2015 and its 4th goal has given emphasis to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for everyone by 2030 (UNO, 2015). The NEP 2020 has echoed the spirit of that agenda and cites that education must build character, enable learners to be ethical, rational, compassionate and caring, while at the same time prepare them for gainful, fulfilling employment. To achieve these avowed goals, we must have to choose a blended approach where traditional subjects may build the foundation of the

June, 2021. VOL.13. ISSUE NO. 2 https://hrdc.gujaratuniversity.ac.in/Publication Page | 528 Towards Excellence: An Indexed, Refereed & Peer Reviewed Journal of Higher Education / Dr. Diganta Deka/ Page 522-530 structures made of through modernity. Regarding the needs and utility of thoroughly studying History in our academia, we may believe that it certainly can help learners to gain good compassion, grow as a responsible citizen and better understand the nuances and complications inherent to human civilization.

June, 2021. VOL.13. ISSUE NO. 2 https://hrdc.gujaratuniversity.ac.in/Publication Page | 529 Towards Excellence: An Indexed, Refereed & Peer Reviewed Journal of Higher Education / Dr. Diganta Deka/ Page 522-530 References

 GOI, (2020): National Education Poilcy, India: Ministry of Human Resource Development; retrieved from https://www.education.gov.in › sites › mhrd › files.  Baruah S.L. (1985): A Comprehensive History of Assam, Munshiram Manoharlal publishers, New Delhi.  Choudhury, P.C. (1987): The History of Civilization of the People of Assam to the Twelfth Century A. D, New Delhi.  https://www.cbsesyllabus.in/class-11/history-class-11-syllabus.  https://ahsec.nic.in/Syllabus.html.  https://sebaonline.org › admin › down_uploads.  https://museums.assam.gov.in/frontimpotentdata/museums-under-the-directorate-of- museums.  Das, Biren (2020): Implementing NEP 2020 in Assam; retrieved from https://www.sentinelassam.com/editorial/implementing-nep-2020-in-assam-503245.  https://directorateofhighereducation.assam.gov.in/frontimpotentdata/statistical-data.  https://ekbharat.gov.in/Pages/PhotoGallery_search?StatePair=Rajasthan%20:%20%2 0Assam.  UNO, (2015): Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; retrieved from https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda.

Dr. Diganta Deka Assistant Professor P.G. Dept. of History Tihu College, Tihu P.O. Tihu,Assam Email: [email protected]

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