Malayalam alphabets, POCSO lessons included in Kerala school texbooks

Thiruvananthapuram: After removing Malayalam alphabets from textbooks last academic year, the state government has rectified the issue by incorporating them into the latest editions of Class 1 textbooks( Kerala Padavali). 

In the last academic year, the alphabets were placed towards the end of Class 1 and Class 2 textbooks. Despite maintaining the same teaching method, there have been calls for interventions to ensure the inclusion of the Malayalam alphabet.

Further strides towards inclusivity and progressive education are evident in the curriculum updates. The characters based on differently-abled and migrant workers have been incorporated into the lesson ‘Peeliyude Gramam’ in the Class 5 textbook. The 'Preamble to the Constitution of India' now features in the first part of all textbooks, while the 'rights of children' are addressed from Class 5 onwards. The social science textbook for Class 7 now includes lessons on the POCSO Act. 

An agriculture lesson has been integrated into the class 5 activity book, while the class 7 activity book now includes lessons on plumbing, electrical work, and waste management.