Shri
Digvijay Singh,
Honorable
Chief Minister,
Government
of Madhya Pradesh,
Bhopal.
Dear
Shri Digvijay Singh,
We
are thankful for the discussion you had with us yesterday morning (July 10,
2002) and we are looking forward to the meeting being convened by you next week
with Minister, School Education, and senior officials of the School Education
Department.
2. But a letter from the Secretary, Elementary Education, Ms.
Amita Sharma to Collector, Hoshangabad dated 3rd July, 2002 has
shocked and disappointed us. The letter
has ordered the replacement of HSTP books and evaluation in Hoshangabad
District.
For some strange reasons this letter has been marked to the Collectors of Harda
and 14 other districts where HSTP is running although it does not concern them
in any way. The intentions of such dissemination is not clear at all.
3. This letter has preempted the process of an
in-depth academic review of the programme as ordered by you. It has also preempted the process of developing
a state-wide initiative for improving Science Education, and taking the
benefits of the positive features of the HSTP to all the children in the state
– a commitment made by you on the floor of the Vidhan Sabha and other fora.
4. We strongly urge that this letter should be expressly
withdrawn and any decision should be based on a proper academic review of the
programme by a committee of eminent educationists and scientists. The State Advisory Board of Education could
be asked to oversee this process.
5. We would like
to reiterate that an arbitrary decision enforced at this juncture is going to
send strong negative signals, both politically and socially, across different
circles in the state and the nation.
6.
We seek an
urgent meeting with you tonight or early tomorrow morning to put forward our
case in light of the situation created by the preemptive letter.
7. We are
enclosing a copy of our letter to Ms. Amita Sharma asking for express
withdrawal of her letter.
With regards,
Yours
sincerely,
(Anjali Noronha) (Kamal Mahendroo)
for Eklavya
Encl: 1. Copy of the
Ms. Amita Sharma’s letter to the Collector Hoshangabad, dated 3rd July 2002.
2. Copy of our letter to Ms. Amita Sharma,
asking for withdrawal of the
letter to the Collector.