Organ & body donation chapter debuts in SSC’s Standard X textbook

Pune: Keeping in tune with the times, the State government has overhauled the Standard 10 syllabus of State board schools this year. Almost over a decade ago, the National Curriculum Framework was formulated with an aim to have a uniform syllabus in schools across the country.

Taking a cue from the same, this year, the State government has included a chapter on Organ and Body Donation in Science 2 textbook of Standard X, which descriptively talks about the process of organ and body donations. Besides that, the chapter on Uses of Stem Cells and Regenerative Therapy throws light on how we can regenerate an organ of a body. 

“There are many misconceptions with regard to organ donation in society. While the State government is organising public awareness programmes for the same, it’s also necessary to spread awareness amongst youngsters through schools itself,” School Education Minister Vinod Tawde said. 

Medha Vaidya, mother of a Standard X student, said, “The textbooks of all subjects this year are technology based. At the end of every chapter, the name of a website is given for the students so that they can learn and read more information on a particular topic.”

The chapter also includes details about which organs are donated, how the process is carried out and how it can save people’s lives. It also talks about the importance of cadaver donation in the field of medical research.

Teresa David, Principal, Laxmanrao Apte Prashala, said, “We see a lot of awareness happening about organ donation through TV ads and other media. Along with that, this is the right age to put these ideas in the youngsters’ minds. These days, children have access to so much of unwanted negative information. The only way we can combat this is by giving them positive useful information. Through this, even if 50 per cent of the students get inspired and become donors, it is a great achievement.”

“The revised curriculum focuses on aspects like vocabulary development, use of new technology, self-study, reasoning power, decision making, etc, amongst the students. In Mathematics and Statistics, the topic on Financial Planning includes detailed information on Goods and Service Tax (GST),” added Vaidya.

 “The History and Political Science textbook is based on modern history with topics like Mass Media and History, Entertainment and History, Sports, Tourism, Heritage History,” she further added.