IAF pilot Abhinandan will now be part of Rajasthan school syllabus

School students in Rajasthan will now read the story of bravery of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman in textbooks.

The proposal came from the state’s education minister Govind Singh Dotasra who cited the pilot’s school education in Jodhpur as he tweeted on Monday “Abhinandan’s story of bravery will be introduced in the school syllabus of Rajasthan in a bid to honour him.” He also wrote a similar Facebook post late Monday using the #AbhinandanDiwas.

But Dotasra did not mention the classes where Wing Commander Abhinandan’s story will be studied. Wing Commander Abhinandan emerged a hero after he shot down a Pakistani F-16 warplane before his MiG 21 was downed forcing him to bail out. He was captured and spent about 60 hours in Pakistani custody before returning home Friday night.

Earlier the minister had proposed the addition of stories of troopers who died in the Pulwama attack in the syllabus which was accepted by the syllabus review committee. Dotasra recently constituted two committees to review the syllabus of the school textbooks of the state. He had earlier accused the previous government of politicizing education and neglecting history, culture and great personalities in school textbooks.

The education department of Rajasthan recently inaugurated a Government defence academy which is to be set up with an investment of ₹31.5 crore in Sikar. The academy named Maharao Shekhaji Shashastra Bal Prasikshan Academy will provide opportunity to the youth for recruitment in army, navy and air force, Dotasra said.

Isro offers summer training to students

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) will run a two-weeks residential programme to train school students in space technology, science and applications during their summer vacation.

Based on their academic and extracurricular performance, students from Class 9 in a state, CBSE or ICSE board school will be selected for the programme by chief secretaries of each state and union territory for the programme, Yuva Vigyani Karyakram (YUVIKA). Students from rural schools will get special weightage in the process.

First Published: Mar 06, 2019 07:58 IST