In an overhaul of the state’s school curriculum, the Karnataka government has reintroduced chapters by progressive writers such as Girish Karnad, Devanur Mahadevam, P Lankesh, Mudnakudu Chinnaswamy, and Nagesh Hegde. The Department of School Education and Literacy has ordered the new textbooks to be printed for the upcoming academic year.
The textbook revision committee, led by retired History professor Manjunath Hegde, made several changes in line with the National Curriculum Framework, 2005. Emphasis has been placed on Kannada literature and cultural leaders from the state. Additionally, lessons on radical reformers like Savitribai Phule and Periyar are also being reintroduced. However, the committee decided not to include chapters on Tipu Sultan and Hyder Ali, which were dropped when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was in power.
The committee has also added LGBTQI+ values in its Social Science subject for Class 6. In the syllabus of Class 7, the word 'Religion' would be replaced with 'Dharma'. In Class 8, History 'Values of Veerashaiva Pantha' has been replaced with 'Values of Basavadi Sharanas', and Class 9 History mentions the contributions of Kanaka Dasa, Purandara Dasa, and Shishunala Sharifa to the Bhakti movement.
The revised textbooks will soon be available on the Karnataka Textbook Society website after distribution to block education offices. The costs for these revisions will be covered from the grant available to Karnataka Textbook Society.
In the run-up to the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections, the Congress party made commitments to reverse certain alterations made to the textbooks during the previous BJP government if elected into power. In June 2023, the Karnataka government had issued directives for immediate alterations to the content of Kannada and social science textbooks for classes 6 to 10, implementing 18 significant modifications, including the replacement of 15 lessons. The committee headed by professor Manjunath Hegde was then formed to conduct a comprehensive review of the issue.