Future of maths at stake: Teachers seek withdrawal of draft syllabus

DRAFT SYLLABUS FOR BA AND BSC COURSE ADDS CONCEPTS SUCH AS VEDIC MATHS, PURANAS AND ANCIENT ASTRONOMY

- Niraj Pandit

Over 900 mathematicians, researchers and academics from India and abroad have petitioned the University Grants Commission (UGC) to withdraw its proposed curriculum for undergraduate mathematics.

The draft, published in August by UGC for BA and BSc mathematics in alignment with the National Education Policy 2020, adds concepts like Vedic mathematics, Bharatiya Bijaganit, the Puranas and ideas of ancient Indian astronomy. Students should be taught the Narada Purana’s citations of geometry, muhurtas in rituals calculated using the panchanga, and ancient Indian time units compared with the contemporary systems such as Greenwich Mean Time. The draft also proposes that students be taught the history and evolution of Indian algebra as well as application of old formulas like Paravartya Yojayet Sutra for polynomial division.