Plan to Introduce Old Script Dropped

News - newindianexpress.com - 11th December 2013

By Sovi Vidyadharan - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

The State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has decided to shelve for the time being its plan to introduce the old script (pazhaya lipi) in Malayalam school textbooks of Classes V and VII in copyright-free Unicode format after an expert committee appointed by the Council opposed the move.

 The demand for introducing the old script was in tune with recommendations of eminent  littérateurs who wanted to revert to the traditional script of Malayalam especially after it gained classical language status recently.

‘’The expert committee was of the opinion that abrupt introduction of the old script from Class V onwards would confuse the students and that it has to be done in a phased manner,’’ SCERT Director K A Hashim told ‘Express’.

The expert committee comprising of educationalists including Dr George Onakkur was constituted to review the textbooks of Classes I, III, V and VII which were revised recently as part of the periodic curriculum revision exercise.  However, sources in SCERT pointed out that the opportunity to frame textbooks of Classes V and VII in Unicode format this year was lost due to the expert panel’s last minute opposition.   

 ‘’Adoption of Unicode format could have enabled conversion of school textbooks into electronic format much easier.Also, it is more suited to be adapted to software such as Espeak which can enable blind students to interpret texts without any external help,’’ said an SCERT official who is part of the curriculum revision process.

The expert committee’s opposition to introduction of the old script comes as the revised textbooks were all set for printing.

‘’This will further delay printing of textbooks as the entire content will have to be typesetted all over again,’’ said the SCERT official.‘Express’ has accessed a copy of the minutes of the expert committee meeting held on November 27 which said: ‘’The old script should be introduced to students only in a phased manner.

Detailed discussions should be held before carrying out a revision of the script and an expert committee should be constituted for the purpose.’’  

The expert panel also asked SCERT to initiate steps to amend the existing Government Order of 1971 which had declared the new script as the official font.

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