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Soon, RSS Teachers May Teach In Madhya Pradesh Govt Schools

Saffronisation of education?
ALLAHABAD, INDIA - 2015/02/22: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Youth volunteers conducted 'Path Sanchalan' procession in Allahabad. (Photo by Amar Deep/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
LightRocket via Getty Images
ALLAHABAD, INDIA - 2015/02/22: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Youth volunteers conducted 'Path Sanchalan' procession in Allahabad. (Photo by Amar Deep/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) plan to creep into the education system is nothing new.

Last year, they announced that they want to set up a model school in every block of the country before 2017, to check the growth of convent schools and educational institutions run by missionaries.

"A look at our recent data suggests we have managed to establish an RSS model school in every district in Uttar Pradesh. Efforts in Bihar and Jharkhand have been commendable but we are sprucing up efforts in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu," said Ramendra Rai, who heads the Vidya Bharati Akhil Bharatiya Shikshan Sansthan.

According to an Indian Express report, teachers from the RSS-run Saraswati Shishu Mandirs (SSM) could soon get sanction from the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh to teach pro bono in government primary schools.

The RSS organisation's proposal to loan its teachers to nearby government primary schools has been welcomed by the education department.

"Though the idea is to focus on mathematics and language, the traditional weak spots, we will also introduce cultural activities, if permitted, that are common in SSMs,'' Madhya Bharat chief of VBABSS Ramkumar Bhavsar told The Indian Express.

The government has welcomed the idea given the RSS schools' track record.

Students from an RSS-run group of schools occupied half of the merit list in the Madhya Pradesh in the class 10 board examination results that was announced in May.

Earlier this year, the BJP government in the state had made 'surya namaskar' – adulation of the sun -- mandatory in all schools, raising heckles of opposition parties and social organisations.

The plan to rope in RSS teachers for government schools is expected to be implemented in 1,000 schools in a few months.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.